How to forward an invoice to accounts payable

There are two sides to this question, and the answer is different for each. If you are the recipient who needs to forward an invoice to accounts payable, the clean method is to forward the original email (or the hosted invoice link) to your AP address with the PO number and any context AP needs to process it. If you are the sender and your invoices keep getting stuck in your contact's inbox waiting for an internal forward, the better fix is to remove the forwarding step entirely by letting the recipient route the invoice from the invoice page itself, or by CC'ing AP on the original send.

If you are the recipient

A vendor has sent you an invoice. AP needs to see it. The minimum path that works at most companies:

1. Forward the original email to your AP address (usually ap@, invoices@, or whatever your finance team uses). Keep the original sender visible so AP can reply to the vendor directly if they need clarification.
2. Add the PO number in the forward. If the work was done against a PO, write it in the body of the forward. AP cannot process an invoice that does not match a PO at most mid-size and larger companies. If the vendor did not include the PO on the invoice itself, see how to handle adding a PO after the invoice was sent.
3. Add the approval, if AP needs one. Some companies want the budget owner's approval in the same forward ("Approved, please pay" or similar). If your company uses a system for this (Concur, Bill.com, an internal portal), the forward is just to log the invoice; the approval happens in the system.
4. Keep a copy. AP processes get lost. A copy in your sent folder lets you re-forward if AP claims the original never arrived.

If the vendor sent a hosted link instead of a PDF

Increasingly common, and the forward is easier:

• →Forward the email with the link. AP opens the link directly and sees the same hosted invoice page. No attachment to lose, no PDF to print.
• →If the page has a "forward to AP" button (some hosted-invoice tools do), use that instead. AP gets a clean notification from the vendor's system with the invoice attached or linked, and the vendor sees that AP received it.
• →If your AP system pulls via email, the hosted link still works as the canonical reference. The PDF download from the same page goes into your AP archive.

If you are the sender

An invoice stuck in your contact's inbox waiting for them to forward it is the single most common reason payment is delayed past the due date. Three ways to remove the forwarding step:

• •CC the AP address on the original send. Ask once, early in the engagement: "Who should I CC on invoices so AP gets them directly?" Then save that address in your contact for the client. From then on, your contact and AP receive the invoice at the same time.
• •Use a hosted invoice with a built-in forward button. The recipient opens the invoice page and forwards it from there with one click. They do not have to compose an email or attach anything; the system handles it. See recipient actions.
• •Send to the AP address directly if the client has explicitly said to. Some companies prefer this for higher invoice values. Confirm once and stick with it.

Edge cases

• •The company uses a vendor portal. Forwarding by email does not work; you have to submit through the portal. See what to do when a client wants you to use their vendor portal.
• •AP claims they never received the forward. Same root causes as any missing invoice: spam, gateway stripping, wrong address. A hosted link is the cleanest way to resend, because the page can be opened by anyone with the URL.
• •The AP team needs the invoice in a specific format. Some require structured e-invoicing (PEPPOL in Europe, XML for some US enterprise systems). A hosted invoice tool that can also export the structured format covers both bases.