Nov 21, 2023
•3 minute read
SAP AR AP
SAP Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable (AR/AP) are the core sub-modules of SAP Financial Accounting (FI) that manage an organization’s financial relationships with customers and vendors. As finance teams automate and modernize invoice-to-cash and procure-to-pay processes, SAP AR/AP plays a central role in supporting operational efficiency and cash flow visibility. SAPinsider covers SAP AR/AP automation, payment processing, and integration with SAP S/4HANA Finance.
What is SAP AR AP?
SAP Accounts Receivable (FI-AR) manages all incoming customer invoices, credit management, customer payments and dunning processes. SAP Accounts Payable (FI-AP) manages vendor invoices, payment runs, cash discounts and vendor master data. Both modules feed into the SAP Universal Journal in SAP S/4HANA, providing a unified view of open items, aging reports and cash flow projections. SAP AR/AP integrates with procurement, sales and treasury processes to support end-to-end financial operations.
What use cases does SAP AR AP address?
- Invoice processing and automation: Organizations use SAP AP to automate vendor invoice capture and matching using optical character recognition (OCR), SAP Document and Reporting Compliance and machine learning-assisted three-way matching to reduce manual processing time.
- Customer credit and collections: SAP AR supports credit limit management, collections workflows and dispute resolution for customer accounts, enabling finance teams to reduce days sales outstanding (DSO) and improve cash conversion.
- Payment run management: SAP AP automates vendor payment runs with configurable payment methods, bank communication management and SAP Multi-Bank Connectivity to reduce payment errors and optimize cash outflows.
- Cash flow visibility: SAP AR/AP provides aging reports, liquidity forecasting inputs and real-time open item analysis to support treasury teams with daily cash positioning and short-term liquidity planning.
What does SAPinsider research say about SAP AR AP modernization?
SAPinsider research shows that accounts payable and receivable automation is a top investment priority for finance organizations, driven by the need to reduce manual processing, accelerate the close and improve working capital management. Organizations moving to SAP S/4HANA Finance report that unified ledger capabilities in the Universal Journal streamline AR/AP processes and reduce reconciliation effort. Explore SAP AR/AP resources and practitioner coverage at SAP AR AP.
Insights from Serrala’s Rob Jackson on Overcoming Data Readiness Hurdles in SAP S/4HANA Finance MigrationThis article highlights the critical importance of data archiving and readiness in the context of migrating to SAP S/4HANA, as explained by expert Rob Jackson. It emphasizes that preserving historical data while enhancing system performance is vital for finance leaders. Additionally, the article underscores the dual challenge of technical upgrades and business process transformation during the migration and the need for a holistic approach. It also mentions structured migration models like 'hub and spoke' to maintain financial operations smoothly. Overall, the article offers valuable insights for organizations preparing for the transition to SAP S/4HANA.
Zoetis Partners with Serrala to Optimize Global Order-to-Cash ProcessOrganizations are constantly in flux, expanding their offerings and their geographic footprint. In order to keep up, finance teams must constantly stay on the cutting edge, updating core business processes like end-to-end order-to-cash (OTC), which encompasses cash applications, credit applications, and collection activities.
Zoetis, a global animal health company, faced this situation. Zoetis teamed up with Serrala to optimize their account receivables process and gain the flexibility and capabilities necessary to support their growth initiatives.
In this article, you will hear first-hand from Amy Vaillant, Global Process Manager of Order to Cash at Zoetis, on what Zoetis prioritized during this process, lessons learned when adapting to changes, how they were able to achieve success.
Apr 28, 2023
•6 minute read
An Overview of Global PayEX B2B Payments Offerings for SAP Finance TeamsMany organizations struggle with B2B payments issues like invoice processing inefficiencies and reduced sales productivity, inefficient reconciliation processes, and payment delays due to limited visibility. To help address some of these problems, Global PayEX, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company, offers a platform that emphasizes the facilitation of collaboration between buyers and sellers.
