The person who does a task every month knows a dozen small rules they never think about. Automation fails on exactly those. Write the process down first.
In this article
The one-page template
| Name | Monthly vendor payment report |
|---|---|
| Trigger | 3rd working day of the month, or when Finance emails the GL extract |
| Inputs | GL extract (CSV from SAP FBL1N), vendor master (Excel), last month’s report |
| Steps | 1. Filter document type KZ. 2. Remove reversed entries. 3. Add vendor category from master. 4. Pivot by category and month. |
| Rules | Amounts in ₹ lakhs to 2 decimals; exclude intercompany vendors (codes starting 9). |
| Exceptions | New vendors not in master → list separately and email Procurement. |
| Outputs | Excel report + summary email to CFO by 5 pm |
| Checks | Total must equal GL balance for the payment accounts. |
| Time / frequency | 90 minutes, monthly |
| Owner / backup | Priya / Rahul |
How to fill it honestly
- Watch it being done once, live, and write every click — including the “oh, and I always delete these rows” moments.
- Collect real samples of inputs and outputs from two different months.
- List exceptions from memory and from last year’s emails. Exceptions are where automations break.
Why it pays off
The document becomes the spec for whoever builds the automation, the test plan (compare outputs with past months), and the backup procedure when the automation is down. Then decide what to automate first.
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