What Is The Standard AP Process Shops Follow?

1️⃣ Capture Every Invoice Immediately (Invoice-First)

AP starts the moment the invoice exists — not when the statement arrives.

Best practice:

• Every parts, sublet, and shop supply invoice is captured daily

• Invoices are digitized and centralized

• Credits are captured the same day they’re issued

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2️⃣ Validate the Invoice Against Operations

Every invoice must answer one question:

“Where did this money go?”

Invoices should be validated against:

• Repair Orders (Was the part sold?)

• Inventory (Was it stocked?)

• Credits (Was it credited?)

This step creates accountability and catches:

• Parts bought but not sold

• Missing RO charges

• Mis-keyed or forgotten parts

• Returns never credited

• Theft/Loss

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3️⃣ Reconcile Continuously — Not Monthly

Reconciliation should happen throughout the month, not during a panic window.

Best practice reconciliation checks:

• Invoice ↔ RO

• Invoice ↔ Credit

• Invoice ↔ Inventory/Shop Supplies/Employee Purchase/Etc.

When this is done daily, month-end becomes a formality.

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4️⃣ Code Every Invoice to a Final State

Invoices should not sit in limbo.

Each invoice must be confidently coded as:

• Sold to customer

• Inventory purchase

• Credited

• Other verified means

Coding = accountability.
Uncoded invoices hide loss.

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5️⃣ Pay Vendors Only After Validation

Payment should be the final step, not the first.

Before paying:

• All statement line items must have invoices

• All invoices must be coded to where the money went

• All exceptions must be resolved

This flips AP from “pay and hope” to “verify and pay.”

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6️⃣ Close the Month in One Day

When AP is worked daily:

• Statements close instantly (if uploaded all received invoices)

• Variances are already resolved

• There are no surprises

• Get you discount and start working on new invoices

Month-end becomes a checkpoint — not a fire drill.

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Why Shops Struggle to Do This Manually

This process is correct — but impossible to sustain without automation.

That’s why WickedFile exists:

• For shops that don't have a refined AP process today:
  

  • Creates and standardizes an AP process with lessons learned from top shops

  • Enforces invoice-first AP, not statement waiting AP

  • Reconciles invoices automatically

  • Surfaces only exceptions

  • Protects margins daily instead of monthly

• For shops that do have an AP process today:
  

  • Streamlines existing AP processes, while also increasing accuracy and visibility

  • Enforces invoice-first AP, not statement waiting AP

  • Reconciles invoices automatically for massive labor savings

  • Surfaces only exceptions

  • Protects margins daily instead of monthly

It turns best practice into standard practice.