Paper invoices are the silent productivity killer in property management. Every manual invoice that crosses your accounts payable desk represents lost time, increased error risk, and delayed visibility into your financial position. Yardi PAYscan transforms this bottleneck into a streamlined digital workflow but only when configured correctly.
This guide covers everything you need to know about implementing and optimizing Yardi PAYscan for your property management operation. You will learn how to configure scanning workflows, build approval hierarchies that match your organizational structure, avoid common implementation mistakes, and measure the ROI of your paperless AP investment. Whether you are considering PAYscan for the first time or looking to optimize an existing implementation, these insights will help you eliminate paper while strengthening financial controls.
What Is Yardi PAYscan?
Yardi PAYscan is an accounts payable automation module within the Yardi Voyager platform that digitizes the entire invoice lifecycle from receipt through payment. The system uses optical character recognition technology to extract data from scanned invoices, then routes those invoices through configurable approval workflows before posting to your general ledger.
At its core, PAYscan replaces the physical movement of paper invoices with digital workflows. Instead of invoices sitting in someone’s inbox waiting for review, they flow automatically to the appropriate approvers based on rules you define property, expense type, amount, vendor, or any combination of factors. Approvers receive notifications, review invoice images alongside extracted data, and approve or reject with a click from their desktop or mobile device.
The system maintains complete audit trails documenting who touched each invoice, what actions they took, and when. This documentation proves invaluable during audits and provides visibility into AP workflow bottlenecks that paper processes obscure.
PAYscan integrates directly with Yardi Voyager’s core accounting functions, eliminating the double-entry that plagues organizations using separate scanning solutions. When an invoice completes the approval workflow, it posts directly to your general ledger with all coding intact.
Why Paperless Invoice Processing Matters Now
The case for AP automation has never been stronger, driven by converging pressures that make manual invoice processing increasingly untenable.
Remote and distributed work is permanent. Property management teams now work from multiple locations, home offices, and the field. Paper invoices that require physical routing simply do not work in this environment. PAYscan enables approvers to review and act on invoices from anywhere with internet access.
Vendor relationships depend on payment speed. Your best contractors and service providers have options. Organizations that pay slowly find themselves deprioritized when resources are scarce. Automated processing shortens the time from invoice receipt to payment, strengthening vendor relationships and sometimes qualifying for early payment discounts.
Audit requirements continue tightening. Whether you manage affordable housing with HUD oversight, serve institutional investors with strict reporting requirements, or simply want clean financials, comprehensive documentation matters. PAYscan automatically creates the audit trail that manual processes require deliberate effort to maintain.
Staff costs make manual processing expensive. When you calculate the fully loaded cost of manually processing an invoice opening mail, entering data, routing for approval, filing, retrieving for questions the numbers are sobering. Industry benchmarks suggest manual invoice processing costs $12 to $15 per invoice. Automated processing drops that to $3 to $5 per invoice or less at scale.
Late payment penalties and missed discounts add up. Invoices lost in approval queues result in late fees and forfeited early payment discounts. These costs are often invisible because they are buried in vendor invoices rather than tracked separately, but they represent real money flowing out of your organization unnecessarily.
How Yardi PAYscan Transforms Accounts Payable Operations
Understanding the end-to-end workflow helps you appreciate both the benefits and configuration requirements of PAYscan implementation.
Invoice Capture Becomes Instant and Accurate
PAYscan offers multiple methods for getting invoices into the system. High-volume operations typically use dedicated scanning hardware that feeds directly into PAYscan queues. Smaller organizations or remote workers can use email submission, forwarding invoices to designated addresses that PAYscan monitors automatically. Mobile capture apps allow field staff to photograph invoices for immediate upload.
Once captured, optical character recognition technology extracts key data: vendor name, invoice number, date, amount, and often line-item details. The system matches this extracted data against your vendor master file and suggests appropriate coding based on historical patterns. Staff review and correct the OCR results rather than keying everything manually a significant time savings that also reduces data entry errors.
Routing Rules Eliminate Manual Distribution
This is where thoughtful configuration pays dividends. PAYscan routing rules determine which invoices go to which approvers under what circumstances. Well-designed rules ensure invoices reach the right people quickly without creating unnecessary bottlenecks.
Common routing logic includes property-based routing where invoices for specific properties go to those property managers, amount-based thresholds where invoices above certain values require additional approval levels, expense-type routing where capital expenditures follow different paths than operating expenses, and vendor-specific rules where certain vendors always require particular approvers.
The system supports sequential approval chains, parallel approvals where multiple people must sign off, and conditional logic that adapts routing based on invoice characteristics.
Digital Approval Accelerates Decisions
Approvers receive notifications when invoices await their review. They access invoice images alongside extracted data, historical payment information for that vendor, budget versus actual comparisons, and any notes from previous reviewers. All the context needed for informed decisions appears on one screen.
Approval actions include straightforward approval to advance the invoice, rejection with required explanation, return to previous approver for clarification, hold for additional documentation, and split for routing portions to different cost centers.
