Free tool · Finance
AP invoice automation calculator
For controllers and AP leads. Put in your invoice volume and the minutes each stage takes, from capture to posting in the ERP, and see annual AP hours, approval cycle time, early-pay discounts, and which stage to automate first, with what an AI review agent would and wouldn't take on.
4. Your annual summary
AP hours a year
1,720 → 988
$77,400 → $44,460 in labor
Modeled annual value
$50,340
$32,940 time, $16,800 discounts, $600 late fees
Approval cycle
14 → 9.8 days
receipt to approval
Minutes per invoice
21.5 → 12.4
4,800 invoices a year
Matching is averaged over all invoices using your PO share; exceptions using your exception rate.
- Capture3 → 1.2
- Code3 → 2.1
- Match to PO / commitment3.5 → 1.8
- Compliance check3 → 1.8
- Route for PM approval5 → 3
- Post to ERP2 → 1
- Resolve exceptions2 → 1.5
Show as a table
| Stage | Min / invoice now | With automation | Hours / yr now | Hours / yr with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capture | 3 | 1.2 | 240 | 96 |
| Code | 3 | 2.1 | 240 | 168 |
| Match to PO / commitment | 3.5 | 1.75 | 280 | 140 |
| Compliance check | 3 | 1.8 | 240 | 144 |
| Route for PM approval | 5 | 3 | 400 | 240 |
| Post to ERP | 2 | 1 | 160 | 80 |
| Resolve exceptions | 2 | 1.5 | 160 | 120 |
| Total | 21.5 | 12.35 | 1,720 | 988 |
Where to start
Route for PM approval
About 400 hours a year ($18,000) today, the most minutes × volume of any stage. Sends each invoice to the approver your rules name by job, cost code and amount band, with a backup when someone is out and a visible list of what is stuck.
Stays with people: The project manager's approval.
What an AI review agent changes, and what stays manual
The agent flags exceptions with reasons and prepares the work; people approve. Rules score risk, the agent explains and routes, and nothing is approved without a person.
Capture
Automation: Picks invoices up from the AP mailbox or a SharePoint drop and reads vendor, invoice number, date and amount with OCR, keeping the original file.
Stays manual: Confirming low-confidence or unreadable values.
Code
Automation: Pre-fills job and cost code from the linked commitment, and keeps the job list current in the tools that feed AP.
Stays manual: Job, phase and cost type stay an AP and project management responsibility.
Match to PO / commitment
Automation: Loads the linked PO or subcontract, compares vendor and amount (PO line sum of quantity × price), and says what it could not compare.
Stays manual: Subcontract tie-out against billed-to-date and retainage, where the API doesn't expose line dollars.
Compliance check
Automation: Checks that a lien waiver and a current insurance certificate are on file for the vendor and flags the ones that are missing or expired.
Stays manual: Deciding whether to hold payment, and chasing the vendor for the document.
Route for PM approval
Automation: Sends each invoice to the approver your rules name by job, cost code and amount band, with a backup when someone is out and a visible list of what is stuck.
Stays manual: The project manager's approval.
Post to ERP
Automation: Hands approved invoices to the ERP with the coding confirmed, after a preflight that blocks anything with a high-severity finding.
Stays manual: Approval in the ERP under your existing approval rights.
Resolve exceptions
Automation: Rules flag possible duplicates, amount mismatches and missing fields, sort invoices into review queues worst first, and hand the reviewer a packet with the reasons.
Stays manual: Resolving each exception and the cases the rules don't cover. The reviewer decides; the agent records it.
Minutes per invoice for a stage = minutes entered × share of invoices it applies to (all; PO share for matching; exception rate for exceptions). With automation = that × (1 − share removed). Hours a year = minutes per invoice × invoices a month × 12 ÷ 60; cost = hours × loaded cost. Discount value = annual spend × share with early-pay terms × discount × (captured with − captured today). Late fees avoided and the shorter cycle both use “approval cycle shortened”. “Where to start” = the stage with the most hours a year today. Every default is an example and every reduction is your assumption; nothing here is a benchmark, quote, or savings promise. Calculated in your browser.
Reopen or edit these numbers: https://www.buildflows.ai/tools/ap-automation?v=400_70_10_45_14_30_5000_10_2_25_60_2000&m=3_3_5_3_5_2_20&c=60_30_50_40_40_50_25
How we'd build it
Start read-only: an agent that triages the unapproved invoice queue, compares each invoice with its PO or subcontract, and flags duplicates, mismatches and missing fields with reasons, while the AP team keeps approving the way it does today. Measure time from receipt to approval and duplicates caught before payment, then decide what to automate next.
- AI invoice review for Viewpoint Vista AP: how the agent triages, scores and records decisions
- AI review agent for Vista AP unapproved invoices
- AP invoice approval routing by job, cost code and amount
- Invoice and document OCR extraction
- Expense and card transactions into Vista or Spectrum AP
- Check an AP invoice export with the data quality checker
Frequently asked questions
Where do the default numbers come from?
They're examples so the page isn't empty, not industry benchmarks. Replace the volume, minutes and rates with your own, and set the share each stage would lose to automation from what you believe, not from what a vendor told you. Timing a week of real invoices is usually enough.
Why isn't any stage set to 100% removed?
Because people stay in the loop. Someone confirms low-confidence OCR values, project managers still approve, and the AP team resolves exceptions and owns the approval in the ERP. An AI review agent flags exceptions with reasons and prepares the work; it doesn't approve invoices.
How is "where to start" chosen?
It's the stage with the most minutes × volume today, so the biggest block of AP time. That's a starting point for a conversation, not a build plan: a smaller stage that's easy to automate, such as routing with a clear approver matrix, can still be the better first step.
Does a shorter approval cycle really change cash?
Only if your vendors offer early-pay discounts or charge late fees. If they don't, set those inputs to zero and the calculator counts AP time alone.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser. Your inputs are stored in the page link so you can share or reopen it, and they're only sent to us if you choose to email the results or send a brief.
Next step
Want a second opinion on your AP numbers?
Bring the stage you'd start with. We'll talk through your ERP, how invoices arrive, what an automated flow or review agent would and wouldn't remove, and whether it's worth scoping.
Prefer email? charley@buildflows.ai