VendorTrl AP Automation Process

From start to finish, the VendorTrl automates the AP process, helping businesses simplify and streamline review and approvals, reduce processing time and associated costs, and minimize the potential for human error.

See how PaperTrl can transform your AP

Vendor Portal: The Gateway to Seamless AP Automation

VendorTrl’s vendor portal is the primary access point through which your vendors will be able to submit invoices for automatic processing and final payment through your AP department. It is the gateway to a more transparent, accurate, and accountable AP process. With self-registration, adding vendors to the portal is simple. After receiving an email invitation, vendors enter key business and user information into the portal. Once approved, they are ready to submit invoices. With portal access, vendors can upload single or multiple invoices and view approval and payment status anytime eliminating the need for phone calls and emails.

“PaperTrl is very easy to use with little or no training. You simply choose the name of your contact, enter a few fields and upload the invoice.”

Maria Boisclair, Director of Administrative Services, EMSL Analytical, Inc.

Invoice Capture and Conversion

To limit key entry and to ensure accurate data, VendorTrl converts PDFs to digital invoices using Optical Character Recognition and dynamically created templates. The first time a vendor uploads an invoice, VendorTrl digitally scans and “reads” invoice files, extracting key text and converting the invoice to a digital format then prompts the vendor to confirm and/or add additional data as needed. VendorTrl will learn and apply these data assignments upon subsequent submissions from the same vendor. The system saves digital templates, including any modifications, in the vendor template library for future use. VendorTrl also automatically flags potential duplicate invoices based on user-defined criteria, including invoice number, amount, vendor name, and more—helping prevent overpayment. The system also enables users to verify budget information associated with invoices to ensure more accurate, precise invoicing.

PO Matching

One of the most common problems AP departments face is when invoices don’t match vendor purchase orders. More than just an inconvenience, these discrepancies result in burdensome manual processes that drain resources and overpayments that affect cash flow.

VendorTrl’s two- or three-way PO matching feature streamlines the reconciliation process, driving efficiencies and fostering a higher level of transparency for both vendors and your AP staff.

With PO matching, designated approvers can easily locate:

  • Associated POs to ensure dollar amounts, quantities, and other figures align accurately.
  • Associated receipt of goods or shipping receipts (in the case of three-way matching) to ensure your organization actually received the appropriate goods.
  • PO ceilings so approvers know how much is left on specific POs to ensure invoices do not exceed approved amounts.

Much like our invoice capture process, POs can be uploaded and digitized through the VendorTrl vendor portal, or they can be imported from your accounting system to be matched automatically. PO matching settings can be controlled by AP staff or project managers, providing another level of customization based on their specific needs.

Approval Workflow

With VendorTrl, complicated, convoluted approval workflows that rely on multiple forms of contact or communication are a thing of the past. VendorTrl provides businesses the ability to design custom workflows on a project-by-project basis, allowing you to designate multiple approvers for a single project in the exact sequence that meets your specific needs and processes.

Approvers receive email notifications for pending invoice approvals that link them to a dashboard illustrating which invoices they need to approve and when. As invoices move through the approval process, the portal gives vendors full visibility into exactly where in the approval process their invoice is at any given time.

VendorTrl also provides unprecedented control and insight for AP staff, project managers, and other approvers—allowing them to track the progress of invoice approvals in real-time. If invoice approvals are not completed in a designated amount of time, AP staff receives notifications, enabling them to intervene and investigate potential problems.

Expense Reporting

Using an online portal, employees create paperless expense reports and upload receipt images. Reports are categorized at the line item level and routed to the appropriate parties for approval via email. Our customizable workflow engine allows you to design the approval sequence and assign approval levels by user. With end-to-end automation, you have the tools to monitor expense policies, store expense reports and receipts in a single location, manage approvals more efficiently, and reimburse employees on a timely basis. 

Financial Insights

Data-driven insights help empower smarter, more effective decision-making. VendorTrl gives AP staff, project managers, and executives greater visibility into the impact and effectiveness of your AP efforts. Through notifications and dashboards, businesses can gain a greater understanding of payment history, reconciliation of accounts, and AP aging. VendorTrl also tracks discounts and notifies AP staff of expiration dates, giving them more control over cash flow.


VendorTrl integrates with businesses’ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and accounting systems, enabling you to share master data such as vendor data, GL codes and cost centers, as well as transactional data such as purchase orders, receipts, invoices, and payments between VendorTrl and your other systems freely and easily. With prebuilt connectors, VendorTrl creates a more cohesive, seamless experience that improves accuracy, minimizes human error, and ensures on-time invoice payments while eliminating additional burdens for your IT staff and resources.

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