Friday the 13th has a reputation for bad luck. Black cats, broken mirrors, and walking under ladders might worry some people. But anyone who has worked in Accounts Payable knows there are far more frightening things.
13 Nightmares Every AP Professional Will Recognize
- The Friday Afternoon Bank Account Change. The payment is ready, and suddenly the vendor emails new banking instructions. What could possibly go wrong?
- The URGENT Invoice With No Purchase Order. It needs to be paid immediately. Nobody authorized it, nobody received it, but apparently AP is holding everything up.
- The Duplicate Invoice That Got Paid Twice. Same supplier, same invoice number, same amount. Somehow both payments went through. The reconciliation should be fun.
- The Executive Who Says, "Just Pay It." No documentation. No approval trail. Just three magical words that apparently override every internal control.
- The Vendor Who Calls Five Minutes After Sending an Invoice. "Hi, I'm following up on the invoice I sent earlier." Yes, six minutes ago.
- The Spreadsheet That Suddenly Stops Calculating. Two hours of reconciliations ruined because someone sorted one column instead of the entire table.
- The Expense Report With a Missing Receipt. Hotel? Check. Airfare? Check. Mysterious $1,800 "business expense"? No receipt, but apparently it was essential.
- The Invoice From a Supplier Nobody Recognizes. Accounting says it belongs to Operations. Operations says it belongs to Accounting. The supplier says it's overdue.
- The Payment Batch That Fails at 4:59 P.M. It's Friday. You're almost out the door. Then the bank portal announces: "TRANSMISSION FAILED."
- The Purchase Order With No Money Left. The invoice is valid, the goods were received, but the PO has no remaining balance. Somehow this is now AP's emergency.
- The Vendor Who Says, "We Never Received That Check." The check was issued, mailed, and cleared. Now AP gets to become a detective.
- The Employee Who Promises Receipts "Tomorrow." Three months later, AP is beginning to suspect tomorrow is a fictional date.
- The Friday Afternoon Email That Begins, "We Have a Little Problem." It's 4:47 p.m. You've cleared your inbox. Then someone asks for a "quick call" about last month's payments.
How to Survive Friday the 13th
Fortunately, AP professionals have something better than lucky charms: procedures, documentation, reconciliations, internal controls, and experience.
None of them can prevent every Friday afternoon emergency, but they certainly improve your odds.
And when all else fails, there's always coffee.
Happy Friday the 13th from APPG!
Now it's your turn: What's the scariest, strangest, or most frustrating situation you've encountered in Accounts Payable?
Share your AP horror stories with the APPG LinkedIn community. Just leave out the names of the innocent, and perhaps a few of the guilty.
Editorial Note: This article was developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and edited, reviewed, and approved by Robert Ruhno, Executive Director of the Accounts Payable Professionals Group (APPG).
Robert Ruhno
Executive Director
Robert leads APPG's mission, editorial direction, member community, and efforts to advance the Accounts Payable profession.
Mariann Ruhno
Chief Education Officer
Mariann leads APPG's education strategy, professional-development resources, and initiatives designed to help AP professionals strengthen their skills and careers.
The Accounts Payable Professionals Group (APPG) is a professional community dedicated to sharing knowledge, improving practices, and supporting career development in Accounts Payable.
