Accounts Payable Articles

Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow is the must-read publication for readers concerned about payment and accounts payable issues. Here is a sample article.

The Master Vendor File Quandary: Three Questions to Ask Before Requesting Ownership

Are the master vendor file responsibilities handled outside accounts payable in your organization? Does this create needless delays in processing invoices because the person handling master vendor file updates doesn’t take it as seriously as you would like? Do they consider updating the file a low priority task sometimes delaying the paying of new vendors?

If any of these conditions exist in your organization, you may be considering asking management to move the responsibility for the master vendor file to accounts payable. Normally, that is a strategy AP Now heartily recommends. However, before you go racing into your boss’s office demanding the function be moved, take a moment to consider all the ramifications. Ask yourself the following questions.

Do you have adequate staff to assure appropriate segregation of duties? Regardless of the problems you may be experiencing, it is only appropriate to take on the master vendor file, if you can do it correctly. For starters, this means having someone work on it who does not:

Process invoices,
Approve invoices,
Sign checks or
Handle unclaimed property reporting.

Do you have adequate staff to handle the additional work that will be required, without it impacting your other work? Many times, the responsibility for the function will come without adding additional staff. If you suspect this is what will happen in your shop, make sure you have adequate staff to handle the task.

Are you inheriting a nightmare, either in term of the file itself or the personnel associated with it? We’re the first to admit, this is a hot-potato issue. But, this is definitely a case where a little up-front investigation is probably a good thing. You first want to determine if the group handling the master vendor file has been using best practices in its administration of the data or it’s been an anything-goes-world. If it’s the latter, you’ll need to make a careful assessment of what’s involved in getting the master vendor file in tip-top shape and if you have the resources to do so. If you don’t, will management give you additional staff to take on the challenge? While we don’t advocate walking away from a task just because a little hard work is involved, we do caution against inheriting another department’s debacle and then getting blamed when something blows up.

The second issue is even more delicate. Will you inherit the current master vendor file staff with the function? If so, is the other department trying to dump its personnel problems at the same time? Again, you need to make a careful assessment of exactly what you are getting. By the way, there can be a silver lining in inheriting a person the other department views as difficult. The problem may have been with the manager and by treating your newly acquired employee with a little respect and dignity you could have a real gem who will be incredibly loyal and work hard to show his or her appreciation.

Master vendor file is an increasingly important function within any organization. Ideally, you’ll want to have it in accounts payable, if at all feasible. However, if you can’t handle it appropriately, better to leave it elsewhere. These questions will help you make that determination.

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If you are looking for a publication containing a half dozen short articles like this, you might consider our Accounts Payable Coffee Break publications. Each contains a half-dozen articles, each of which can be read on a short coffee break. They are also available on Amazon.com for the Kindle.

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4) Try a sample copy issue of our newsletter, Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow

5) Accounts Payable Best Practice CD

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