Guide for AP Managers
As an AP Manager in Mod AI, you oversee the entire accounts payable operation. You configure rules, set up approval policies, manage vendors, monitor processing metrics, and ensure your team runs smoothly. This guide covers everything you need to manage AP effectively.
What You Can Do with Mod AI
Mod AI gives you the tools to automate the parts of AP that used to take hours of manual work. Set up rules that automatically code invoices, route them to the right approvers, and enforce your policies — without touching each invoice individually. Here is what Mod AI puts at your fingertips:
- Automate GL coding with rules that fire on every matching invoice — no manual coding needed for your highest-volume vendors
- Design approval chains with policies that route invoices to the right people based on amount, vendor, or department
- See your entire AP process in real time with dashboard metrics — volume, success rates, turnaround times, and bottlenecks
- Receive invoices automatically via email forwarding — the preferred way to get invoices into Mod AI, enabling automatic categorization of invoices, credit memos, and other documents
- Onboard your team quickly — invite users and assign roles in minutes
Your Responsibilities
As an AP Manager, you are responsible for:
- Setting up email forwarding so invoices flow into Mod AI automatically — this is the recommended intake method for most organizations
- Configuring approval workflows so invoices route to the right approvers based on amount, vendor, or department
- Creating and managing rules that automate repetitive tasks like GL coding, status changes, and routing
- Managing your team — inviting users, assigning roles, and ensuring the right people have the right access
- Overseeing vendor management — maintaining accurate vendor records and resolving vendor matching issues
- Monitoring AP performance through dashboard metrics and processing success rates
Your Role in Mod AI
AP Managers typically have the Manager or Admin entity role. Here is what you can do:
| Permission | Access |
|---|---|
| View, edit, and upload invoices | Yes |
| Approve or reject invoices | Yes |
| Manage vendors | Yes |
| Manage rules and automation | Yes |
| Manage approval policies | Yes |
| Manage users | Yes |
| Manage entity settings | Admin only |
For a full breakdown of all roles and permissions, see Understanding User Roles.
Key Features You'll Use
- Rules & Automation — Automate GL coding, status changes, approvals, and routing based on conditions
- Approval Policies — Define who approves what, based on thresholds and criteria
- Vendor Management — Maintain vendor records, set default coding, and manage matching
- Dashboard & Metrics — Monitor processing volume, success rates, and approval turnaround
- Entity Users — Invite users, assign roles, and manage team access
- Email Forwarding Setup — Configure forwarding addresses for automatic invoice intake
- Notices & Actions — Review and resolve AI-flagged issues across your team's invoices
Daily Workflow
Here is what a typical day looks like for an AP Manager:
- Review the dashboard — Check the Dashboard for processing volume, success rates, and any pending items that need attention.
- Check pending approvals — Review invoices waiting for your approval in the approval queue.
- Review flagged invoices — Check for invoices with unresolved notices and help your team clear them.
- Manage rules — Update or create rules as new patterns emerge (new vendors, new GL accounts, seasonal coding changes).
- Monitor processing errors — Look for invoices stuck in error states and investigate. Reprocess if needed.
- Review team activity — Check that your clerks are keeping up with the processing queue and that approvers are responding promptly.
Common Tasks
1. Create an Approval Policy
Go to Approval Policies and click Create Policy. Define the conditions (amount thresholds, vendor, entity), set the approval chain, and assign priority. See Creating a Policy for step-by-step instructions.
2. Set Up a Coding Rule
Create a rule that automatically assigns GL codes based on vendor, amount, or other conditions. For example, "All invoices from Vendor X get coded to GL 5100." See Creating a Rule and Common Examples.
3. Add a User
Go to Entity Users and click Invite User. Enter their email, select their organization role and entity role, and send the invitation. They will receive an email to accept the invitation.
4. Configure Email Forwarding
Set up an email forwarding address so invoices sent to your AP inbox are automatically ingested into Mod AI. See Email Forwarding Setup for configuration details.
5. Review Dashboard Metrics
Open the Dashboard to see key metrics like invoices processed, average processing time, approval turnaround, and error rates. Use Metrics to understand what each metric measures and how to improve it.
6. Manage Vendors
Review and update vendor records, set default GL coding for specific vendors, and resolve vendor matching issues. See Vendors Overview.
Tips & Best Practices
- Start with rules for your highest-volume vendors. Automating coding and routing for your top 10 vendors will save the most time. See Common Examples for templates.
- Set approval policy priorities carefully. Policies are evaluated in priority order. Make sure your most specific policies have higher priority than general ones. See How Approvals Work.
- Use delegation for coverage. When approvers go on vacation, set up delegation so invoices are not stuck waiting.
- Monitor the dashboard weekly. Tracking metrics over time helps you spot bottlenecks and measure the impact of new rules.
- Keep vendor records clean. Accurate vendor records improve AI matching accuracy and reduce Unknown Vendor notices.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I set up automatic GL coding?
Create a rule with conditions that match the invoices you want to code and an action that sets the GL account. For example, you can match by vendor name and apply a specific GL code to all matching invoices. See Conditions and Actions for all available options.
How do approval policy priorities work?
When an invoice enters the approval workflow, Mod AI evaluates policies from highest priority (lowest number) to lowest. The first matching policy is applied. See How Approvals Work for details on policy evaluation.
How do I delegate approvals?
Go to the Delegating Approvals settings and assign a delegate. The delegate will receive all approvals routed to the original approver for the duration of the delegation.
Can I see what rules have been applied to an invoice?
Yes. Open the invoice detail view and check the activity log. Rules that fired on the invoice are recorded there, along with the actions they took.
How do I handle a vendor that keeps getting flagged as unknown?
Go to Vendor Management and ensure the vendor record exists with the correct name variations. You can also create a rule to auto-match invoices from that vendor. See Vendor Matching for details.