Automated vendor payment scheduling

Purpose

1.1. Fully automate accounts payable in a pet-friendly café, ensuring vendors are paid on time by integrating scheduling, approvals, invoice data extraction, payment disbursement, reconciliation, and reporting.
1.2. Reduce manual intervention, prevent missed deadlines, handle recurring vendors (pet food, cleaning, staff), and allow flexible payment modes (bank transfers, ACH, cards).

Trigger Conditions

2.1. New approved invoice uploaded to cloud storage (PDF/scan).
2.2. Scheduled payment due date met (daily/weekly/monthly).
2.3. Purchase order closed by staff in POS/ERP.
2.4. Vendor payment batch file uploaded/received.
2.5. Approval event from finance manager (e-signature or email acceptance).

Platform Variants

3.1. QuickBooks Online
• API: Bill Payment API — automate bill creation/payment actions with endpoint `/v3/company/{companyId}/bill/${billId}/pay`.
3.2. Xero
• API: Payments endpoint — schedule payments against invoices with `POST /api.xro/2.0/Payments`.
3.3. SAP Business One
• Feature: Payment Wizard — automate vendor payment scheduling via DI API payments object.
3.4. Oracle NetSuite
• SuiteScript (REST API): `POST /record/v1/vendorPayment` to automate creation of vendor payments.
3.5. Zoho Books
• API: Vendor Payments — `/vendorpayments` endpoint to schedule and track payments.
3.6. Stripe
• API: Payouts — set up recurring vendor transfer via `/v1/payouts` for connected accounts.
3.7. Plaid
• Feature: ACH Disbursements — send funds using `payment_initiation/payment/create`.
3.8. Wise (formerly TransferWise)
• API: Batch Payment endpoint — automate vendor payments in multiple currencies with `/v1/batch_payments`.
3.9. PayPal
• Payouts API: automatic mass payments via `/v1/payments/payouts`.
3.10. Microsoft Power Automate
• Connector: Automate approval-to-payment workflow with actions for SharePoint, Outlook, and Excel.
3.11. Bill.com
• API: Automated Payables — trigger payments using `/v3/payments`.
3.12. FreshBooks
• API: `POST /payments` — automate payments against invoices.
3.13. Ramp
• Integrate: Vendor bill automation and scheduled ACH via API `/bills/pay`.
3.14. Airbase
• API: Payment run endpoint to automate batches for vendor payments.
3.15. Gusto
• API: Contractors Payments — `/v1/contractors/payments` for vendor payout scheduling.
3.16. Square
• API: Vendors and Payment endpoints — automate vendor bill and direct transfer via `/v2/payments`.
3.17. SAP Concur
• API: Invoice Payment Integration — trigger/systematic payout on `/v3/payments`.
3.18. HSBCnet
• API: Bulk Payment File Upload service for scheduled vendor payments.
3.19. Slack
• Feature: Automated notifications/approvals in dedicated payment channels via Slack Workflow Builder.
3.20. Dropbox Sign (HelloSign)
• API: Collect e-approvals for invoice clearance via `/signature_request/send_with_template`.

Benefits

4.1. Eliminates late fees and strengthens vendor relationships with punctual payouts.
4.2. Frees up staff for customer-facing roles and reduces manual entry risks.
4.3. Ensures transparent, audit-friendly financial trails with every payment event logged.
4.4. Provides seamless multi-vendor, multi-currency payouts across animal supply chains.
4.5. Enables compliance with pet health and sanitation spending oversight.