Finance & accounting SOP, workflow & process templates

Procure-to-pay

Procure-to-pay is the operational cycle that runs from an identified need to a paid supplier. This family orders six templates in the sequence the documents hand off: a requisition becomes a purchase order, the order is matched against a receipt and an invoice, and the approved invoice is released for payment. The end-to-end P2P overviews, vendor onboarding and the procurement process sit alongside the chain.

1. Purchase requisition process flowchart

   Purchase requisition process flowchart: specification and GL coding, budget check, manager and threshold approval, procurement review and an urgent fast track.

2. Purchase order process flowchart

   Purchase order process flowchart: requisition, budget check, approval thresholds, supplier quotes, PO issue, goods receipt, three-way match and payment.

3. Goods receiving process flowchart (goods-in to GRN)

   A goods receiving process flowchart for the goods-in dock: booking-in, PO paperwork check, count and damage check, carrier claim, GRN and put-away to stock.

4. Three-way matching process flowchart

   Three-way matching process flowchart for comparing a supplier invoice, purchase order and goods or service receipt, with tolerance controls and discrepancy handling.

5. Invoice approval process flowchart

   A swimlane invoice approval process template: capture, duplicate check, three-way PO match, coding, approval by value, supplier queries, posting and payment.

6. Payment approval process flowchart

   Payment approval process flowchart for payment-proposal preparation, supplier-bank verification, delegated approval, dual bank release, posting and reconciliation.

Also part of this family

• Procure-to-pay (P2P) process flowchart (need to payment) — Procure-to-pay process flowchart from an identified need to a paid supplier: requisition, budget and delegated-authority approval, contract check, PO issue, receipt, three-way match, no-PO exceptions and the payment run.
• Procure-to-pay (P2P) process flow template — An audit-ready procure-to-pay (P2P) process flow template (requisition through payment) with approval workflow and version control. Built for ERP teams documenting AP processes for SOX, SOC 2, and internal audit.
• Accounts payable process flowchart (full AP cycle) — Accounts payable process flowchart for the whole AP cycle: invoice intake, supplier master data, duplicate and PO checks, payment runs and month-end accruals.
• Vendor onboarding process flowchart — Vendor onboarding process flowchart with swimlanes for requester, procurement, legal, finance and security, from vendor request to approved register entry.
• Procurement process flowchart — End-to-end procurement process flowchart: need and specification, make or buy, budget approval, tender or call-off, award, contract, delivery and review.

View the sequence

Accounts payable

Accounts payable is the discipline that turns a received supplier invoice into an authorized, posted and reconciled payment without paying twice, paying the wrong account or paying for something never received. This family groups the templates that share it: invoice controls, payment release, the supplier master-data controls that protect it, and the two employee expense routes that end in the same payment run. It is a group, not a sequence.

• Accounts payable process flowchart (full AP cycle) — Accounts payable process flowchart for the whole AP cycle: invoice intake, supplier master data, duplicate and PO checks, payment runs and month-end accruals.
• Invoice approval process flowchart — A swimlane invoice approval process template: capture, duplicate check, three-way PO match, coding, approval by value, supplier queries, posting and payment.
• Three-way matching process flowchart — Three-way matching process flowchart for comparing a supplier invoice, purchase order and goods or service receipt, with tolerance controls and discrepancy handling.
• Payment approval process flowchart — Payment approval process flowchart for payment-proposal preparation, supplier-bank verification, delegated approval, dual bank release, posting and reconciliation.
• Supplier setup process flowchart — Supplier setup process flowchart for business justification, due diligence, duplicate checks, independent bank-detail verification and maker-checker supplier activation.
• Supplier bank detail change process flowchart — Supplier bank detail change process flowchart for authenticated requests, independent callback verification, maker-checker approval, payment holds and fraud escalation.
• Expense approval process flowchart — A swimlane expense approval process template: receipt and policy check, line manager approval, value thresholds, duplicate check, VAT coding and payment.
• Expense reimbursement process flowchart (claim to payout) — Expense reimbursement process flowchart template: travel pre-approval, automated policy check, manager approval, finance audit sample, payroll or AP payout, corporate card reconciliation and VAT recovery.

Order-to-cash

Order-to-cash is the commercial cycle a company runs on every order it accepts: decide whether the customer may owe you money, fulfill and deliver the order, prove it arrived, invoice it, collect the cash and apply it, then prove the bank agrees with the ledger. This family orders six templates in the sequence the documents hand off, and adds the end-to-end overviews, the customer refund path and the 3PL billing variant.

