One Engine, three people who use it differently
The ap analyst works a queue, the controller watches thresholds and exceptions, and the cfo sees cycle time and cost. Same Engine underneath, three different questions asked of it.
Time in the AP queue, modelled at steady state
- INV-20841HighInvoice exceptionCalumet Fastener Supply$18,460.00
Invoice $18,460 against PO $16,900. Variance of 9.2% exceeds the 2% tolerance for this vendor tier.
- INV-20866MediumMissing receiptRivera Packaging$7,215.40
Goods receipt not posted for PO-88213. Warehouse confirms delivery on 4 Aug, receipt not entered.
- REC-1140MediumReconciliation varianceLockbox — Illinois entity$3,882.16
Four unmatched deposits against remittance advice. Two appear to be partial payments.
- INV-20903LowDuplicate candidateHarbor Steel Products$2,140.00
Same amount and date as INV-20714, different invoice number. Vendor has re-issued before.
Queue items are written to the level of specificity a real one would carry, using invented entities and amounts scaled to the basis company. Each role sees its own counters and its own work, because a switcher that shows all three roles the same four rows is a lens on nothing.