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A manufacturer codes non-PO freight bills without hiring more AP staff when MakersHub reads each bill and codes every line to its GL account and cost center by rule. MakersHub also matches bills to purchase orders and routes each bill for approval, so the AP team you already have reviews bills instead of coding them. The five signs below show where a manufacturer's AP has fallen behind production, and what MakersHub does about each one.
What are the signs a manufacturer's AP can't keep up with production?
MakersHub codes each supplier and freight bill the day it lands, so material cost is known before the month closes. Without that, production runs ahead of accounting: parts arrive and jobs ship while bills wait to be coded. A controller a NetSuite manufacturer handling 500 to 1,000 supplier bills a month with one part-time AP person, described where that leaves the team: "So the easier we can make this process, we can either continue with that or, you know, I think we're falling behind now."
1. Your accountant picks the same GL code on the same supplier's bill every month
Many of a manufacturer's supplier bills are repeats: the same steel supplier, the same fittings, the same GL account and cost center, month after month. Someone still opens each one and codes it by hand. The same controller team put the question plainly: "How can we at least populate it and then have somebody review rather than someone picking the GL code manually?”
MakersHub applies the GL account and cost center to every line on every future bill from that supplier by rule, and your accountant reviews the coding and approves it.
2. Freight bills get split between inventory and expense by hand
A consolidated freight bill often carries charges that belong in two places. The controller team said: "We started getting consolidated invoices by week, but some of it's for freight that's coming into us. It needs to be part of our inventory. Some of it needs to go to expense because we're making revenue against it." Sorting that line by line is the manual work that keeps a part-time AP seat behind.
MakersHub reads every line on a freight bill and codes each charge to inventory or expense by rule, based on the vendor, item or description.
3. Long parts bills wait in a pile because nobody has time to key every line
A supplier bill for a production run can list dozens of part numbers across several pages. Keying each line takes long enough that the bill waits for a quiet afternoon, and in a busy month that afternoon never comes. MakersHub captures every part and fitting on a supplier bill, however many lines or pages it runs, and delivers each line coded and ready for review.
4. Cost-center tags get added at month-end
A bill posted to one expense account balances the books but leaves the department, line and facility blank. Someone allocates it by hand before close, and until then nobody can see which department's material cost moved.
MakersHub allocates each line to its cost center as the bill is read, across departments, facilities and entities, so each location's costs stay separate and management still gets consolidated reporting.
5. Nobody can say which bill is waiting on which approver
AP sends bills out for approval, and some don't come back. Nothing shows whether a bill is with the buyer, the plant manager or nobody at all. MakersHub shows every bill waiting on an approver and exactly who it's waiting on, and approvers can approve or reject straight from the email notification.
Can MakersHub match one bill to multiple POs in NetSuite?
MakersHub matches one supplier bill to several purchase orders in NetSuite, so a supplier can send one bill a week that covers every shipment. The controller team named the cost of not having it: "We can't tell a vendor to bill us once a week instead of once every time they ship because we can't match multiple POs to one invoice."
On NetSuite, MakersHub routes each bill to the right subsidiary with entity-specific coding, approvals and currency. It also codes Custom Segments at the header and line level, alongside department, class and location. MakersHub syncs two ways with Sage Intacct, Xero, and QuickBooks Online and Desktop through integrations built in-house.
How can a manufacturer handle more supplier bills without hiring more AP staff?
MakersHub reads and codes each supplier bill before anyone on your team opens it, so bill volume can grow without the next AP hire. Hiring adds hands to the one step in manufacturing AP that least needs them. A new clerk spends most of the day keying part numbers and picking the same codes the last person picked.
The controller team framed the choice the same way: "So, how can we make that faster so that somebody who is part-time can manage this rather than hiring another person to deal with it?"
Justin MacDonald of Benson Cabinetry and Millwork, which builds and installs cabinets for condominium developers and receives about 400 bills a month, made the case for keeping the team and redeploying it: "Now, I don't anticipate this will reduce or eliminate a role, but what I do see a really good opportunity is just being able to utilize one of the accountants on our team in different areas."
Book a walkthrough: bring a multi-line parts bill or a consolidated freight bill, and we'll code it to your cost centers in front of you.
What does MakersHub leave to your ERP?
MakersHub handles AP and works from the purchase orders and receipts already in your ERP. Raising POs, receiving and inventory records stay in the ERP. If your bottleneck is raising POs or counting stock, fix that in the ERP first; MakersHub earns its place once supplier bills are the pile that won't shrink.