Friday, October 16, 2026

How to plan a payment run: pay suppliers on time, not early and not late

Procapy Team

At four on a Thursday afternoon, a director forwards a WhatsApp message: the event vendor needs Rp 38,000,000 by tomorrow or the booth won’t be built. An AP clerk stops posting invoices and pays it by hand from the bank portal. The same week, a cleaning contractor’s invoice, approved three weeks ago, is still unpaid because it never made it onto anyone’s pile. A packaging supplier’s 2% discount on Rp 250,000,000 expires while the invoice waits for one last approval. And an IT invoice that isn’t due until next month was paid the day it was approved.

None of this is a shortage of cash. The company paid early, paid late and missed a discount in the same week, with money in the bank the whole time. What it’s missing is a schedule.

A payment run is that schedule. This guide explains how a run works, which invoices belong in it, when paying early is worth it, a worked example of one week’s run and the habits that stop a run from working.

What is a payment run?

A payment run is a scheduled batch of supplier payments. On fixed days, finance picks the approved invoices that need paying before the next run, checks them, releases them together and sends the bank one payment file. Everything else waits for its turn.

A few terms come with it:

Payment terms: how long you have to pay, such as 30 days from the invoice date, often written “net 30”.
Due date: the last day you can pay and still be on time, worked out from the terms.
Payment calendar: the run days for the months ahead, per entity and bank account.
Days payable outstanding (DPO): how long, on average, you take to pay suppliers. Paying earlier than you need to lowers it and keeps less cash in your account; paying late raises it and costs you goodwill.

The point of a run is to pay each invoice in the last run before it falls due: on time, but not early, unless paying early earns you something.

How a payment run works

Fixed run days. Pick the days payments go out, such as every Tuesday, and stick to them. Groups with several entities or bank accounts often run each on its own day.
A cut-off. Invoices approved by a set time, such as Friday at noon, make the next run. Anything later waits for the one after, so the run can be checked properly.
Selection. An invoice belongs in this run if it’s overdue, if it falls due before the next run, or if it has an early-payment discount that expires before the next run. Everything else waits.
Holds. Invoices with an open question come out of the run: a dispute, a missing credit note, a 3-way match exception or a bank account that hasn’t been verified.
A cash check. The run’s total is compared with the balance in the paying account and everything else leaving it that week, such as payroll and tax.
Checks before the money moves. Every bank account is compared with the verified vendor master, and every invoice with what has already been paid, to stop duplicate payments.
Approval and release. One person prepares the run, and someone else approves and releases it. A single approval covers the run, with any payment held or released individually.
Tell the vendors and close the loop. Vendors get a remittance advice listing what was paid, and each payment is posted back against its invoice, so the AP ageing report shows what has actually left the bank.

A worked example: one week’s run

A company runs payments every Tuesday. It’s Tuesday 20 October, and the next run is on 27 October. Six approved invoices are open:

Invoice (Rp ’000)	Due	Invoiced	Pay now
Cleaning contractor	15 Oct	18,500	18,500
Logistics vendor	23 Oct	86,400	86,400
Packaging, 2/10 net 30	11 Nov	250,000	245,000
Raw materials	26 Oct	312,000	0
IT support	30 Oct	64,800	0
Consultant	5 Nov	42,000	0
Total		773,700	349,900

Of Rp 773,700,000 in open invoices, this run pays Rp 349,900,000:

Cleaning contractor: pay. It’s five days overdue. Pay it now, and find out why it was missed: approval took too long, or it was approved after the last cut-off and nobody checked.
Logistics vendor: pay. It falls due on Friday, before the next run, so this is the last run that pays it on time.
Packaging supplier: pay early, less the discount. “2/10 net 30” means 2% off if you pay within 10 days, otherwise the full amount within 30. The invoice is dated 12 October, so the discount ends on 22 October, before the next run. Paying Rp 245,000,000 now instead of Rp 250,000,000 on 11 November saves Rp 5,000,000.
Raw materials: hold. Part of the delivery arrived damaged, and a credit note has been requested. It falls due before the next run, so call the supplier today to say why it’s held, before they call you.
IT support and consultant: wait. Neither is due before 27 October. IT support goes in next week’s run and the consultant in the run on 3 November, both on time and neither early.

Is the discount worth it? Two per cent sounds small, but the terms pay it for settling on day 10 instead of day 30: you pay Rp 245,000,000 to avoid paying Rp 250,000,000 twenty days later. That’s a return of 2 ÷ 98, about 2.04%, for 20 days, or roughly 37% a year (2 ÷ 98 × 365 ÷ 20). Few uses of spare cash earn that much, so if the money is there, take the discount. If it isn’t, the discount isn’t worth missing payroll for.

