Accounts Payable Outsourcing Services

MANAGED AP OPERATIONS | TRAINED ANALYSTS AND AUTOMATION 

Accounts Payable Outsourcing Services for High Volume Finance Teams 

Build an accounts payable operation that delivers the result your business needs—not another team for you to manage.

  • Keep invoice, approval and payment workflows moving with clear ownership.
  • Resolve the exceptions and vendor issues that hold up completion.
  • Measure quality, turnaround and the agreed operating results.

Share your invoice volumes, entities, systems and the bottlenecks you need resolved. You do not need a finished process or technical specification.

Documented Controls | Defined Service Levels | NDA Available | Email Follow-Up

ARDEM provides managed accounts payable outsourcing for recurring, high-volume and multi-entity operations. We can design and build a new AP solution, improve a fragmented process, or take responsibility for an established operation.

Accounting expertise, automation, programmatic validation and system connections work together to deliver the agreed result. ARDEM manages execution, follows exceptions through resolution and acts on recurring issues—not just the processing queue.

AP outsourcing questions

  • Scale invoice processing without continually adding internal headcount 
  • Improve control over pending invoices and approval delays 
  • Support PO and non PO invoice workflows 
  • Reduce time spent managing routine exceptions and vendor inquiries 
  • Track accuracy, turnaround time, aging and SLA performance 

Trusted Accounts Payable outsourcing partner for secure,
scalable finance operations

ARDEM Partnership Logos

Defined Access and Responsibilities

Validation and Quality Review

Traceable Follow-Through

Is Your Accounts Payable Workload Outgrowing Your Team? 

Growing invoices, volumes, multiple intake channels, and unresolved exceptions can make it difficult for internal AP teams to maintain speed, accuracy, and visibility. 

Your finance team may be dealing with: 

  • Invoices arriving through email, vendor portals, EDI and scanned documents 
  • Growing queues of unmatched or incomplete invoices 
  • Repeated follow up with approvers 
  • Manual data entry across multiple systems 
  • Limited visibility into pending invoices and exception causes 
  • Seasonal volume increases and staffing constraints 
  • Vendor inquiries consuming internal team capacity 
  • Inconsistent procedures across entities, locations or business units 

ARDEM can take responsibility for the defined AP workflow and agreed result, with approval and authorization controls documented for the engagement.

Accountable for AP Results, Not Just Processing Activity

We agree what success means for your AP operation, build the workflow and controls to deliver it, and manage performance against those outcomes. When issues threaten the result, ARDEM owns the follow-through and corrective action—not just the status report.

The operating model defines accounting rules, approval thresholds, access, payment authorization and escalation paths. Depending on the engagement, ARDEM can prepare payment files or execute authorized payments within those controls. Responsibilities are documented before production, with clear action owners and no ambiguity about what must happen next.

Case Study

On-Time Payments Across More Than 500 Retail Locations

For a global retailer, ARDEM helped maintain vendor and utility payment continuity across more than 500 locations. The managed workflow combined invoice processing, urgent payment prioritization, vendor follow-through, store-level utility tracking and backup coverage.

The published engagement reports 100% on-time vendor and utility payments while supporting more than 3,000 vendor invoices weekly and more than 500 utility bills monthly.

See the retail payment workflow and documented results.

Managing utility bills across many locations as a distinct workstream? Explore utility bill accounts payable services for bill validation, payment readiness, due-date controls and exception follow-through, or multi-site utility bill management for the wider account and provider operation.

Protecting AP Continuity Across 15+ Global Entities During a Coupa Migration

During a Coupa migration spanning more than 15 entities, ARDEM combined knowledge transfer, daily invoice processing, supplier adoption and specialist exception follow-through. Pending invoices fell from approximately 150 to 80 per week while the team maintained AP continuity through the transition.

Managed Accounts Payable Services Across the Invoice Lifecycle 

You can outsource selected activities or establish a broader managed AP workflow based on your existing operating model. 

