Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Invoice Reviewer
💰 $38,000 - $62,000
🎯 Role Definition
The Invoice Reviewer is a detail-oriented accounts payable professional responsible for validating, coding, and processing vendor invoices to ensure timely, accurate payments and compliance with company policy and accounting standards. This role focuses on invoice validation (PO matching, three-way match), exception resolution, vendor communication, GL coding, and working with ERP and AP automation tools to optimize invoice throughput and reduce cycle time.
Key SEO keywords: invoice reviewer, accounts payable specialist, invoice processing, vendor reconciliation, PO matching, AP automation, ERP, SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, OCR invoice capture, three-way match.
📈 Career Progression
Typical Career Path
Entry Point From:
- Accounts Payable Clerk / AP Processor
- Billing Clerk or Data Entry Specialist
- Procurement Coordinator or Purchasing Assistant
Advancement To:
- Senior Invoice Reviewer / Senior AP Analyst
- Accounts Payable Supervisor / Team Lead
- AP Manager or AP Operations Manager
- Financial Analyst (Accounts Payable specialization)
- Vendor Payments Manager
Lateral Moves:
- Procurement / Purchasing Specialist
- Vendor Management or Supplier Relationship Lead
- Billing Analyst or Revenue Operations Analyst
Core Responsibilities
Primary Functions
- Review incoming invoices for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with purchase orders (POs), contracts and company policy, performing PO to invoice matching and documenting any discrepancies for resolution.
- Execute three-way match (invoice, purchase order, receiving report) and resolve mismatches by coordinating with purchasing, receiving, and business unit stakeholders to ensure timely payment and accurate financial records.
- Validate invoice data and apply correct General Ledger (GL) coding, cost center allocation, and tax treatment to support accurate month-end close and financial reporting.
- Process non-PO and PO-based invoices in the ERP system (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite) and AP platforms (Coupa, Ariba, Basware), ensuring invoices are entered, approved, and queued for payment according to payment terms.
- Investigate and resolve invoice exceptions, short pays, duplicate payments, or invoice disputes by partnering with vendors and internal teams and documenting root causes and remediation steps.
- Route invoices for electronic approvals using AP automation or workflow systems (Stampli, Tipalti, Tradeshift), follow up on outstanding approver requests, and escalate overdue approvals to management.
- Reconcile vendor statements monthly, research unapplied credits or unapplied payments, and prepare journal entries or memos to correct discrepancies in collaboration with Accounts Payable leadership.
- Apply best practices for invoice capture, leveraging OCR/ICR tools (ABBYY, Kofax) to minimize manual entry and increase straight-through processing rates; validate OCR accuracy and correct captured fields as needed.
- Maintain master vendor data hygiene—create, update and deactivate vendor records, verify tax IDs/W-9s, payment terms, remittance addresses, and preferred payment methods to minimize payment errors.
- Execute payment runs (ACH, wire, check) ensuring approvals, cutoffs and bank limits are adhered to; prepare payment files, coordinate with Treasury or Banking teams, and confirm successful settlements.
- Support month-end and quarter-end close activities by completing outstanding invoice processing, accrual calculations, and providing required schedules and reconciliations to Finance.
- Monitor and enforce internal controls and SOX-compliant AP procedures, maintaining audit trails, segregation of duties, and documentation for internal and external audits.
- Prepare detailed vendor communication, including payment status, dispute resolution status, and documentation requests; escalate unresolved vendor issues to AP management when necessary.
- Analyze invoice processing metrics (days payable outstanding, invoice cycle time, exception rate) and recommend process improvements to reduce cost and improve supplier satisfaction.
- Audit invoices for compliance with contractual pricing, discounts, and early payment terms; identify opportunities to capture vendor discounts or correct pricing errors prior to payment.
- Handle special invoice types: recurring, credit memos, prepayments, expense reimbursements, intercompany invoices, and international invoices, ensuring compliance with tax, currency, and transfer pricing rules.
- Collaborate with Procurement to validate contract terms, enforce PO usage, and improve procure-to-pay (P2P) processes to reduce non-PO invoices and invoice-related exceptions.
- Train and assist junior AP staff on invoice review best practices, PO matching, GL coding and ERP entry standards to increase team accuracy and throughput.
- Document and continuously improve invoice review procedures and knowledgebase articles; create step-by-step guides for complex processes or system updates to improve onboarding and consistency.
- Participate in AP automation and ERP implementation projects by testing invoice workflows, creating test cases, validating system mappings, and providing user feedback to project teams.
- Maintain confidentiality of financial and vendor information and adhere to company policies regarding data security, record retention, and audit requirements.
Secondary Functions
- Support ad-hoc reporting requests related to accounts payable, invoice aging, vendor spend, and payment trends from Finance and Procurement leadership.
- Assist in small projects to optimize invoice workflows, including pilot programs for AP automation, OCR tuning, and vendor onboarding improvements.
- Contribute to cross-functional initiatives to improve master data quality, implement vendor portals, or migrate invoice volumes to e-invoicing platforms.
- Participate in testing and validation of ERP and AP module upgrades, ensuring invoice-related processes remain accurate and uninterrupted during releases.
- Provide input to the accounts payable policy refresh, identifying gaps and improvements related to invoice handling, approval thresholds, and vendor management.
Required Skills & Competencies
Hard Skills (Technical)
- Accounts payable and invoice processing expertise (PO match, three-way match, non-PO invoice handling)
- ERP experience: SAP (FI-AP), Oracle EBS/Cloud, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics or similar
- AP automation and e-invoicing platforms: Coupa, Ariba, Basware, Tipalti, Stampli, Tradeshift
- OCR/ICR tools familiarity: ABBYY, Kofax, ReadSoft or similar invoice capture solutions
- Strong Microsoft Excel skills: VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, PivotTables, INDEX/MATCH, conditional formatting and basic macros
- General Ledger coding and cost center allocation experience; basic journal entry posting
- Payment processing knowledge (ACH, wire, check, card) and bank file preparation
- Vendor reconciliation and statement matching techniques
- Understanding of accounting standards and internal controls (SOX compliance, GAAP basics)
- Invoice exception management and dispute resolution workflows
- Familiarity with tax and withholding requirements for domestic and international invoices
- Experience with invoice approval workflows and electronic signatures
- Ability to prepare accruals, month-end AP schedules and support financial close tasks
- Data entry accuracy and attention to detail in high-volume invoice environments
Soft Skills
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with an ability to research and resolve discrepancies
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills for professional vendor and stakeholder interactions
- Time management and prioritization in a deadline-driven, high-volume processing environment
- Customer service orientation with a focus on vendor experience and internal stakeholder partnership
- Team player who can train peers and document process improvements
- High level of integrity and confidentiality handling financial and vendor information
- Adaptability to new systems, process changes and automation initiatives
- Organized, process-minded, and committed to continuous improvement
Education & Experience
Educational Background
Minimum Education:
- High school diploma or GED (required)
Preferred Education:
- Associate degree or Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field (preferred)
Relevant Fields of Study:
- Accounting
- Finance
- Business Administration
- Supply Chain / Procurement
Experience Requirements
Typical Experience Range:
- 1 to 4 years of hands-on accounts payable or invoice processing experience in a corporate or shared services environment.
Preferred:
- 2–5 years of accounts payable experience with exposure to ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite) and AP automation/OCR solutions.
- Prior experience performing PO three-way match, vendor reconciliations, month-end close support, and participating in AP process improvement or ERP implementation projects.