Keep Track of Payments With an Accounts Payable Ledger Template

Even small businesses can have dozens or hundreds of monthly invoices, all with different payment terms, due dates, and contract conditions. Since late payments sap cash from your revenue and stifle the growth potential of proactive cash management, keeping on top of these invoices is one of the best ways to ensure your company's financial health.
Accounts payable (AP) software is the best way to ensure every invoice is paid and recorded correctly, but even a simple AP ledger spreadsheet template can help you achieve useful accountability.
Ready to get started? Download the accounts payable ledger template for Excel or Google Sheets here.
What is an accounts payable ledger template?
An accounts payable ledger is a detailed record your accounting or finance team can use to keep track of the payments owed to suppliers.
An AP ledger serves two purposes:
- As a critical tool for accurate financial reporting, it helps manage cash flow by providing a clear picture of upcoming liabilities. When your business records each transaction under the respective supplier's account, it can monitor its debts and ensure timely payments. Keeping on top of upcoming payments helps you avoid late fees and maintain healthy supplier relationships.
- An accounts payable ledger also helps the finance team reconcile differences between what's recorded in the books and what appears on financial documentation. It makes research into invoice discrepancies faster and easier.
What to include in an accounts payable ledger Excel template
An effective accounts payable ledger template should include every key piece of information needed to track and pay invoices.
At a minimum, the template should feature columns for the following data:
- Date of recording
- Vendor name
- Vendor address
- Invoice date
- Invoice number
- Description of the goods or services provided
- Total invoice amount
- Credit terms (30/60/90-day net terms)
- Payment due date
- Balance due (if tracking the progress of multiple payments)
- Early payment discounts (per contract)
- Late payment fee
- Payment dates
- Payment amounts
- Notes section
This basic framework provides a comprehensive overview of your invoices. It gives your business everything it needs to track and manage payments.
Download our free accounts payable ledger Excel and Google Sheets templates
Our Excel-based accounts payable ledger template is a great place to track invoices and payments. It provides all the necessary information and calculations to ensure you never pay another late fee due to lack of visibility.
To get your copy, click here and download the template. Fill in your current invoice information and use it to track invoices and payments over time.
How to use an accounts payable ledger over time
An accounts payable ledger can significantly improve cash management by offering a clear and organized view of what your business owes suppliers at any given time. This visibility enables better budgeting and financial planning, ensuring funds are appropriately allocated for upcoming expenses.
Over time, adherence to accounts payable best practices helps teams identify spending patterns, negotiate better payment terms, and avoid late fees through prompt payments. It also helps you build a positive relationship with suppliers, which can be beneficial for securing favorable terms and discounts in the future.
To track your invoices on our template, follow these steps:
1. Input invoice details
For each invoice you receive, enter all relevant details into the template. Include the vendor's name and address, invoice number, date issued, due date, amount due, and relevant notes regarding payment terms or conditions. Be thorough, as accurate data entry is crucial for effective tracking.
2. Track payment status
Use a dedicated column in your ledger to track each invoice's payment status. You can apply simple labels like "unpaid," "partial," or "paid," or you can implement a color-coding system for at-a-glance visibility.
3. Monitor due dates
Review the ledger regularly to identify upcoming and past-due payments. This proactive approach will help you avoid late fees and take advantage of any early payment discounts offered by vendors.
4. Reconcile against POs and payments
Reconcile your accounts payable ledger with bank and vendor statements regularly (weekly or monthly) to ensure accuracy. This step is crucial for catching errors or omissions early on.
5. Analyze payment patterns
Over time, the ledger's data will help you analyze your company’s spending and cash flow patterns. Identifying trends can help you negotiate better terms with suppliers and optimize payment schedules to improve liquidity.
Following the above steps to maximize the benefits of using an accounts payable ledger template will help your business manage its finances more effectively.
Benefits of automating your accounts payable process
As your business grows, so does its volume of transactions, making manually tracking accounts payable invoices more of a challenge. Over time, the increasing number of invoices, each with its own due date, terms, and conditions, can become overwhelming, calling for a more sophisticated approach.
With AP automation software like Order.co, you can process and monitor every order for your business without manual tracking, error-prone data entry, or loss of visibility. Order.co simplifies the AP process with features like:
Invoice automation and matching: Match incoming invoices with purchase orders and receipts automatically. This helps verify transactions and speeds up the approval process.
Automated approval workflows: Set up rules based on invoice amounts, user roles, or supplier categories to automatically route invoices to the appropriate team members.
Automatic GL coding: Get line-level accuracy for the general ledger with automated coding for every order and item.
Reporting features: Use the wealth of data in your accounts payable function to conduct spend analysis and discover trends within your procurement process.
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