Invoice Intake and Processing 

ARDEM can manage invoices received through AP inboxes, vendor portals, EDI feeds, scanned documents and other approved channels. 

Services can include: 

  • Invoice receipt and indexing 
  • Data capture and required field validation 
  • Duplicate invoice checks 
  • Vendor and entity validation 
  • GL account and cost center coding support 
  • PO and non PO invoice processing 
  • Two way and three way matching support 
  • Invoice routing based on established business rules 

Exception Management and Approval Follow Up 

Invoices often remain unpaid because information is missing, quantities do not match, coding is incomplete or approvals have not been completed. 

ARDEM can support: 

  • Missing PO and receipt follow up 
  • Price and quantity discrepancy tracking 
  • Missing coding or documentation follow up 
  • Approval status monitoring 
  • Exception categorization and reason codes 
  • Coordination with authorized internal teams 
  • Documentation of actions and resolutions 
  • Backlog cleanup during transitions or volume peaks 

Vendor Communication and AP Support 

ARDEM can manage approved vendor communication activities so your internal team spends less time responding to routine requests. 

Support can include: 

  • Monitoring designated AP mailboxes 
  • Responding to invoice status inquiries 
  • Requesting missing documents or corrected invoices 
  • Tracking vendor statements 
  • Supporting statement reconciliation 
  • Escalating disputes according to agreed procedures 
  • Maintaining a documented communication history 

Payment Operations and Month-End Support

The managed scope can include payment-run preparation, due-date prioritization, payment files, authorized payment execution, status follow-through and reconciliation support. ARDEM works within the agreed authorization controls and follows unresolved items through the actions needed to complete the payment workflow.

Support can include: 

  • Payment run preparation 
  • Duplicate payment control checks 
  • Due date and priority review 
  • Vendor master verification support where permitted 
  • Payment status tracking 
  • Reconciliation support 
  • Accrual support inputs 
  • Open item and aging reviews 
  • Month end close readiness 

Reporting and SLA Management 

ARDEM can provide reporting on: 

  • Invoices received, processed and pending 
  • Average processing time 
  • Invoice aging 
  • Exception volumes and categories 
  • Approval bottlenecks 
  • Processing accuracy 
  • SLA attainment 
  • Backlog movement 
  • Payment readiness status 
  • Volume and productivity trends 

Build and Connect the AP Workflow Your Business Needs

ARDEM can build a new AP workflow or improve the operation you already have. We define intake channels, entity-specific rules, validation, matching, approvals, exceptions and required outputs around the result—not around a fixed staffing model.

The solution can work in your approved AP or ERP environment, use ARDEM technology, or connect both. Integrations may use APIs, scheduled exchanges or secure files, depending on system capabilities and review requirements. Design includes field mapping, access, reconciliation and handling failed or rejected transfers.

Automation handles suitable repeatable steps. AP specialists investigate missing information, mismatches and cases requiring judgment. We test ordinary invoices, difficult exceptions and downstream acceptance before expanding production.

Built for More Than 33,000 Monthly Invoices and an ERP Transition

A national energy distributor needed reliable invoice information ahead of an IFS migration. ARDEM built a controlled operation for more than 33,000 main invoices and approximately 4,000 utility invoices monthly, combining intake, vendor and GL validation, quality review and exception management.

Invoice images were available within 24 hours; structured XLS data followed a five-day delivery schedule. Those were distinct deliverables within the engagement.

Read the ERP-ready AP and utility bill processing case study.

Share your invoice volumes, entities, systems and the bottlenecks you need resolved. You do not need a finished process or technical specification.

