Accounts payable · Production

Reflections of an AP manager's journey to true automation with Medius

The problem

AP teams were overwhelmed by paper invoices and email-based approval chains with no systematic way to connect invoices to POs or route approvals automatically; an earlier scanning solution offered only incremental gains and could not capture line-level data.

First attempt

A prior scanning solution delivered only a small productivity gain and was limited to capturing header-level invoice data, leaving the core AP workflow largely manual.

Workflow diagram · grounded in source
1
Invoice arrives via paper or email
trigger
“Paper and emails – which we need to print anyway. We're trying to keep them sorted, but there's only so much organization in a filing cabinet.”
2
AI/ML autonomous invoice processing
ai_action
“AI/ML addresses the short comings of rule-based automation by creating autonomous engines for invoice management. Where automation dictates that a certain set of actions happen when the trigger event occurs, autonomous, through AI/ML, di…”
3
Dynamic approval routing
routing
“autonomous system allows approvals to flow to the appropriate person even when certain aspects of the approval flow shift and change due to absence, job changes, project team movement, and so forth — all without human intervention”
4
Business approver reviews via mobile
human_review
“No matter where they work, they get the information they need to approve non-PO invoices on their mobile app”
5
Real-time risk and duplicate detection
validation
“spot potential risks or duplicate invoices as they occur so you can quickly resolve issues”
Reported outcome

After adopting Medius, the AP team cleared their invoice backlog, enabled mobile approvals for business users anywhere, and one named customer grew from 12 to 18 branches without needing to hire additional staff.

Reported metrics
Branch scaling without additional headcount12 to 18 branches
Productivity from prior scanning solutionsmall bump in productivity
Invoice backlog clearedcleared our backlog of invoices
Reported stack
MediusERP
Source
https://www.medius.com/solutions/for-your-role/ap-managers/reflections-of-an-ap-manager
Read source ↗

Frequently asked questions

What did this team achieve with this AI workflow?

After adopting Medius, the AP team cleared their invoice backlog, enabled mobile approvals for business users anywhere, and one named customer grew from 12 to 18 branches without needing to hire additional staff.

What tools did this team use?

Medius, ERP.

What results were reported?

Branch scaling without additional headcount: 12 to 18 branches; Productivity from prior scanning solution: small bump in productivity; Invoice backlog cleared: cleared our backlog of invoices (source-reported, not independently verified).

What failed first in this deployment?

A prior scanning solution delivered only a small productivity gain and was limited to capturing header-level invoice data, leaving the core AP workflow largely manual.

How is this accounts payable AI workflow structured?

Invoice arrives via paper or email → AI/ML autonomous invoice processing → Dynamic approval routing → Business approver reviews via mobile → Real-time risk and duplicate detection.

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