Purchase-to-pay vs. Procure-to-pay

There is no difference between the terms. Both refer to the P2P cycle that begins as a Purchase Requisition is raised and ends as the payment is dispatched to the supplier.

Let’s go through an ideal Procure-to-pay process in its entirety.

The company uses a procure to pay software when they need to order something, and then a manager will fill in a Purchase Requisition and take it for approval. If approved, the procurement team will look into their list of consolidated vendors and send RFQs or RFPs to those vendors to enquire about relevant products or services and their prices. Once the procurement team finds a suitable solution, they will go for the most cost-effective and minimal-risk-offering option and open a Purchase Order to their chosen supplier after getting it approved.

As the vendor sends the goods and the invoice, the receiving officer will make a note of the quantity, type, and quality of items received in the form of a Goods Receipt Note [GRN]. The Accounts Payable personnel will then compare the PO, GRN, and the seller’s invoice, get the invoice approved and dispatch the payment.