The Accounts Payable Specialist supports accurate, timely, and well-controlled accounts payable operations in an automated environment. The role administers vendor onboarding and payability, reviews invoices and supporting documentation for accuracy and compliance with payment terms, contracts, memoranda of understanding (MOUs), organizational policies, and internal controls, and manages invoice exceptions through resolution. The Specialist prepares and circulates open-invoice reports to senior staff, prepares payment batches in the accounts payable automation platform, completes authorized manual and ACH payments for vendors outside the platform, maintains complete accounts payable records, and supports month-end close and audit activities.
Essential Responsibilities
- Administer vendor onboarding in the accounts payable automation platform, including initiating setup, collecting and reviewing required tax, banking, contact, and compliance documentation, and following up with vendors to complete registration.
- Confirm that vendors are approved and payable before invoices are scheduled for payment, including verification of required onboarding information, payment method, tax documentation, banking validation status, and any applicable compliance requirements.
- Maintain accurate vendor records and organized supporting files; coordinate independently verified changes to vendor banking, remit-to, tax, and contact information and support periodic inactive-vendor and duplicate-vendor reviews.
- Monitor invoices submitted through the designated accounts payable channel and automation platform, route them through the appropriate workflow, and track incomplete, rejected, held, or exception items through resolution.
- Review invoices for vendor identity, invoice number and date, mathematical accuracy, duplicate risk, payment terms, due date, required supporting documentation, and appropriate authorization.
- Validate invoices against applicable purchase orders, contracts, memoranda of understanding (MOUs), approved budgets, and other documented commitments; escalate pricing, quantity, scope, term, approval, or documentation discrepancies before payment.
- Communicate promptly with vendors and internal stakeholders to resolve onboarding, invoice, approval, coding, contract, credit, and payment-status issues while maintaining a clear audit trail.
- Prepare and circulate recurring open-invoice, aging, exception, and approval-status reports to senior staff and budget owners; identify overdue approvals, approaching due dates, payment holds, available discounts, and other items requiring action.
- Prepare payment batches in the accounts payable automation platform based on approved invoices, payment terms, due dates, organizational cash-management direction, and documented payment priorities; submit batches for required review and authorization.
- Prepare and execute authorized manual payments and ACH transactions for vendors or obligations processed outside the accounts payable automation platform, following required approval, banking-verification, documentation, and segregation-of-duties controls.
- Record or coordinate the recording of off-platform payments in the accounting system and accounts payable automation platform, as applicable, so vendor balances, payment histories, and the general ledger remain complete and accurate.
- Reconcile vendor statements and accounts payable records; research and resolve missing or duplicate invoices, unapplied credits, balance discrepancies, stale payments, and vendor inquiries.
- Review expense card platform and purchasing activity for approval, itemized receipts, documented business purpose, statement agreement, and accurate accounting distribution; research discrepancies and prepare records for independent review.
- Maintain Form W-9 records and prepare supporting data for year-end Form 1099 reporting, including review of vendor classifications and payment totals before final validation and filing.
- Support month-end accounts payable cutoff, accrual identification, subledger-to-general-ledger reconciliation, contract and MOU tracking, audit requests, and preparation of supporting schedules.
- Maintain confidentiality and comply with organizational policies, grant and donor requirements, accounting procedures, records-retention requirements, and internal controls.
- Associate degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
- At least two years of accounts payable, bookkeeping, or related accounting experience.
- Working knowledge of automated invoice workflows, vendor onboarding and payability requirements, invoice validation, general ledger coding, payment terms, contracts and MOUs, vendor reconciliations, and accounts payable controls.
