Pay-to contacts on merged payment requests

Pay AP supplier invoices provides two options for merging supplier payments. These options treat the Pay-to contact information differently.

Understanding the differences between the two options will help you create payment requests with the Pay-to information you expect. This is especially true when you are paying AP supplier invoices that have different Pay-to contacts defined.

How AP supplier invoices can have different Pay-to contacts

Pay-to contact information differ between AP supplier invoices, or between AP supplier invoices and the supplier record, in the following situations:

  • You override the default Pay-to contact during AP supplier invoice entry.
    For example, say you enter an AP supplier invoice that is for a supplier location that uses a different Pay-to contact than the one specified on the supplier record. To make sure that the payment is sent to the right place, you select a different Pay-to contact on the AP supplier invoice.
  • You edit the Pay-to contact in the supplier record.
    For example, say the Print as name changes for the supplier Pay-to contact. You update the supplier record to edit Print as. All AP supplier invoices created after that point default to the updated Pay-to contact. AP supplier invoices entered before you updated the supplier record use the old contact information.

How to select a merge payment option

When you pay AP supplier invoices, the Payment request method you select determines whether the payment request will take the pay-to contact information from the AP supplier invoice or from the supplier record.

In many cases, you might want to use the Pay-to contact information from the AP supplier invoice, to ensure that the payment is sent to the correct contact. In some cases, you might want to override the contact information on the AP supplier invoice to update the payment with the latest information, or to enforce your internal policies.

Option Description Sample use case
Merge payment requests into one per supplier pay-to contact Uses the Pay-to contact information from the AP supplier invoice. Your supplier has different locations and a single supplier record. When you enter AP supplier invoices, you override the Pay-to contact to select the right contact for the location that you used. When paying the AP supplier invoices, you want to send one check to each location.
Merge requests into one per supplier Uses the Pay-to contact information from the supplier record. Your supplier recently moved. You already updated the Pay-to contact on the supplier record. You want to merge all payments for the supplier and you want to make sure that payment is sent to the new address only.
Not interested in merging payments, but still want control over which Pay-to contact is used to create the payment? Generate one request per AP supplier invoice always uses Pay-to contact information from the AP supplier invoice. Use supplier preference always uses Pay-to contact information from the supplier record, but this option might merge payments. Check the supplier record to see if Merge payment requests is selected on the Payment information tab.