Accounts payable (also known as Purchase Ledger) is an account that contains money you owe to suppliers, but have not paid yet (a form of debt). When you receive an invoice you add it to the file, and then you remove it when you pay. Thus, the A/P is a form of credit that suppliers offer to their purchasers by allowing them to pay for a product or service after it has already been received.

In a business, there is usually a much broader range of services in the A/P file, and accountants or bookkeepers usually use software to track the flow of money into this liability account when they receive invoices and out of it when they make payments.

Auditors often focus on the existence of approved invoices, expense reports, and other supporting documentation to support checks that were cut. The presence of a confirmation or statement from the supplier is reasonable proof of the existence of the account.

SLH & Co. | Bookkeeper Surrey have the experience to manage this aspect of our clients business and ensure that all suppliers are paid, whilst maintaining control of the cash flow.