How the Accounts Payable Process Works Step by Step

  1. Define the result. Review volumes, systems, business rules and the current backlog. Agree the required output, quality measures, delivery windows and responsibility for exceptions.
  2. Design, build and test. Configure the workflow, validation, matching and system connections. Test representative invoices and exceptions, document procedures and confirm acceptance criteria.
  3. Run the operation. Manage invoice processing, approval follow-through, vendor communication and the agreed payment activities. Track each item through completion or a defined resolution path.
  4. Measure, correct and improve. Review performance against the agreed results. Address missed measures, investigate recurring causes and implement approved improvements.
Accounts Payable Process

AP Results Your Finance Team Can Measure

Success is more than the number of invoices touched. Measures can include accepted invoice output, processing turnaround, pending-item age, exception resolution, rework and on-time payment performance where payment operations are included.

Before production, ARDEM and your team define each measure, its baseline, the start and stop points of the service clock, and the dependencies that affect completion. Reporting connects the target, actual performance, reason for a gap, action owner and next step.

Recurring supplier issues, missing receipts, coding corrections and approval delays can reveal where the operation needs to change. ARDEM validates those patterns, recommends practical improvements and owns the work to implement approved changes within scope.

Request an AP Consultation

A Sr. ARDEM Accounts Payable Consultant will contact you by email to discuss your requirements.

Partner with ARDEM

See How Satisfied Our Clients Are

Share your invoice volumes, entities, systems and the bottlenecks you need resolved. You do not need a finished process or technical specification.

Choosing the Right Accounts Payable Operating Model

Accounts payable outsourcing can cover selected activities or a broader operation. Start with the result you need, the work preventing it today and the responsibilities you want a partner to take on. For focused capture, validation and matching requirements, explore managed invoice processing services.

Managed AP, Additional Staff or Automation?

Additional staff can be appropriate when your organization already has strong processes and supervision. Software can suit standardized work when an internal team can maintain the rules, resolve exceptions and manage adoption. A managed service combines the required people, technology, controls and delivery ownership around agreed results.

These approaches can be combined. ARDEM can build and run a solution using your systems and suitable automation, rather than requiring a choice between technology and human expertise.

Compare the Complete Cost and Responsibility

Compare implementation, integrations, recurring processing, quality review, exception work, reporting and the internal effort you will retain. A lower unit price is not a complete comparison when the scopes or required outcomes differ.

Ask who owns rejected records, missing documentation, approval follow-up, vendor questions and performance gaps. Request evidence from a workflow with comparable complexity—not an unqualified accuracy or savings promise.

Implementing Managed AP With ARDEM

We begin with the outcome, required controls and current operating gaps. Where a process exists, knowledge transfer, shadowing and sample review help preserve what works. Where it does not, ARDEM can design the workflow, documentation, validation and system connections.

Test Before Expanding

Representative PO and non-PO invoices, difficult formats and exception scenarios are used to test the process. The plan defines access, training, acceptance, delivery windows and the path into production rather than promising a universal setup time.

Capacity With Delivery Ownership

Capacity planning, trained backup coverage and production review support changing volumes. Quality checks and exception handling remain part of the operating model as the workload grows.

Follow-Through to the Agreed Result

Processing, payment activity and review cadence follow the agreed scope and authorization controls. When an item cannot move forward, ARDEM identifies what is missing, pursues resolution and keeps its owner and next action clear.

System and Access Readiness

The transition defines approved systems, user access, reference data and handoffs before production. The workflow is tested in the intended environment so responsibilities and downstream acceptance are clear.

Quality and Escalation Controls

Documented validation, quality review and escalation paths support the agreed requirements. Exceptions and recurring errors are tracked so corrective action has a clear owner.

Accounting Systems We Are Experts In

Accounting System Expert in Concur
Accounting System Expert in Microsoft Dynamics
Accounting System Expert in Bill.com
Accounting System Expert in Netsuit
Accounting System Expert in Sage
Accounting System Expert in SAP Business One
Accounting System Expert in Quickbooks
Accounting System Expert in XERO
Accounting System Expert in SAP
Accounting System Expert in Oracle PeopleSoft
Accounting System Expert in Jaggaer
Accounting System Expert in Coupa

Can I Use My Current Account Payable System?