Mobile approval capabilities mean invoices do not languish waiting for approvers who are traveling or working remotely. Urgent invoices can be addressed immediately rather than waiting for someone to return to their desk.
Exception Handling Surfaces Problems Quickly
Not every invoice flows smoothly through approval. PAYscan includes robust exception handling for invoices that require special attention.
Common exceptions include invoices that fail three-way matching against purchase orders and receiving documents, amounts that exceed budget thresholds, vendors not yet set up in the system, duplicate invoice detection, and missing required documentation.
The system queues exceptions for designated handlers and tracks resolution time. This visibility helps identify systemic issues a vendor consistently submitting incorrect invoices, a property manager who chronically delays approvals, or purchasing processes that create matching exceptions.
Payment Processing Completes the Cycle
Approved invoices feed directly into Yardi’s payment processing. You maintain control over payment timing, method, and batching while eliminating the manual work of pulling approved invoices together for check runs or electronic payments.
PAYscan maintains the connection between payment and invoice documentation, enabling easy retrieval when questions arise. Vendor inquiries about payment status can be answered instantly by anyone with system access rather than requiring research through physical files.
Step-by-Step Playbook: Implementing Yardi PAYscan
Successful PAYscan implementation follows a predictable pattern. Skipping steps or rushing through configuration creates problems that persist long after go-live.
Step 1: Document Your Current AP Process in Detail
Before configuring PAYscan, thoroughly document how invoices currently flow through your organization. Map every step from receipt through payment, noting who touches each invoice, what decisions they make, and how long each step typically takes.
This documentation serves multiple purposes. It identifies inefficiencies in current processes that automation should eliminate rather than perpetuate. It surfaces approval requirements and business rules that must be built into PAYscan configuration. And it establishes baseline metrics for measuring post-implementation improvement.
Pay particular attention to exception scenarios. How do you handle invoices for properties in transition? What about invoices that arrive without purchase orders? Where do disputed invoices go? These edge cases often trip up implementations when they are not anticipated during configuration.
Step 2: Clean Up Your Vendor Master File
PAYscan’s effectiveness depends heavily on vendor data quality. Before go-live, audit your vendor master file to remove duplicate vendors, consolidate variations in vendor names, verify W-9 information is current, confirm electronic payment details where applicable, and establish default GL coding for routine vendors.
Duplicate vendors create particular problems because PAYscan cannot reliably match incoming invoices when the same vendor appears under multiple names. Consolidation before implementation is far easier than cleaning up after the system is live and has created new records.
Step 3: Design Approval Workflows That Balance Control and Speed
This is the most critical configuration decision. Approval workflows must satisfy internal control requirements while remaining practical for daily use.
Resist the temptation to over-engineer approval chains. Each additional approval level adds processing time and creates opportunities for bottlenecks. Ask whether each approval requirement genuinely adds value or simply perpetuates historical practice.
Build in coverage for absences. Designated backup approvers ensure invoices continue flowing when primary approvers are unavailable. PAYscan can automatically escalate invoices that sit unapproved beyond specified timeframes.
Step 4: Configure Scanning and Capture Workflows
Determine how invoices will enter the system and configure accordingly. If using dedicated scanning hardware, test throughput and image quality across different invoice types. If enabling email capture, establish dedicated email addresses and communicate submission procedures to vendors.
Configure OCR recognition settings based on your common invoice formats. PAYscan can learn from corrections, improving extraction accuracy over time, but initial configuration affects how quickly accuracy improves.
Establish clear procedures for handling invoices that arrive through unexpected channels. Despite your best efforts, some invoices will arrive as email attachments to individual staff, paper mail to wrong addresses, or handed directly to property managers in the field.
Step 5: Train Staff Thoroughly Before Go-Live
PAYscan implementation changes daily workflows for AP staff, approvers, and anyone who interacts with vendor invoices. Comprehensive training prevents the frustration and workarounds that undermine automation benefits.
AP staff need training on scanning procedures, OCR correction, exception handling, and queue management. Approvers need training on accessing their queues, reviewing invoice documentation, and taking appropriate actions. Vendor-facing staff need to understand new submission procedures so they can communicate changes to vendors.
Do not underestimate the change management aspect. Staff comfortable with paper processes may resist digital workflows initially. Address concerns directly, emphasize benefits, and provide ample support during the transition period.
Step 6: Run Parallel Processing Before Full Cutover
Rather than switching entirely to PAYscan overnight, run parallel processing for a period. Continue your existing process while also routing invoices through PAYscan. This approach identifies configuration issues before they affect real payments, builds staff confidence with the new system, and validates that approval workflows function as designed.
Parallel processing adds short-term workload but prevents the disruption of payment delays or errors during the learning curve.
Common Questions About Yardi PAYscan
How long does PAYscan implementation typically take?
Most implementations require 6 to 12 weeks from project initiation to go-live. The timeline depends primarily on the complexity of your approval workflows, the state of your vendor data, and your organization’s capacity for training and change management. Organizations with simple structures and clean data can implement more quickly; complex multi-entity operations with elaborate approval requirements need more time.
