The operating view for accounts payable
Keep every invoice moving, from intake to a controlled decision.
ApprovalNorth gives AP teams one place to review invoice state, approval paths, SLA risk, exceptions, evidence, and weekly performance.
The ApprovalNorth platform
One working system for the whole operation.
Each module answers a different question. Together they give the team a shared record of what exists, what needs attention, who decides, and what happened next.
Invoice register
Review the working state of every open invoice without passing documents through the public site.
Approval paths
Keep stages, owner roles, and the expected next decision visible.
SLA control
See which approvals are on track, approaching a limit, or already outside policy.
Exceptions
Separate missing evidence, stalled decisions, and invalid input before follow-up.
Evidence
Retain the rule and source state behind every item surfaced for attention.
Analytics
Compare queue health and stage movement across reporting periods and entities.
Where the work gets stuck
The system is rarely the whole problem.
For controllers, ap managers, outsourced bookkeepers, and fractional cfo teams.
Approvals sit in inboxes until close becomes a fire drill.
Sync errors and unclear states force finance teams to chase support and recheck the ledger.
Generic reminders create noise because they do not explain the exception or next owner.
AP Control Monitoring · managed delivery
A ranked weekly list of stuck approvals and the right next owner.
We keep the records, definitions, checks, exceptions, and review pack moving across the six-module model. Your team keeps every decision that carries financial, legal, operational, or customer impact.
- Elapsed-time and SLA calculations from metadata only
- One owner and one evidence-backed next action per exception
- Weekly trend showing whether the queue is actually improving
Evaluate the product
Everything you need to decide whether this fits.
Explore the application model, exact deliverable, input boundary, rollout, and trade-offs before you share operational data.
Product tour
Move through all six modules in a realistic workspace built with fictional data.
02Capabilities
See the repeatable work behind every operating cycle.
03Sample deliverable
Walk through the reviewable output your team receives.
04Implementation
See the four checkpoints, responsibilities, and acceptance criteria.
05Data requirements
Review the accepted fields, excluded data, and handling lifecycle.
06Full FAQ
Get direct answers on capacity, switching, security, and service boundaries.
How it works
A complete operating view without a drawn-out rollout.
Start with the working records you already have. We map them into the connected model, run the review cycle, and improve the control record with your team.
- 1Step 1
Map the minimum approval states in a 25-minute working session.
- 2Step 2
Provide a redacted metadata export—never invoice PDFs or bank details.
- 3Step 3
Review the first exception digest together, then compare it with a second weekly run.
Why we work this way
We started with the complaints, not a feature list.
Public operator discussions showed us where existing tools create extra work. Those recurring problems now shape the service and every client deliverable.
BILL · QuickBooks Online
The approval experience was praised while accounting-sync errors and the support effort needed to clear them were reported as material operational friction.
What we changed: Separate system and sync exceptions from approver latency, and keep the service read-only throughout delivery.
Read the source notesEmail · Excel · Ticketing systems
A five-step email approval process took four weeks and gave the requester no visibility into progress; replies emphasized that the core problem was knowing where work was stuck.
What we changed: Make elapsed time, current owner, required evidence, and stuck reason the primary interface rather than another generic checklist.
Read the source notesUseful before you hire us
Put the workflow into a register your team can actually run.
The invoice approval sla policy template is a five-tab Excel workbook with a ready-to-fill register, worked fictional example, weekly review agenda, and metric dictionary.
Download the Excel workbook- 01Define clock start and stop states
- 02Separate approver delay from system or sync exceptions
- 03Assign one accountable owner per stalled invoice
- 04Review weekly breach rate and median approval time
Monthly service plans
Choose the plan that matches the workload.
Every plan is a month-to-month managed service with a generous, published capacity, a named cadence, and human review. The middle plan is the practical fit for most teams. Prices are in US dollars and exclude applicable sales tax.
Our promiseNo annual contract and no connector. If redacted metadata cannot produce a useful digest, the plan does not begin. We take on no more than 5 new clients at a time, so every delivery gets a human review.
Compare the detailsStart with fit
Tell us where the work gets stuck.
Share the situation in general terms. We will review it personally and tell you which plan fits. No card or operational files are needed.
The practical details
Questions people ask before we start.
Will this pay invoices?+
No. ApprovalNorth is intentionally non-custodial and read-only.
Can we use our existing approval system?+
Yes. ApprovalNorth exposes exceptions without replacing the system of record.
Will it send reminders automatically?+
The service produces a supervised queue and ready-to-edit drafts. Nothing is sent without your approval.
How do you avoid alert fatigue?+
Every alert must identify the exception, age, accountable owner, and evidence behind the recommended next action.
What do we receive each cycle?+
A human-reviewed invoice approval control pack, the supporting exception log, and the plan-specific review cadence shown on the pricing page.
What do you need from us?+
A named owner, the agreed definitions, and a normalized open-approval register. The public inquiry form accepts none of that operational data.