Yes. The ARDEM Account Payable Services team will Work in Your System

Your Account Payable team members are trained in most of the commonly used Account Payable systems. Very often they also have experience of working in these systems. They are all college educated with accounting degrees and you benefit from their experience in Accounts Payable. Incorporating ARDEM’s accounting outsourcing services ensures that your processes are managed efficiently, leveraging the latest industry best practices.

Every Accounts Payable Outsourcing assignment begins with training of the team members on your specific accounting system, and your specific work processes. Thereafter the ARDEM team leads ensure that your Account Payable team members are performing the outsourced Accounts Payable tasks as per your requirements and are meeting and exceeding your expectations.

Every accounts payable outsourcing assignment starts with the training on your accounting system and your accounts payable process flow. Accounts Payable team members follow accounts payable processing best practices. They complete your outsourced Accounts Payable tasks to meet and exceed your expectations. By partnering with an Accounts Payable services company, you gain access to specialized expertise and advanced technologies designed to improve the efficiency of your Accounts Payables management. By choosing to outsource AP services, you ensure that your accounts payable operations are handled by experts who can streamline processes and improve overall efficiency.

Share your invoice volumes, entities, systems and the bottlenecks you need resolved. You do not need a finished process or technical specification.

accounts payable outsourcing services

Account Payable Tasks You Can Outsource

Accounting Process Improvement with Accounts Payable Outsourcing

Improve your accounts payable process with these 19 essential tasks for accurate and efficient invoice processing.

Daily Accounts Payable Department Tasks That You Can Outsource

Accounts payable outsourcing is simple.

For higher accuracy and faster processing ARDEM recommends that all processing be done on our cloud platforms. Cloud platforms allow use of the latest business process automation technologies for delivery of accounts payable services. We use our deep domain knowledge to configure the best accounts payable outsourcing solution for you. In this accounts payable outsourcing workflow all you need to do is to send the work to us. This could be documents attached to emails, or documents transmitted to us.  We do the processing on our cloud platforms, and the output is transmitted back to you.

Our accounts payable outsourcing services also accommodate accounts payable outsourcing solutions where we work on your platforms. In such outsourcing solutions we recruit the best talent and train them for remote work in your environment on your outsourced process. As in the above, our accounts payable outsourcing solution manages the outsourced process to achieve the desired results.

Moving from In-house Accounts Payable to Outsourcing Accounts Payable Process

  • Idea Bulb

    Understand The As-Is Account Payable Process

    What is your current Account Payable Process? How automated is your Accounts Payable Process? What is your current AP team size? What Account Payable application do you use? What is Account Payable Approval workflow?

  • Plan To do

    Plan for Outsourcing Accounts Payable Process

    What is your desired timeline for Outsourcing your Accounts Payable tasks? How will vendor invoices be received by ARDEM? Does ARDEM work on our Account Payable platform, or do we work in your AP system?

  • Transition

    How Do we Implement The Outsourced Accounts Payable Process

    We learn your Account Payable Process through your Account Payable experts by shadowing, reverse shadowing and parallel perform. To prepare for the outsourcing of your business process we utilize your training videos and work instructions to create Account Payable process training aids. We train your AP team members as needed, in the Account Payable application.

  • Production Factory

    Now we are Ready to Start Account Payable Processing for You

    Your Account Payable team are selected from accounting graduates with multiple years of accounts payable experience. Many have experience in the accounting system you use. We train your AP team on your Account payable process. Cloud based ARDEM Workspace is configured for your accounts payable team.  Training is provided on accounts payable workflow, and Performance Metrics for accounts payable are defined. Now your Account Payable team is ready to work for you.

Accounts Payable Outsourcing vs In-house AP Automation

Staffing, automation and managed AP can each fit different operating needs. Use the operating-model comparison above to evaluate the complete scope, responsibilities, controls and retained internal effort rather than assuming one model is always best.

Technology Within the Managed AP Service

ARDEM Invoice Manager can support invoice intake, validation, approval routing, exception tracking and reporting where it fits the solution. It is an optional delivery component, not a replacement ERP your business must adopt.

