Close Your Books Faster: Post Invoices Before Approval with Centime AP Automation

Accruals are a tax on finance teams. They don’t exist because controllers love them — they exist because systems force teams to wait. Wait for approvals. Wait for signatures. Wait until everyone has blessed an invoice before it can hit the general ledger.

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That wait time has always been the price of control. Until now.

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The old way: control over speed

Month-end is supposed to bring clarity, but too often it brings bottlenecks. Invoices get stuck in approval chains, leaving the accounting team with two bad options:

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Delay the close until approvals are finished, or
Book accruals and spend time unwinding them later.

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Neither option is great. The first slows down reporting; the second clutters the ledger with extra entries. Both drain time at the very moment finance needs clean, timely numbers.

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The new way: speed without sacrificing control

Centime’s updates to AP automation remove this trade-off. Teams can now post invoices before the approval workflow is completed, ensuring the ledger reflects reality on schedule.

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Approvals still happen. Controls remain in place. The only change is sequence: reporting no longer waits on approvals. The finance team posts when they need to, while the approval chain continues in parallel.

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This flexibility is configurable at the client level, so each organization can decide whether to adopt it.

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What this unlocks for CFOs and Controllers

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On-time closes. Get financials finalized when leadership expects them, even if a few invoices are still waiting on sign-off.
Cleaner ledgers. Reduce the reliance on accruals and the reversal entries that follow.
Fewer fire drills. AP teams don’t need to chase down last-minute approvals just to hit reporting deadlines.
Confidence in numbers. Approvals still flow through as designed; compliance and oversight remain intact.

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A simple shift, a big impact

The best product improvements aren’t flashy — they solve a stubborn friction point that finance leaders deal with month after month. Decoupling posting from approvals is one of those changes. It keeps reporting timely, cuts out unnecessary accrual work, and gives CFOs the visibility they need without compromise.

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See how Centime AP Automation helps finance teams close faster and operate with greater agility. Book a demo.

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**Deposit placement through ICS is subject to the terms, conditions, and disclosures in the applicable agreements. Although deposits are placed in increments that do not exceed the FDIC standard maximum deposit insurance amount (“SMDIA”) at any one destination bank, a depositor’s balances at the institution that places deposits may exceed the SMDIA (e.g., before settlement for deposits or after settlement for withdrawals) or be uninsured (if the placing institution is not an insured bank). The depositor must make any necessary arrangements to protect such balances consistent with applicable law and must determine whether placement through ICS satisfies any restrictions on its deposits. A list identifying IntraFi network banks appears at https://www.intrafi.com/network-banks. The depositor may exclude banks from eligibility to receive its funds. IntraFi and ICS are registered service marks, and IntraFi Cash Service is a service mark, of IntraFi Network LLC.

^††3.0% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) as of 01/07/25. Deposit rate may adjust to current market rate and may change daily. Fees may reduce earnings.

*Centime is not a bank and is not authorized by any federal or state agency to engage directly in core banking activities.
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*All banking products and services available through Centime are provided by FNBO and are governed by the applicable agreements and related disclosures provided to you by FNBO. Member FDIC.
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‍*While Centime facilitates traditional banking activities (such as the acceptance of deposits or extensions of credit), these services are actually provided by our banking partner, FNBO.
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*Centime may provide support services to FNBO, as permitted by applicable law, to facilitate the delivery of its bank products and services.

**Deposit placement through ICS is subject to the terms, conditions, and disclosures in the applicable agreements. Although deposits are placed in increments that do not exceed the FDIC standard maximum deposit insurance amount (“SMDIA”) at any one destination bank, a depositor’s balances at the institution that places deposits may exceed the SMDIA (e.g., before settlement for deposits or after settlement for withdrawals) or be uninsured (if the placing institution is not an insured bank). The depositor must make any necessary arrangements to protect such balances consistent with applicable law and must determine whether placement through ICS satisfies any restrictions on its deposits. A list identifying IntraFi network bank

Close Your Books Faster: Post Invoices Before Approval with Centime AP Automation

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