Following a single purchase through the whole procure to pay cycle makes the structure clearer than any diagram, particularly the two moments when responsibility changes hands. Here is an ordinary purchase, step by step, with what each participant does and where, in most organisations, it stops moving.
Request through to order
A site manager needs materials and raises a request stating what, roughly the cost, the cost centre and why. It routes to the budget holder, who approves the same day because cover and escalation are configured. Purchasing turns it into a numbered order with agreed prices and terms and emails it to the supplier, recording that it was sent.
Delivery and receipt: the first handoff
The materials arrive and whoever takes the delivery records what came, against the order line, on a phone, that morning. This is the handoff that most often fails. Where it does, the invoice will arrive with nothing to check it against and will wait days while somebody establishes whether the delivery happened.
Invoice through to payment: the second handoff
The supplier invoices quoting the order number. It is captured, matched against the order and the receipt within tolerance, and clears without an approver because the spend was approved at the request. It is coded from the order, scheduled into the weekly run, released by a second person, and a remittance advice is sent.
Questions people ask about procure to pay example
How long should this take end to end?
The work is under an hour; the elapsed time depends on delivery lead time and your payment terms. What should not add time is any of the steps above.
What if the delivery is short?
The receipt records what actually arrived, the invoice mismatches, and the exception routes to whoever took the delivery to confirm before a credit is requested.
What if no order was raised?
Everything after it changes: no match is possible and the invoice needs a full approval by whoever authorised the spend.