Procure to pay is the process that integrates purchasing and accounts payable systems. It’s part of the wider procurement management process and involves four key stages:

1. Selection of goods and services
2. Enforcement of compliance and order
3. Receiving and reconciliation
4. Invoicing and payment

Digitalizing your procure-to-pay process with procure-to-pay software can strengthen compliance and control among vendors, contracts, regulations, buyers, and accounts payable. Procure-to-pay solutions help you automate processes so you can buy from preferred suppliers at negotiated prices without manual paperwork. This helps you actively control and improve global spend, reduce manual errors, streamline catalog maintenance, and speed up approval of new suppliers.

SAP Ariba Buying and Invoicing is a software-as-a-service solution. It provides ease of use, compliance, and flexibility throughout the procure-to-pay process. From small, growing companies to large enterprises, this procure-to-pay software helps organizations streamline catalog maintenance, simplify commerce, and efficiently manage workflows for procure to pay.

Intuitive tools provide users with straightforward ways to search for goods and services. Meanwhile, guided buying functionality, preconfigured approval workflows, budget checks, and contract management capabilities help ensure compliant spend.

The procure-to-pay solution also enables the creation and validation of invoices from buyers, suppliers, and third parties. Based on user-defined business rules, invoices are systematically matched against POs, contracts, and receipts with invalid invoices sent back to suppliers. After validation, the procure-to-pay solution begins exception handling and workflow approval, which includes automatic escalation and delegation to help ensure that invoices are processed quickly and effectively. After final approval, invoices can be directly linked to your integrated payment process.

Procure to pay is not the same as accounts payable. Procure to pay is the end-to-end process that enables procurement and accounts payable teams to buy and then pay vendors for goods or services. Organizations often use procure-to-pay software to digitalize and automate key procure-to-pay activities while guiding buyers to comply with procurement rules. The invoice management and payment steps of the procure-to-pay process are handled by the accounts payable team.