Accounts payable · Production

Tipalti end-to-end AP invoice workflow: OCR and machine learning automate invoice capture, approval routing, and ERP reconciliation

The problem

Finance teams processing invoices manually face excessive data entry burden, limited scalability, and weak auditability, with no vendor self-service and no automated reconciliation against bank portals or ERPs.

Workflow diagram · grounded in source
1
Vendor self-service registration
trigger
“You invite them to register on your Supplier Hub to provide their contact, billing details, and tax identification”
2
Invoice submission via Hub or email
trigger
“The vendor can upload their invoice from the Supplier Hub or email it to your payables alias”
3
OCR and ML invoice capture
ai_action
“The invoice is processed seamlessly using OCR (optical character recognition), machine learning, and managed services and automatically populated into Tipalti”
4
Human validation of OCR output
human_review
“Any missed characters by the cloud-AI are human-validated by Tipalti”
5
PO matching
validation
“If it is a PO-based invoice, Tipalti performs a 2-way and 3-way PO-match”
6
ML prefill of accounting and routing data
ai_action
“Machine learning prefills much of the accounting and approval routing data based on past invoices”
7
Approver email review
human_review
“Approvers receive a branded email, including a copy of the invoice to be approved and which ledger account it will be filed under. Authorized approvers do not need to log into a separate portal and can perform these actions from any emai…”
8
Duplicate bill detection
validation
“Potential duplicate bills are detected and flagged on top of the email, ensuring approvers are fully aware of the duplicate bills”
9
Payment scheduling and execution
output
“Once all approvers have signed off on the invoice, your finance team can schedule the invoice for payment, along with any other bills in the system”
10
ERP reconciliation and sync
integration
“Payment data is sent to any connected ERPs or accounting platforms (e.g. NetSuite, QuickBooks Online, etc.)”
Reported outcome

Customers using Tipalti's AP automation substantially reduced manual effort: Sensei saved 40 hours/month on AP tasks, Therabody cut 60 hours of AP work monthly, and ADU increased productivity by 88% while growing monthly invoice volume from 800 to 1,500.

Reported metrics
AP hours saved per month (Sensei)40 hours/month
AP hours cut monthly (Therabody)60 hours
productivity increase (ADU)88%
monthly invoice volume (ADU)1,500 invoices each month, up from 800
Show all 7 reported metrics
AP hours saved per month (Sensei)40 hours/month
AP hours cut monthly (Therabody)60 hours
productivity increase (ADU)88%
monthly invoice volume (ADU)1,500 invoices each month, up from 800
annual invoices automated (Zola)600K+
production output (Endera)tripled our production
cost savings (ServiceRocket)saved us a lot of money
Reported stack
TipaltiOCRSupplier HubNetSuiteQuickBooks Online
Source
https://tipalti.com/ap-automation/invoice-management/invoice-flow/
Read source ↗

Frequently asked questions

What did this team achieve with this AI workflow?

Customers using Tipalti's AP automation substantially reduced manual effort: Sensei saved 40 hours/month on AP tasks, Therabody cut 60 hours of AP work monthly, and ADU increased productivity by 88% while growing mont…

What tools did this team use?

Tipalti, OCR, Supplier Hub, NetSuite, QuickBooks Online.

What results were reported?

AP hours saved per month (Sensei): 40 hours/month; AP hours cut monthly (Therabody): 60 hours; productivity increase (ADU): 88%; monthly invoice volume (ADU): 1,500 invoices each month, up from 800 (source-reported, not independently verified).

How is this accounts payable AI workflow structured?

Vendor self-service registration → Invoice submission via Hub or email → OCR and ML invoice capture → Human validation of OCR output → PO matching → ML prefill of accounting and routing data → Approver email review → Duplicate bill detection → Payment scheduling and execution → ERP reconciliation and sync.

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