Example deliverable · after Plan
Automation plan: accounts payable
What to automate, in what order, and what stays human. It ends with a fixed-scope proposal for the first build, which the client can accept, change or decline.
1. Ranked opportunities
| # | Opportunity | Value | Risk | Effort | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read invoices and pre-fill the ERP entry | High: removes most keying time | Low: specialist reviews every entry before posting | Medium | Build first |
| 2 | Auto-match invoices to PO and receipt, flag only mismatches | High: most invoices match cleanly | Medium: tolerance rules must be agreed | Medium | Build second |
| 3 | Approval reminders and a one-click approval link | Medium: protects discount dates | Low | Low | Quick win alongside 1 |
| 4 | Draft emails to buyers for price mismatches | Medium | Medium: messages go outside the AP team | Low | Later, with human send |
| 5 | Automatic payment scheduling | Low extra value | High: moves money | Medium | Do not automate |
2. What stays human, by design
- Posting an invoice to the ledger: a specialist confirms every pre-filled entry.
- Approving non-PO spend: budget owners, as today.
- Releasing payments: the AP lead, as today.
- Anything sent to a vendor or buyer: a person reads and sends it.
3. Risks and how we handle them
- Misread amounts on poor scans. Low-confidence fields are highlighted for review, never posted silently.
- Vendor name variations. A vendor lookup is built from the client's own master data and reviewed by AP.
- Data access. Everything runs in the client's Azure account; the AI model provider is chosen and approved by IT.
4. Proposed first build
Opportunity 1 (pre-filled ERP entries) plus opportunity 3 (approval reminders), as a fixed-scope pilot with weekly demos. Success is judged by an evaluation on 300 real past invoices, with the accuracy bar agreed before the build starts.
Not included: payment automation, vendor emails, changes to the approval policy.