Wouldn’t it be great to hear the following from a vendor?  “We show a past due invoice on your account.  We must have made a mistake.  Can you help us figure it out”?  Believe it or not, it can happen. 

This course covers Credit Holds - what they are, why they happen (it may not have anything to do with past due amounts) and how to have them removed. We also explore the pros and cons of Vendor Statement Reconciliations and some of the ways inquiries from vendors can be managed.

We also look at some of the connections between vendors and the company. Things like: What information should be supplied to or requested from the vendor when onboarding them?  Does the information to be supplied to the vendor include Accounts Payable’s (AP) requirements? How does your Accounts Payable staff feel about calls from Accounts Receivable teams - Especially when the funds are not yet due? 

Establishing strong working relationships with vendors can take a great deal of time in the beginning but once protocols are developed, the number of issues should go down and working on any remaining issues should take less time. And taking this course is the first step to strengthen those relationships.

Course Series

This course is included in the following series:

  1. Procure to Pay Work Stream
  2. No PO, No Pay – Can It Work for Your Organization?
  3. The Vendor Master – Creating A Solid Foundation for Accounts Payable Processing
  4. Strengthening Vendor Relationships - Steps That Can Be Taken by Accounts Payable
  5. The Benefits of Reconciling Purchase Order Goods Receipts Not Yet Invoiced
Learning Objectives
  • Discover how to initiate and strengthen a working relationship with a vendor.
  • Investigate how employees outside of Accounts Payable (AP) can impact relationships with vendors; good and bad.
  • Identify what a Credit Hold is and how one can be avoided or removed.
  • Explore the benefits of performing Vendor Statement Reconciliations and how to complete them more efficiently.
  • Consider options on how an Accounts Payable Operation can manage inquiries from Vendors more effectively.
Last updated/reviewed: March 7, 2024

Included In Certifications

This course is included in the following Certification Programs:

  1. Accounts Payable - Learn the Terminology
  2. Procure to Pay Work Stream
  3. A Deep Dive into the Responsibilities of Accounts Payable Operations
  4. Understanding Non-Purchase Order (PO) Invoice Transactions
  5. Understanding Purchase Order (PO) Invoice Transactions
  6. The Vendor Master – Creating A Solid Foundation for Accounts Payable Processing
  7. No PO, No Pay – Can It Work for Your Organization?
  8. Payment Process: Selection, Review, Approval, Release
  9. The Benefits of Reconciling Purchase Order Goods Receipts Not Yet Invoiced
  10. Strengthening Vendor Relationships - Steps That Can Be Taken by Accounts Payable
  11. The Basics of 1099's
  12. Creating an Accounts Payable Documentation Management Policy
  13. The Basics of Automation for Accounts Payable (AP) Specialists
  1. Accounts Payable - Learn the Terminology
  2. A Deep Dive into the Responsibilities of Accounts Payable Operations
  3. The Vendor Master – Creating A Solid Foundation for Accounts Payable Processing
  4. The Basics of 1099's
  5. Prioritizing Accounts Payable Workload - Divide and Conquer
  6. Strengthening Vendor Relationships - Steps That Can Be Taken by Accounts Payable
  7. The Benefits of Reconciling Purchase Order Goods Receipts Not Yet Invoiced
  8. Reconciling Aged Open Payables and Outstanding Checks
  9. Benefits of An Accounts Payable Recovery Audit
  10. No PO, No Pay – Can It Work for Your Organization?
  11. What to Consider in an Accounts Payable Workflow Solution
  12. Creating an Accounts Payable Documentation Management Policy
  13. Communicating the Role of Accounts Payable to Others
  14. Justifying and Presenting the Needs of Accounts Payable Operations
  15. The Basics of Project Management for Accounts Payable
  16. KPIs and Metrics for Accounts Payable Manual Processes
28 Reviews (115 ratings)