Collaboration relies on associations with significant financial institutions, as well as strategic partnerships that help facilitate payments. Global PayEX’s platform features a cloud-based ecosystem, automation via data-driven solutions, and decision support for CFOs. These features all aim to increase information and benefit business outcomes.
In this article, we will go in-depth on some of the other key aspects of Global PayEX and its offerings, as well as some of the benefits of its utilization.
Sep 5, 2023
•3 minute read
AP automation in an ERP-first worldThe article discusses the challenges of modernizing finance within entrenched ERP systems, highlighting issues like manual processes and rising fraud risks, while offering a guide to navigating these changes without disrupting existing operations.
Sep 9, 2026
•1 minute read
Basware to Acquire Trustpair, Extending AP Controls Into Payment Fraud PreventionBasware has signed a binding agreement to acquire Trustpair, a deal that would extend its invoice lifecycle platform into supplier bank-account verification and payment fraud prevention for SAP finance teams.
Sep 4, 2026
•3 minute read
Worldpay Sees Bigger Role for B2B Payments Across SAPWorldpay’s Richard Gilbert sees opportunities to connect B2B payments more closely with SAP finance, helping merchants reduce DSO and manual AR work while preparing for AI-enabled reconciliation and more dynamic credit decisions.
Sep 2, 2026
•4 minute read
Whitepaper: Accelerate AP for SAP Cloud ERP While Preserving Your Clean CoreThis guide explains how organizations can accelerate Accounts Payable transformation while preserving SAP's clean-core architecture by deploying Basware's Invoice Lifecycle Management platform on SAP BTP. It highlights the benefits of faster AP automation, reduced compliance risk, SAP-certified integration, and support for complex enterprise ERP landscapes throughout SAP Cloud ERP transformation programs.
Sep 1, 2026
•1 minute read
Podcast: John Bryant of eSource Solutions on Improving Billing Cycle TimeOne of the most important performance indicators for finance teams is that of Days Sales Outstanding. However, while SAP systems provide insight into tracking the time taken for a customer or partner to pay an invoice, that is not the only factor which is part of the DSO indicator. Given the importance of minimizing the number of days which an invoice is outstanding, that makes it vital to have a better way of tracking billing-cycle time from start to finish. To gain more insight on the topic, host Robert Holland sat down with John Bryant, Chief Revenue Officer at eSource Solutions, to talk about the topic and why it is important for SAP finance teams.
Aug 19, 2026
•1 minute read
Nuvei and BlackLine Embed Payment Acceptance Into Invoice-to-Cash WorkflowsNuvei and BlackLine are embedding payment acceptance into invoice-to-cash workflows, connecting invoicing, payments, automatic matching, reconciliation, and cash visibility for enterprise finance teams.
Aug 10, 2026
•3 minute read
From Invoice Bottlenecks to Intelligent Automation in SAP Accounts PayableThe invoice isn’t late, your process is At 9:00 AM, the AP inbox is already full. PDF invoices from vendors. Scanned copies from regional offices. Email threads with “urgent” in the subject line. A spreadsheet tracking approvals. Sticky notes with reminders. None of this is visible in SAP. By noon, the team is manually entering […]
Jul 27, 2026
•5 minute read
Enhancing customer payments: A B2B payment portal for SAPSerrala Alevate AR is a cloud-based SAP-integrated B2B customer payment portal that automates accounts receivable with self-service invoicing and payments, automated reconciliation, real-time visibility, and strong security to reduce manual work, speed collections, lower DSO, and improve customer experience.
Jul 21, 2026
•6 minute read
Featured Insiders
Events
SAPinsider Summit New Orleans 2026New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
SAPinsider Summit Chicago 2026Chicago, IL
SAPinsider Copenhagen 2026Copenhagen, Denmark
Mastering SAP Collaborate, an SAP TechEd on Tour eventSydney, New South Wales, Australia
