Accounts Payable

Money a company owes to suppliers for invoices, including travel expenses. It's the finance function responsible for reviewing, approving and paying supplier invoices — such as those from a TMC or hotel — on agreed payment terms. Travel-related accounts payable is often reconciled against booking and expense data to confirm invoices match what was actually booked.

The accounts payable process usually includes receiving an invoice, checking it against a purchase order, booking record or contract, obtaining approval, recording it in the accounting system and paying it by the due date. For travel, the challenge is volume and variety: a single trip can generate invoices from an airline, a hotel, a rail operator and a transfer company, each in a different format and possibly in a different currency. Without a consolidated source, matching these documents to trips and cost centres takes considerable time.

Efficient travel accounts payable depends on consolidated invoicing, clear payment terms and structured data. When a company works with one travel provider that issues consolidated invoices linked to each trip, the number of supplier relationships and documents drops significantly. Integration with the accounting system further reduces manual input, speeds up month-end closing and lowers the risk of errors, duplicate payments or late-payment penalties.

Tumodo simplifies travel accounts payable. Instead of paying many suppliers, the company pays one provider, in advance or on postpayment. In the Finance section, invoices show the date of issue and payment deadline and can be filtered by unpaid, overpaid or overdue status. Documents are generated automatically in PDF or XLS, can be exchanged via EDI and integrated with systems such as SAP and Oracle, and the key account manager configures formats, recipients and sending frequency to match the company's processes.