3 Ways to Automate AP Without Going Full Skynet

Let’s be real; automation in Accounts Payable can feel like a slippery slope. First, you automate approvals. Then someone suggests robotic invoice capture. Next thing you know, you’re in a full AI-led procurement cycle and no one can explain why that vendor got paid twice. Yes, that's a real question that happens, but to be fair, happens with humans as well.

If your team wants to automate without overengineering, this one’s for you. We’re talking about real-world, practical AP automation that actually works in Dynamics 365 Finance. No full-on Skynet. Just enough tech to save you time and sanity.

Workflow Automation for Invoice Approvals

You know that invoice that’s been sitting in someone’s email inbox for two weeks? Yeah, that’s your month-end delay.

D365 comes with built-in workflow functionality that routes invoice approvals based on user roles, amounts, financial dimensions, or even vendor groups. Once configured, this gives you a reliable process where:

• Invoices above $10,000 go to Procurement

• Construction invoices get routed to Project Accounting

• Recurring utility invoices can auto-approve

Bonus tip: You can set escalations and expiration times. That way, if someone’s on vacation or ghosting their workflow tasks, the invoice doesn’t just sit there.

Automate Payment Proposals (Yes, You Can Still Have Control)

D365's payment proposal functionality is like a smart assistant who lines up all the payments you could make and lets you pick which ones actually go out the door.

Here’s what you can control:

• Due date logic (due today, due within 3 days, etc.)

• Cash discounts (take them if they’re available)

• Payment method or vendor group filters

• Bank account selection by legal entity

Here's a handy Microsoft Learn link in case ya wanna know more about this one.

You can also simulate and save proposals before generating payment journals. So even though it’s automated, you’re never flying blind.

OCR and Invoice Capture Tools That Actually Work

Let’s talk about the part no one wants to deal with (no, not even those accountants that look forward to busy season)... manually keying invoice data. If you're still doing this, it’s not a character flaw, but it is a productivity drain.

OCR (optical character recognition) solutions can scan PDFs or emailed invoices and pull out data like:

• Vendor name and number

• Invoice number and amount

• PO match or non-PO flag

• Date fields, tax lines, and line-level charges

These tools feed directly into D365 and often create pending invoices automatically. Some even tie in to approval workflows or flag duplicates before they’re processed.

Two heavy hitters in the D365 AP automation space:

• ExFlow – great for companies using standard invoice journals and wanting tight workflow controls

• Medius – excels at scaling invoice capture and approval, especially across multiple entities

You don’t need a robot army to automate Accounts Payable. You just need the right balance between human checks and digital muscle. Start with workflow, layer in payment proposals, and if you're ready.... let OCR tools do the heavy lifting on data entry.

And remember, make sure you're saying please and thank you to your AI.

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