Accounts Payable — Module Introduction
Vendor invoices, scheduling & payments, month-end, and reporting
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Overview

The Accounts Payable (AP) module manages the full procure-to-pay lifecycle for FasTrax: entering and tracking vendor invoices, applying credits and adjustments, scheduling invoices for payment, printing and posting checks, and closing the period with auditable reporting. AP ties payables to operational files (where applicable) to minimize re-keying and ensures vendors, amounts, and supporting references stay in sync.

  • Who uses AP: AP clerks, invoice processors, accounting staff, and accounting managers.
  • What you can do: enter overhead and operational invoices, apply vendor credits, schedule invoices for payment, prepare and print checks, reconcile bank activity, close the AP period, and process 1099s (if applicable).

AP Documentation — Learning Flow

The Accounts Payable documentation is organized to support both new users and experienced accounting staff. While the system menus are transactional, the manuals are best approached in a practical learning sequence.

  1. AP Operations & Training Guide
    Start here to understand how Accounts Payable operates day-to-day, including roles, workflows, controls, and timing.
  2. AP Menu Overview
    Learn where core AP functions live and how daily tasks are accessed.
  3. Vendor Setup & Maintenance
    Understand how vendors, payment cycles, and 1099 classifications drive AP behavior.
  4. Invoice Entry & Processing
    Review how invoices are entered, approved, adjusted, and prepared for payment.
  5. Check Processing & Payments
    Learn how checks are selected, printed, reprinted, and controlled.
  6. Month-End Procedures
    Understand reconciliation, period close, and reporting responsibilities.
  7. Year-End & 1099 Processing
    Review annual compliance tasks and reporting workflows.

AP Operations & Training Guide

In addition to the detailed screen-by-screen reference manuals, FasTrax provides an Accounts Payable Operations & Training Guide designed to explain how Accounts Payable is actually run on a day-to-day basis.

This guide focuses on workflows, responsibilities, internal controls, and timing (daily processing, payment cycles, month-end, and year-end), making it ideal for new user onboarding, cross-training, and management or audit review.

Open AP Operations & Training Guide →

ATS Portal — Web Interface for Accounting

The ATS Portal provides a modern, web-based interface for Accounting managers and users. It surfaces live dashboards for A/R, A/P, billing, checks issued, scheduled payments, and work-in-process. From each widget you can drill down into the underlying vendor, payment, or file details to investigate issues or take action. Use the Portal to monitor AP aging, upcoming cash requirements, scheduled payments, and check activity throughout the day—without leaving your browser.

Note: ATS Portal is an optional add-on module; contact your ATS representative for details.

Pre-requisites

Before you begin using Accounts Payable, confirm the following setup in Maintenance and Setup & Administration. This ensures invoices schedule and post cleanly, checks print and reconcile, and month-end reporting ties out.

Vendors

  • Complete Vendor Master data: remit address, terms, contacts, and default settings.
  • Confirm vendor identifiers used for search and any required reference rules (invoice/ref/file).
  • Set 1099 options where applicable (classification, tax ID, and reporting preferences).

Bank Codes

  • Create a Bank Code for each checking account used for AP payments.
  • Confirm bank GL accounts and posting rules used for checks, voids, and reconciliation.
  • Verify check numbering, check stock alignment, and any bank lock/release controls.

Departments / Branches

  • Ensure Department/Branch lists are current and mapped to proper GL segments.
  • Assign default departments to users/locations for consistent distribution and reporting.
  • Review reporting hierarchy (region/branch/department) for AP aging and cash requirements.

AP Setup

Tip: After setup, enter a test invoice, schedule it for payment, and print a small test check to validate postings and the check register end to end.

Core Workflows

Invoice Entry

  1. Enter vendor invoices (overhead and operational, where applicable).
  2. Verify totals and references (invoice/ref/file) and confirm distributions (GL/bill code rules).
  3. Save as Open so the invoice can be scheduled for payment.

