Run a clear procure-to-pay flow from supplier setup to purchase orders, bills, and disbursements.
Last updated: May 29, 2026
This guide explains the procure-to-pay flow in Sanka: prepare suppliers and items, create a purchase order, receive or review what was delivered, register the supplier bill, and record the outgoing payment. Use it as the how-to layer for purchasing operations, then open the object reference pages when you need field-level details.
How the records fit together
Supplier: the company or contact you buy from.
Item: the product or service you purchase.
Purchase order: the request sent to the supplier, including items, quantities, prices, tax, currency, and delivery expectations.
Bill: the supplier invoice or payment request received after the order or delivery.
Disbursement: the actual outgoing payment made to the supplier.
Journal entry: the accounting record created or exported when your finance process requires it.
A purchase order does not always create a bill, inventory transaction, or disbursement automatically. Those downstream records depend on your team's actions, workflows, integrations, and accounting process.
Review the flow with AI
Ask AI to review the whole procure-to-pay state before creating or updating records. This helps avoid duplicate bills, premature payment records, or wrong status changes.
Sample prompt
/sanka Review this Sanka procure-to-pay case before making changes. Show the supplier, purchase order, ordered items, received quantities, bill status, payment due date, disbursement status, related inventory records, permissions, and any duplicates or missing records. Do not create, update, send, or mark anything paid yet.
After the review, confirm which record should be created next and whether the issue is expected workflow state, missing configuration, or a possible product bug.
Prepare supplier and item data
Before creating purchase orders, make sure supplier and item records are ready.
Register suppliers as companies or contacts.
Register purchased items with the names, units, purchase prices, tax settings, and categories your team needs.
Decide whether supplier codes, item codes, and purchase order numbers are required.
Confirm who can create, approve, receive, bill, and pay purchase records.
For large lists, use CSV import and include stable supplier and item identifiers when possible.
Create and approve a purchase order
Create a purchase order when you intend to buy products or services from a supplier.
Open Purchase Order and click New.
Select the supplier, date, currency, line items, quantities, unit prices, tax, and status.
Review whether the order is still a draft, approved internally, sent to the supplier, or accepted by the supplier.
Attach or download the purchase order document if your team sends a PDF to the supplier.
Keep status names consistent with your workspace process.
Use the purchase order as the source of expected quantity and price. If the supplier delivers a partial quantity or changes the price, record the difference before approving a bill.For field-level details, see Purchase order object overview.
Receive goods or confirm service delivery
When goods arrive or services are completed, compare the received result with the purchase order.Check:
Received quantity
Damaged or rejected items
Delivery date
Location or inventory destination
Price, tax, and currency changes
Notes or attachments that explain differences
If your workspace uses inventory, create or review the related inventory transaction before treating the purchase order as fully received. Partial deliveries should remain visible through status, notes, item rows, or related records instead of being hidden in a general memo.For receiving details, see Purchase order receiving.
Register the supplier bill
Register a bill when the supplier sends an invoice or payment request.
Open Bill and click New.
Select the supplier or business partner.
Enter the owner, status, issue date, due date, line items, amount, tax, currency, and invoice file.
Link the bill to the related purchase order when possible.
Review differences between purchase order amount, received quantity, and bill amount before approval.
A bill means "we have a request to pay." It does not mean the payment has already happened. Use status and approval steps to separate received, approved, and paid states.For field-level details, see Bill object overview.
Record the disbursement
Create a disbursement only when the outgoing payment has happened or your team intentionally records a scheduled payment as a payment record.Check:
Supplier
Payment date
Payment amount, fees, tax, and currency
Related bill or purchase order
Payment proof, such as transfer receipt or bank record
Whether the bill should be marked paid
A disbursement means "money went out." It should not be used as a substitute for a bill that has not been approved or as a duplicate of an unpaid bill.For field-level details, see Disbursement object overview.
Expected behavior
In a normal procure-to-pay flow:
Supplier and item records are prepared before purchase orders are created.
Purchase orders represent what your team intends to buy.
Receiving records or status updates represent what arrived or was accepted.
Bills represent supplier payment requests.
Disbursements represent outgoing payments.
Reports, dashboards, accounting exports, and audit checks depend on consistent status, dates, amounts, suppliers, and associations.
Archiving a purchase order, bill, or disbursement hides it from active views. It does not automatically delete related records, payments, inventory transactions, attachments, or history.
Troubleshooting
A bill was created before receiving was complete
Check whether your process allows billing before receiving. If not, review the purchase order status, receiving records, and approval workflow before marking the bill approved.
The bill amount does not match the purchase order
Compare line item quantity, unit price, discount, tax, shipping, fees, currency, and partial delivery handling. Ask the supplier or approver to confirm differences before creating a disbursement.
A disbursement exists but the bill still looks unpaid
Check whether the disbursement is associated with the bill and whether the bill status was updated. Some teams record payment proof first and update bill status after finance review.
A purchase order did not create inventory or a bill automatically
Check whether your workspace has an action, workflow, or integration configured for that step. Purchase orders do not always create downstream records by themselves.
A user cannot create or approve a record
Check module access, object permissions, owner assignment, approval workflow requirements, and whether the user can access the related supplier, item, bill, or disbursement records.
Checkpoints
Before telling a customer a procure-to-pay case is broken, confirm which step is expected next and which records already exist.
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Review procure-to-pay changes
Logs
Search logsAll actionsAll dates
ID / ActionDateTarget / ItemChangeActor
3Reviewed procure-to-pay case2026/05/10 15:00Supplier orderChecked PO, received quantity, bill, and disbursement statusClaude / Codex
2Registered supplier bill2026/05/10 15:20May supplier billLinked bill to purchase order and attached invoice fileSanka user
1Recorded disbursement2026/05/10 16:05Supplier paymentAttached transfer proof and marked payment completeSanka user
Check purchase order, receiving, bill, disbursement, and accounting records together before sending supplier-facing or finance-facing updates.
