Invoice exceptions are the most useful data in your AP process
Download the Fall 2026 SSON Essentials guide, sponsored by Springtime Technologies, with new benchmark data from SSON Research & Analytics.
According to SSON’s 2026 benchmark data, AP teams in the top quartile run exception rates of 5% to 8%, while the lowest performers sit between 17% and 20%. Much of that difference starts outside AP, in problems like supplier master data that hasn’t been cleaned in years or a PO that records units when the supplier invoices in cases.
Because most teams resolve exceptions one at a time, the same causes keep coming back without anyone noticing. This guide shows finance and shared services leaders how to spot those patterns in their AP data and get them in front of the people who can fix them.
What’s inside the report:
- Why AP data goes unused: from fragmented ERP landscapes to exception knowledge that never leaves the local team
- Exception rate benchmarks: each traced from the first exception to the upstream owner and the measured result
- A four-step approach: capture, automate, analyze, and influence
- Governance for AI in AP: contextual data, explainability, auditability, and human accountability
- A five stage maturity model: from basic invoice visibility to continuous improvement
- 10 value-add questions for AP teams: including whether you pay on the due date or the right date, and how much cash sits in your AP cycle right now.
Accounts payable exception management starts with the source
Curious to see what’s behind your own exception rate?
The report argues that exception data only becomes useful once you can trace it back to a cause. Beachwalk, the analytics layer built into Invoicetrack, does exactly that, letting AP and finance teams drill from a headline figure like a rising exception rate down to the suppliers, entities, and individual invoices behind it.
Explore AP analytics in Invoicetrack or bring your own AP numbers to a 1-2-1.