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Accounts Payable Complaint Escalation Process

The purpose of this policy is to outline the escalation process in the event of vendor inquiry / complaint.

Background

The Accounts Payable Customer Service Desk (APCSD) has been in operation since 2001 to handle initial inquiries from internal and external clients on payment statuses with the ability to escalate calls to the Coordinator/Supervisor or Manager as deemed necessary.

Effective January 1, 2011, the customer service desk will be automated with options provided to callers in order to speak with an Accounts Payable Customer Service Representative, Coordinator, Supervisor or Manager. The caller will determine the escalation process through the automated message and option system.

Policy

It is the policy that telephone inquiries will be acknowledged within 1 business day and email inquiries will be acknowledged within 2 business days of receipt of call/email.  The acknowledgement will indicate the length of time it may take to provide details relating to the inquiry. 

Internal/external clients calling to inquiry / complain on the status of an outstanding invoice will be the initial responsibility of the Accounts Payable Service Representative, although the caller will have the capability to escalate the call to the Coordinator, Supervisor or Manager level from the prompt.

It is Accounts Payable's policy that AP does not provide dispute resolution on behalf of the division or the vendor. It is the responsibility of the ordering division to resolve disputes directly with the vendor providing the goods and services.

Simple inquiries of payment status will not be recorded or monitored. Inquiries / complaints escalated to the Accounts Payable Coordinator, Supervisor or Manager will be recorded and monitored to identify trends and inefficiencies for review and resolution.

Procedure

The APSR will take the following steps to resolve outstanding invoices with the client:

  • Review status of invoice in SAP
  • Review billing requirements with client
  • Contact division on status of outstanding invoice
  • Provide vendor with update from division with anticipated payment date

The AP Coordinator will take the following steps to resolve outstanding invoices with the client:

  • AP Coordinator will review status of invoice with APSR, reviewing notes and steps taken to resolve outstanding invoice
  • Contact division on status of outstanding invoice
  • Advise division of dispute resolution process
  • Discuss billing requirements with clients
  • Provide update to vendor on status of invoice with anticipated payment date
  • The AP Supervisor will take the following steps to resolve the outstanding invoice with the client:
  • Discuss with Coordinator steps taken to resolve outstanding invoice
  • Escalate to division Supervisor for invoice status, issuesDiscuss billing requirements with clients
  • Provide divisional contact information to vendor for dispute resolution, if necessary
  • Provide update to vendor on status of invoice with anticipated payment date
  • The AP Manager will take the following steps to resolve the outstanding invoice with the client:
  • Discuss with Supervisor status of invoice, steps taken, any dispute issues
  • Escalate to division Manager for resolution
  • Provide update to vendor on status of invoice with anticipated payment date
  • Escalate to Director, if necessary

Contact

Should you have any questions regarding this policy please contact the Accounts Payable Customer Service desk at 397-5235 and press 2, or email APHelp@toronto.ca.

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