Credits, Adjustments & Corrections

  1. Enter vendor credits (credit memos) and apply to open invoices.
  2. Use invoice adjustments to handle short/over/rounding differences per policy.
  3. Use void/remove/renumber utilities for check corrections with a documented audit trail.

Scheduling & Payment

  1. Set or modify schedule dates to manage cash flow and due dates.
  2. Select scheduled invoices and run the Scheduled Invoices Report for review.
  3. Prepare and print checks (or batch entry & print), then post to update balances and registers.

Month-End Close

  1. Reconcile bank activity and verify check register and reconciliation reports.
  2. Close the AP period once all payments and corrections are finalized.
  3. Archive period reports and process 1099s (if applicable).

Prerequisites & Setup

Master Data

  • Vendors, payment terms, and remit addresses maintained in Vendor Master.
  • Bank codes, check formats, and posting rules defined in Setup & Maintenance.
  • Departments/branches mapped correctly to GL segments to ensure accurate AP posting and reporting.

Controls

  • User roles and approval limits configured for invoice entry, scheduling, and check processing.
  • Bank lock/release procedures established to safeguard check printing and posting.
  • 1099 configuration and retention policies defined for year-end compliance (if applicable).

KPIs & Reports

Operational

  • A/P Aging (by vendor, department/branch)
  • Invoice entry-to-approval / entry-to-schedule turnaround time
  • Open credits / unapplied vendor credits

Finance

  • Cash requirements and upcoming scheduled payments
  • Check volume / void & adjustment trend
  • Accrual completeness (paid not billed / billed not paid where applicable)

Security & Roles

  • AP Entry — enter vendor invoices and credits; limited correction permissions.
  • Scheduling — select scheduled invoices and manage payment dates; cannot modify setup.
  • Payments — prepare/print checks and post payments; access should be tightly controlled.
  • Reports — run aging, registers, reconciliation, and audit reports.
  • Admin — setup, bank controls, period close, purge, and 1099 configuration.

Integrations

  • Document/Email — export and distribute check registers, worksheets, and audit reports.
  • Bank Processes — reconciliation supported through check/register reporting and statement review.
  • GL Posting — summarized or detailed postings to your accounting system based on AP setup.

Tips & Best Practices

  • Use Inquiries to confirm invoice or check status before making corrections.
  • Standardize invoice and reference number entry to prevent duplicates.
  • Run the Scheduled Invoices Report before printing checks to validate totals and dates.
  • Document void/remove/renumber actions with remarks for audit trail.
  • Archive check registers and reconciliation reports as part of month-end close.

Accounts Payable — Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between the AP Reference Manual pages and the AP Operations & Training Guide?

The Reference Manual pages explain each screen (what every field does, what the commands mean, and what gets updated). The Operations & Training Guide explains how AP is run—recommended workflows, roles, internal controls, timing (daily/weekly/month-end), and common operational scenarios.

For new users, start with AP Operations & Training Guide, then use the menu pages as “how-to” references as you work.

Where do I start if I’m brand new to AP in FasTrax?

A practical starting path is: Vendor Setup → Invoice Entry → Check Run / Payments → Inquiries → Month-End. The AP index page includes a recommended reading order, and the menu pages below contain the detailed field help:

Which menu should I use for a task: Entries, Inquiries, Month-End, or Setup?

A good rule of thumb: Entries = create/update transactions, Inquiries = find/validate history and status, Month-End = reconcile/close/audit support, Setup = configuration and master data.

Use the AP hub page as your starting point: AP Menu.

Who should have access to AP Setup & Maintenance?

Setup & Maintenance controls how vendors are paid and how AP behaves system-wide. Access should be limited to authorized accounting/admin staff, and changes should follow your internal approval process (especially bank, check, and vendor settings).

Best practice: keep routine AP users in Entries and Inquiries and restrict Setup, Purge, and Period controls to supervisors.

Can AP be closed without closing AR and GL?

Yes. FasTrax allows you to close the AP period while leaving AR and GL open. However, closing the GL period typically affects both AR and AP, so coordinate period controls with accounting leadership.