Reviews

4
Anonymous Author
The course was very helpful in understanding how to improve relationships between vendor and company. I found the credit hold information very useful and didn't know some of the reasons listed. The final exam was a bit difficult, overall the course met its objectives.
5
Anonymous Author
This was very informative. I will certainly take to management the option of having two AP mailboxes, to separate newly issued invoices from other AP inquiries. Also, to make it more of a priority to check vendor statements in order to strengthen those relationships.
4
Anonymous Author
While there was a ton of great knowledge included in this course, I felt like some of the exam questions were pretty tricky. Thank you broadening my understanding of the Vendor/ AP relationship.
5
Anonymous Author
Excellent course on overview of relationship between a company and its vendors. I recommend this course for anyone that wants to know more about this area of the business
3
Anonymous Author
Yet again, another informative course that was well done. It delivered critical information about how to improve vendor relationships with your accounting department.
5
Anonymous Author
The quiz has very confusing questions. Questions can't be that long, I mean questions are good but too complicated to understand. Go directly to the point.
5
Anonymous Author
The material provided in this course was simple and to the point on how to maintain a cordial relationship with the vendors and other departments involved.
5
Member's Profile
Good knowledge about Accounts Payable. It is really very deep knowledge about relationship between Vendor and Accounts Payable Team.
5
Member's Profile
Anne presented many good ideas regarding strengthening vendor relationships. This was a good overview and reminder of these ideas.
5
Anonymous Author
A lot of the information listed should be common courtesy, but it is a nice reminder. Treat others as you want to be treated.
5
Member's Profile
Awesome course, very informative. Specially useful in brushing up the customer service skills AP should provide to vendors
5
Anonymous Author
Excellent course. Very well developed, prepared and presented with practical examples and insights.
5
Anonymous Author
Great source of reference information for future reference. Would recommend this course to others.
4
Anonymous Author
Good reminder that our Vendor relationships are important and need processes to enforce that
5
Anonymous Author
Lots of useful information in here, and the recommended best practices were really helpful.
5
Anonymous Author
Very informational on the topic of vendor relationships. Will come in handy for the future.
4
Anonymous Author
class had a lot of good information and would be helpful for someone processing invoices
4
Anonymous Author
This course was a helpful overview of how AP staff can strengthen vendor relationships.
5
Anonymous Author
strongly recommend this information to be delivered internally to "internal" customers.
3
Anonymous Author
the course would help an beginner to understand relationships flow with AP and vendor.
3
Anonymous Author
Seems to be inconsistency between the course material and the answer for question 5.
5
Anonymous Author
Good over view of the challenges AP faces and how to successfully deal with them
5
Anonymous Author
the session is very comprehensive and the materials are simple yet very concise.
5
Anonymous Author
lots of good information here to improve vendor relationships with AP
5
Anonymous Author
This was a very detailed course with good text questions as well!
5
Anonymous Author
Very tricky and need thorough analysis of the final examination
4
Member's Profile
Vendor Relationships are very important... great reminder
5
Member's Profile
The information supplied for this class was informative.
show all reviews
Prerequisites
Course Complexity: Intermediate

No Advanced Preparation or Prerequisites are needed for this course. However, it is recommended to take the courses "A Deep Dive into the Responsibilities of Accounts Payable Operations" and "The Vendor Master – Creating a Solid Foundation for Accounts Payable" prior to completing this one.

Education Provider Information
Company: Illumeo, Inc., 75 East Santa Clara St., Suite 1215, San Jose, CA 95113
Contact: For more information regarding this course, including complaint and cancellation policies, please contact our offices at (408) 400- 3993 or send an e-mail to courses@illumeo.com.
Instructor for this course
  Course Overview CPE
Course Syllabus
INTRODUCTION and OVERVIEW
  Introduction to Strengthening Vendor Relationships2:51
Steps That Can Be Taken by Accounts Payable
  Understanding and Building the Foundation10:56
  The Love/Hate Relationship8:22
  Accounts Payable is in The Middle5:10
  Credit Holds and Their Impact6:21
  Identifying Issues7:58
CONCLUSION
  Conclusion 2:34
Continuous Play
  Strengthening Vendor Relationships 44:12
SUPPORTING MATERIALS
  Slides: Strengthening Vendor RelationshipsPDF
  Strengthening Vendor Relationships Glossary/IndexPDF
REVIEW and TEST
  REVIEW QUESTIONSquiz
 FINAL EXAMexam