1. Customer credit approval process flowchart (limit and terms)

   Customer credit approval process flowchart: application and entity checks, bureau report and trade references, scoring, the delegated authority ladder, security, the ERP limit, and periodic review.

2. Order fulfillment process flowchart template

   A five-lane order fulfillment process flowchart: validation, credit check, stock allocation, picking and packing, dispatch, delivery, invoice and closure.

3. Proof of delivery process flowchart (ePOD capture to invoice)

   Proof of delivery process flowchart template: delivery attempt, signature or PIN capture, damage annotated on the receipt, POD upload and match, portal release, invoicing on the POD, disputes and retention.

4. Invoice-to-cash process flowchart

   Invoice-to-cash process flowchart for invoice issue, due-date monitoring, customer disputes, collections, cash application and receivables reconciliation.

5. Accounts receivable process flowchart (invoice to cash)

   A five-lane accounts receivable process flowchart: credit check, invoice issue, payment terms, dunning, disputes, payment plans, cash application, write-off.

6. Bank reconciliation process flowchart

   Bank reconciliation process flowchart for matching bank statements to the general ledger, resolving timing and error differences, and independent sign-off.

Also part of this family

• Order-to-cash process flowchart (order received to cash applied) — A six-lane order-to-cash process flowchart: order and master data check, credit hold and release, dispatch, proof of delivery, invoicing, cash application, short-payment deductions, dunning and write-off.

View the sequence

Financial close

The financial close is the recurring cycle that turns closed sub-ledgers into reconciled balances, an approved trial balance and a signed reporting pack. This family orders four templates in the sequence the close calendar runs them: journals approved, balances certified, the period closed, the pack issued. Alongside sit the record-to-report overview, bank reconciliation and the fixed asset lifecycle whose journals feed the close.

1. Journal entry approval workflow

   Journal entry approval workflow for evidence checks, independent review, sensitive-entry escalation, ledger posting and retained audit support.

2. Account reconciliation process flowchart

   Account reconciliation process flowchart for supporting-balance preparation, reconciling-item resolution, correction approval and independent account certification.

3. Month-end close process flowchart (calendar to sign-off)

   Month-end close process flowchart template: close calendar, sub-ledger cut-off, accruals, intercompany matching, reconciliations, journal approval, trial balance, variance analysis and CFO sign-off.

4. Financial reporting process flowchart

   Financial reporting process flowchart for reconciled reporting inputs, consolidation, variance analysis, controller review, CFO approval and management-pack issue.

Also part of this family

• Record to report process flowchart (cut-off to sign-off) — Record to report process flowchart for the period-end close: sub-ledger cut-off, accruals, intercompany matching, balance-sheet reconciliations, journal approval, consolidation, flux review, disclosure and sign-off.
• Bank reconciliation process flowchart — Bank reconciliation process flowchart for matching bank statements to the general ledger, resolving timing and error differences, and independent sign-off.
• Fixed asset management process flowchart — Fixed asset management process flowchart for capitalisation assessment, asset registration, depreciation, physical verification, transfer, impairment and disposal controls.

View the sequence

Spend governance

Spend governance is the set of gates a request passes before anyone is allowed to commit the company's money: is it in the plan, who holds the authority for this value and category, is the decision-maker conflicted, and should the thing be bought at all. This family groups the templates that make those decisions. It is a group rather than a sequence; a purchase, an expense claim and a capital project each pass through a different subset.

• Annual budget process flowchart — Annual budget process flowchart for finance assumptions, department submissions, consolidation, challenge, management approval, publication and actual-versus-plan review.
• Budget approval workflow template — Budget approval workflow template for validating a costed request, checking funding and forecast impact, routing by delegated authority, and publishing the decision.
• Purchase approval process flowchart (approval matrix by threshold) — Purchase approval process flowchart template: capex vs opex classification, budget check, delegation-of-authority approval matrix, competitive quotes threshold, preferred supplier check and specialist review.
• Expense approval process flowchart — A swimlane expense approval process template: receipt and policy check, line manager approval, value thresholds, duplicate check, VAT coding and payment.
• Conflict of interest review process decision tree — Conflict of interest review process decision tree: actual or perceived, interest type, live decision, recusal or reassignment, escalation and review dates.
• Fixed asset management process flowchart — Fixed asset management process flowchart for capitalisation assessment, asset registration, depreciation, physical verification, transfer, impairment and disposal controls.
• Make or buy decision flowchart (decision tree) — Make or buy decision flowchart: a decision tree on core capability, capacity, fully loaded cost, IP risk and supply market, ending at five named outcomes.