Periods can be re-opened if needed, but this should be done only with extreme caution and documented approval. See: Close AP Period.

Why can’t I find a vendor when entering an invoice?

Common causes include: the vendor is inactive, the search key/name is different than expected, or the vendor record has not been created in the AP Vendor Master. Confirm the vendor exists and is active in: Vendor Master.

What are Vendor Comments used for?

Vendor Comments are internal notes displayed during entry and/or payment processing (depending on configuration). Use them for reminders such as “send remittance email,” “requires PO,” “hold until approved,” or special payment instructions.

Best practice: keep comments short, operational, and current—avoid storing sensitive data in free-text fields.

How do I place a vendor on payment hold (or release a hold)?

Holds are typically managed from the Vendor Master record. Use holds for compliance/credit disputes, banking changes pending verification, or management review. Always document why the hold was placed and who approved it.

See: Vendor Master.

Should invoices be entered in batch mode or immediate (one-at-a-time) mode?

Use batch entry when you have many invoices and want a review checkpoint before posting. Use immediate entry when you need a single invoice posted quickly (for example, an urgent payment).

Best practice: use batch entry for routine AP work and reserve immediate posting for exceptions approved by AP leadership.

How do I prevent duplicate invoices?

Before entering a new invoice, search the vendor’s open items and history using AP Inquiries. If your process receives invoices from multiple sources (email + paper + EDI), enforce a single intake queue and a single “entered by” checkpoint.

Best practice: standardize on vendor invoice number rules (case, hyphens, leading zeros) to reduce accidental duplicates.

My invoice distribution doesn’t tie out to the total—what should I check?

Verify the distribution lines (GL accounts, amounts/percentages, tax/freight lines if applicable) and confirm the invoice total matches the sum of distributions. If you are using templates, confirm the template is still appropriate for the vendor.

If a control total is available on the entry screen, use it as a quick balancing check before posting.

What should I do if a check run was interrupted and the system says the bank is locked?

If a user was disconnected during a check run, FasTrax may retain a safety lock to prevent duplicate payments. Use the Release Bank Lock function only after confirming whether checks were printed and whether any payments were posted.

Best practice: document the incident, confirm the last check number printed, and verify payment status in inquiries before releasing the lock.

When should I use “Re-Print Checks”?

Use Re-Print Checks only when a check was generated but did not physically print (printer issue, jam, incorrect tray, etc.) and you need to reprint the same check without recreating the payment.

Best practice: confirm the check did not print and was not distributed before reprinting. Keep voided/failed stock for audit.

How do I handle a voided or lost check?

Standard practice is to void the original check (so it cannot clear the bank) and reissue a replacement if payment is still required. Always coordinate void/reissue steps with bank reconciliation so your check register and bank activity remain aligned.

See: Bank Reconciliation.

Why isn’t a vendor appearing when I build the 1099 file?

The most common causes are:

  • The vendor is not marked as 1099-eligible in the vendor setup.
  • The vendor is missing (or has an incorrect) 1099 type code.
  • Payments were made outside the selected tax year, or were coded to non-1099 amounts.

Start with the vendor record, then run the 1099 build/proof process again: 1099 Processing.

What’s the recommended workflow for 1099 processing?

A reliable year-end sequence is: Build 1099 File → Print Proof Report → Edit/Correct Records → Print/Finalize 1099s. Use the proof report to catch vendor setup issues early, before printing forms.

See: 1099 Processing.

Why don’t my totals match between AP and the General Ledger?

First confirm you are comparing the same period and cutoff. Then verify: invoices are posted, payments are posted, and no period was reopened without an audit trail. If you use accruals or timing differences, ensure those entries are included in the comparison.

Best practice: reconcile AP sub-ledger to GL at month-end using a consistent report set and save the reconciliation output for audit support.

When should AP Purge be used?

AP Purge should be used only with manager approval (or after consulting ATS) because it can permanently remove historical records. Purge decisions should align with your retention policy and audit requirements.

See: AP Purge.