Why payment runs go wrong in practice

Paying on approval. Invoices go out the day they’re approved, whatever the terms, and DPO drifts down without anyone deciding it should.
No cut-off. Whatever was approved at 3 pm on run day goes in unchecked, or the run is held back for it.
Payments outside the run. Urgent requests are paid by hand from the bank portal. They skip the checks, and the cash forecast never sees them.
Discount windows shorter than the approval chain. The discount lasts ten days and approval takes fourteen, so it’s gone before anyone can take it.
Runs built from a spreadsheet. The list misses invoices still waiting for approval, so the cash check underestimates what is about to go out.
One person prepares and releases. The same person can change a bank account, build the run and send the file.
Silence towards vendors. No remittance advice, so vendors call AP to ask whether they’ve been paid, and then the CFO.
Payments that never reach the ledger. Paid invoices still show as open in the AP ageing, and someone pays one twice.

Payment runs in Indonesia

Tukar faktur. In many companies, especially in retail and distribution, vendors hand in invoices on fixed days (tukar faktur) and receive a receipt (tanda terima) with the date payment is promised, and terms such as “TOP 30” are often counted from that day. If you use tukar faktur, line its days up with your run days, so every receipt promises a date a run will actually meet.
Withholding tax. When you withhold PPh 23 on a service invoice, the vendor is paid the net amount and the tax is paid to the state separately. Make sure the run pays the net figure and that the vendor gets the withholding slip (bukti potong), or they’ll chase you for the difference.
The faktur pajak. Input VAT can only be credited with a valid faktur pajak, so some companies hold payment until it arrives. If you do, say so on the purchase order and the tanda terima, so the vendor knows what the hold is waiting for.
Lebaran and cuti bersama. The weeks before Lebaran bring the THR payroll, collective leave days and vendors who want paying before the holiday. Plan the runs around that period in advance, with THR in the cash forecast.
Bank cut-off times. Transfers between banks go through different channels, each with its own limits, fees and daily cut-off. A run released late in the afternoon may not arrive until the next working day, so set your release time with your bank’s cut-offs in mind.

Signs your payment process needs a schedule

You probably need payment runs, or better ones, if any of these sound familiar:

Invoices are paid when they’re approved, or when the vendor calls.
Urgent payments are made by hand from the bank portal most weeks.
Nobody can say this morning what will leave the bank next week.
Early-payment discounts are offered, and rarely taken.
The person who prepares a payment can also release it.
Vendors call to ask whether they’ve been paid.
Paid invoices still show as open in the AP ageing.

Every invoice paid before it’s due, without a discount, is an interest-free loan to your supplier.

How to set up payment runs

Choose run days and a cut-off. For example, weekly on Tuesday, for invoices approved by Friday noon. Publish them, so requesters and vendors know when money moves.
Capture due dates and discount terms on the day an invoice arrives. A due date counted from the day someone entered the invoice is wrong by however long it sat in an inbox.
Pay by due date, not by approval date. Use the selection rule: overdue, due before the next run or a discount expiring before the next run.
Decide your discount rule once. Agree with the CFO which discounts to take, and how quickly invoices with a discount must be approved, so nobody has to decide invoice by invoice.
Send urgent payments through the same door. An off-cycle payment needs a reason and an approval, like any other. Review each month who asks for them, and how often.
Separate preparing from releasing. Release needs a second person, and bank accounts are checked against the verified vendor master before the file is built. Write it into your approval matrix.
Tell vendors, and post the payments back. Send a remittance advice with every run, and post each payment against its invoice before the next one.

How Procapy helps

In Proca to Pay, invoices are received by email, upload or vendor submission, and ProcAI reads the vendor, amount, invoice date, due date, payment terms and any early-payment discount. The clock starts on the day the invoice arrives. Approved invoices land in a payment calendar: you set the run days per entity and bank account, and Procapy proposes each run from what is due, what is discountable and what is overdue. Finance reviews and adjusts the run, approves it as a whole and can hold or release individual payments. Discount deadlines show on the invoice, in the approver’s queue and in the calendar, and approval targets can be tightened for invoices with a discount window.

An urgent payment is still a request, with a mandatory reason, an approval and a record, and ProcApprove offers a short break-glass chain for real emergencies. A report of off-cycle payments by requester shows who is making a habit of them. Payment files are built in the format your bank expects, per entity and account, after the bank details on each payment are checked against the verified vendor master. Previously paid invoices are blocked, and preparing a run and releasing it are separate roles, with dual authorisation on release.

Vendors can see whether their invoices are received, approved, scheduled or paid, and get a remittance advice when the payment goes out. Payment status posts back to Dynamics, SAP, Xero, QuickBooks or ABSS against each invoice, and the cash forecast is built from approved invoices, invoices still in approval, open purchase orders and recurring commitments. The cash flow and payments page has more. Book a 30-minute walkthrough, bring your AP ageing and next month’s expected invoices, and we’ll build the payment calendar and the outflow forecast live.

Back to blog