From Capture to Accepted Output

OCR and AI-assisted extraction can prepare invoice data for programmatic checks and specialist review. Approved system connections return information in the agreed format and cadence, with a process for failed transfers and rejected records.

Find and Address Recurring Problems

Processing and exception data can show recurring bottlenecks. ARDEM reviews the evidence with your team, identifies practical actions and measures results when a reliable baseline and follow-up data are available.

Share your invoice volumes, entities, systems and the bottlenecks you need resolved. You do not need a finished process or technical specification.

Questions About Working With ARDEM

What types of businesses are a good fit for ARDEM’s accounts payable outsourcing services?

ARDEM’s managed AP services are designed for businesses with recurring invoice workloads, complex processing requirements or operations spanning multiple entities and systems. Common needs include growing invoice volumes, unresolved exceptions, vendor inquiries and approval delays. We review your workload and operating requirements to determine the appropriate service scope.

Can ARDEM manage selected AP activities or a broader accounts payable operation?

Yes. An engagement can cover selected activities, such as invoice processing or vendor statement reconciliation, or a broader AP workflow. We define the responsibilities, systems, business rules, quality checks and reporting required for the agreed scope. ARDEM manages ongoing execution and tracks outstanding work and exceptions through resolution.

What determines the cost of accounts payable outsourcing?

Pricing depends on invoice volume, document complexity, entities, coding and matching rules, exception workload, systems, turnaround and the activities ARDEM manages. A useful proposal separates implementation and integration from recurring processing, quality review, vendor support and reporting.

We review representative invoices, the current operation and the result you need. This makes the comparison reflect the complete service—including the work your team would otherwise retain—not just a price per invoice.

Published cost example: In a utility and invoice document-processing engagement, ARDEM reported a 30% reduction in processing cost using automation-assisted extraction, normalization and human quality review. That is a result from the documented engagement, not a standard AP discount or energy-cost saving. Review the processing-cost case study.

How are AP turnaround times and urgent invoices managed?

We define processing windows, cutoffs, priority rules and escalation paths around the operation. Invoice intake, validated output, approval completion and payment execution are different milestones; each needs a clear measure. ARDEM tracks blocked items and owns follow-through on the actions needed to move them forward. Volume, source quality and approval or system dependencies inform the agreed service levels.

Can accounts payable data help us identify opportunities to improve the business?

Yes. Depending on the available data and service scope, AP reporting can show recurring exception causes, approval bottlenecks, coding corrections, vendor discrepancies and workload patterns. Reviewing these patterns helps finance teams identify where changes to purchasing, documentation or approval processes could reduce rework and improve efficiency.

What happens after I submit an AP inquiry?

A Sr. ARDEM Accounts Payable Consultant will follow up by email to understand your requirements. Useful starting information includes your invoice volumes, accounting systems, entities involved and the challenges you want to address. Where appropriate, we involve AP operations and technology specialists to help define the next steps.

Controls for Accountable AP Delivery

Defined Access and Responsibilities

The solution specifies authorized systems, access roles, data-handling procedures and responsibilities for each stage of delivery.

Validation and Quality Review

Documented rules, review checks and exception paths help confirm that work meets the agreed processing and output requirements.

Traceable Follow-Through

Work status, unresolved items, action owners and recurring performance reviews make responsibility visible throughout the operation. Applicable security and assurance documentation is reviewed for the systems and scope proposed.

ARDEM Resources

Case Studies

Case Studies to help your understand ARDEM Outsourcing.

Blogs

Latest ARDEM Blogs to help you keep up to date on Outsourcing.

White Papers

ARDEM White Papers to help your understand a Industry.

Accounts Payable Outsourcing Services

Tell Us the AP Result You Need

Share your invoice volumes, entities, systems and the outcome you want to improve—whether you need a new solution built, a backlog resolved, or an ongoing AP operation managed. A Sr. ARDEM Accounts Payable Consultant will follow up by email and involve operations and technology specialists where needed.

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