What scanning hardware does PAYscan require?
PAYscan works with most commercial document scanners that produce standard image formats. High-volume operations benefit from dedicated invoice scanners with automatic document feeders. Smaller organizations can use multifunction devices or even email submission without dedicated scanning hardware. Yardi provides compatibility guidance for specific hardware questions.
Can PAYscan handle invoices from vendors who will not change their submission process?
Yes. While electronic invoice submission streamlines processing, PAYscan handles paper invoices that must be scanned internally. The system accommodates whatever mix of submission methods your vendor base presents. Over time, you can encourage more vendors toward electronic submission as they see faster payment times.
How does PAYscan handle invoices that require split coding across properties or accounts?
PAYscan fully supports split coding with each split potentially following different approval paths if your routing rules require it. Complex coding scenarios common in property management allocating shared service invoices across properties, splitting invoices between operating and capital accounts work smoothly within the system.
What happens to historical invoices and payment records?
Implementing PAYscan does not affect historical records in Yardi Voyager. Past transactions remain accessible through standard reporting. Some organizations choose to scan and attach historical invoices to existing transactions for comprehensive digital documentation, but this is optional and can be done selectively based on audit requirements or practical utility. \
Mistakes to Avoid When Implementing PAYscan
Mistake 1: Creating Overly Complex Approval Workflows
More approval steps do not automatically mean better controls. Each additional approval level adds processing time, creates bottleneck risk, and frustrates staff. Design workflows that satisfy genuine control requirements without unnecessary bureaucracy. If you cannot articulate why a particular approval is needed, question whether it belongs in the workflow.
Mistake 2: Neglecting Vendor Communication
Your vendors need to know how to submit invoices to your new system. Organizations that flip to PAYscan without vendor communication find invoices continuing to arrive through old channels, creating confusion and delays. Proactive vendor communication about submission procedures, email addresses, and expected processing times smooths the transition.
Mistake 3: Skipping the OCR Training Period
PAYscan’s OCR accuracy improves as the system learns from corrections. Rushing past this learning period by accepting inaccurate extraction creates downstream problems. Invest time early in correcting OCR results carefully; this training pays off through improved accuracy on future invoices.
Mistake 4: Failing to Establish Escalation Procedures
Invoices will occasionally stall in approval queues due to approver absence, oversight, or uncertainty. Without escalation procedures, these invoices create late payments and vendor complaints. Configure automatic escalation for invoices exceeding age thresholds and designate backup approvers for coverage.
Mistake 5: Underestimating Change Management
PAYscan represents significant workflow change for AP staff and approvers accustomed to paper processes. Organizations that focus only on technical configuration while ignoring the human factors often see poor adoption and workaround behaviors that undermine automation benefits.
How to Measure PAYscan Success
Quantifying your AP automation investment requires tracking metrics across efficiency, accuracy, and financial impact dimensions.
Processing Efficiency Metrics include average days from invoice receipt to approval, invoices processed per AP staff member, time spent on manual data entry, and exception resolution time.
Accuracy Metrics include invoice coding error rates, duplicate payment incidents, three-way matching exception rates, and vendor inquiry volume.
Financial Impact Metrics include processing cost per invoice, late payment penalty incidence, early payment discount capture rate, and audit preparation time reduction.
Establish baseline measurements before implementation. Track changes monthly during the first year, then quarterly as the system stabilizes. Organizations with well-implemented PAYscan typically see 50 to 70 percent reductions in processing time and meaningful improvements across all metric categories.
Key Takeaways
Yardi PAYscan is an integrated accounts payable automation module that eliminates paper invoices through optical character recognition scanning, intelligent routing, and digital approval workflows. Organizations implementing PAYscan typically reduce invoice processing time by 60 to 70 percent while improving coding accuracy and strengthening audit documentation.
Successful implementation requires thoughtful configuration of approval hierarchies, routing rules, and exception handling procedures before going live. The most common implementation failures stem from inadequate vendor setup, overly complex approval workflows, and insufficient staff training on the new digital processes. Organizations that invest in proper configuration and training see positive ROI within 90 to 120 days of deployment.
Your Next Steps
Implementing Yardi PAYscan is one of the highest-ROI investments you can make in your property management back office. The combination of time savings, accuracy improvements, and strengthened controls pays dividends that compound over time.
This week: Document your current invoice processing workflow from receipt through payment. Note bottlenecks, pain points, and steps that exist for reasons no one remembers.
This month: Audit your vendor master file. Identify duplicate vendors, outdated information, and records that will cause matching problems when OCR starts reading incoming invoices.
This quarter: Map your approval requirements to actual control needs. Question whether every approval level genuinely adds value or simply perpetuates historical practice.
When you are ready to move forward with PAYscan implementation, ND Consulting has guided dozens of organizations through successful deployments. We understand the configuration decisions that determine whether PAYscan transforms your AP operations or creates new frustrations. Our experience helps you avoid common pitfalls and achieve faster time-to-value from your investment.
