How IT leaders eliminate ERP custom code with AP automation
- Introduction
- Why ERP custom AP workflows become an IT problem
- The hidden cost of keeping AP workflows inside ERP
- What AP automation changes for IT
- How AP automation removes ERP technical debt in practice
- What IT leaders should look for in an AP automation platform
- Why this approach accelerates finance transformation
- Ready to eliminate ERP custom code in AP?
- Frequently asked questions
Hear what's covered in this article:
ERP environments were never meant to be permanent homes for every finance workflow. Yet over the years, many organizations have embedded invoice approvals, routing rules, three-way matching, and exception handling directly inside the ERP. Those customizations may have solved short-term process gaps, but they create long-term technical debt for IT.
Today, IT leaders face growing pressure to reduce ERP sprawl, simplify integrations, and make upgrades less risky. AP is one of the most practical places to start. With modern AP automation, IT teams can move complex invoice workflows out of the ERP and into a purpose-built, cloud platform that integrates cleanly with the core system.
Medius helps IT leaders offload AP complexity through AI-driven coding, automated matching, dynamic routing, and modular ERP integrations. The result is fewer custom workflows to maintain, a more stable ERP core, and faster finance transformation without disrupting existing systems.
Why ERP custom AP workflows become an IT problem
Many ERP customizations began as reasonable fixes. Finance needed faster approvals, plants or business units wanted local routing rules, and exceptions needed manual paths. Over time, those patches turned into infrastructure.
IT leaders typically see the same issues emerge:
Once workflows exist in the ERP, every exception becomes another logic branch. Local teams request “just one more rule.” The system becomes harder to reason about and harder to test.
Custom code creates upgrade blockers. Even when ERP vendors release better workflow tools, legacy logic has to be rebuilt, revalidated, and retested. That makes every ERP upgrade slower, more expensive, and more disruptive.
When AP is custom-coded inside the ERP, IT becomes the first line of escalation for routing errors, matching failures, and workflow confusion. Even minor AP changes require IT cycles.
ERP cores thrive on uniform processes. Heavy workflow logic inside the ERP increases system load, makes troubleshooting harder, and raises the cost of keeping the environment stable.
Rethink AP without rewriting your ERP
Custom code may solve today’s AP problem, but it creates tomorrow’s technical debt. This enterprise buyer’s guide shows how modern, cloud-based AP automation reduces reliance on ERP customization while improving scalability, security, and long-term maintainability.
What AP automation changes for IT
A modern AP Automation solution acts as the workflow and intelligence layer that ERPs often lack. It does not replace the ERP. It replaces or provides an alternative to the AP process custom code that lives inside it.
Here is what shifts:
AP workflows move to a dedicated cloud platform
Approvals, routing, and exceptions are handled in Medius, not in ERP logic. The ERP remains the system of record for posting, payments, and financial reporting.
Matching and exceptions become configuration, not development
Three-way matching rules and tolerances are set in the automation platform. That eliminates the need for custom matching scripts inside the ERP.
AI handles coding and anomaly detection
With Medius AI Innovation, invoice coding becomes smarter and more consistent, reducing manual touch and minimizing the need for ERP-based validation hacks.
Integrations are modular and maintainable
Instead of brittle custom-built integrations, Medius provides clean connectors and standardized data flows that work across SAP, Oracle, and Dynamics environments.
How AP automation removes ERP technical debt in practice
IT leaders usually want proof that this is more than a “workflow relocation.” Here are the tangible reductions:
Fewer custom approval paths to maintain
Dynamic routing in Medius handles approvals by entity, spend type, threshold, or cost center. Changes are made through configuration, not code.
No more ERP-based exception workflows
Instead of building new exception paths in ERP, Medius manages them with centralized rules and AI-driven categorization.
Matching logic becomes standardized
Automated PO and receipt matching in Invoice Automation replaces custom ERP matching routines and reduces variance across entities.
ERP upgrades become safer and faster
When AP workflow logic is removed, ERP upgrades involve less rework, less regression testing, and fewer surprises.
What IT leaders should look for in an AP automation platform
Not every tool reduces technical debt. IT teams should look for platforms that:
Integrate cleanly with ERP systems
A strong ERP integration approach matters. Avoid tools that require heavy scripting or one-off integrations per module.
Support complex, multi-entity routing without custom dev
The platform should handle entity differences through rules and configuration.
Provide full audit and security controls outside ERP
AP workflows must remain compliant even when moved out of the ERP.
Leverage AI for coding and exception handling
AI should reduce manual rules, not create more logic to maintain.
Offer predictable maintenance and roadmap stability
Cloud platforms should reduce upgrade friction, not shift it elsewhere.
Compare enterprise AP solutions
(before you customize again)
Rather than adding more custom code to your ERP, see how leading enterprise AP automation solutions compare on integration, scalability, and flexibility, so you can choose a platform that fits your architecture today and tomorrow.
Why this approach accelerates finance transformation
When AP custom logic is removed from ERP, IT unblocks finance progress.
Controllers and AP teams gain:
- faster approvals
- more consistent matching
- better visibility into invoice status and liabilities
IT gains:
- a cleaner ERP core
- fewer workflow tickets and change requests
- faster upgrade cycles
- less dependence on custom-code specialists
It is a rare win for both process improvement and architectural simplification.
Ready to eliminate ERP custom code in AP?
Medius helps IT leaders shift invoice workflows out of ERP and into a cloud automation platform that is easier to maintain, easier to upgrade, and built for modern AP. Explore AP Automation and Invoice Automation to see how you can reduce ERP technical debt while improving controls and finance performance.
Frequently asked questions
Controls typically improve because AP automation platforms enforce consistent approval policies, matching rules, and audit trails across the organization. Instead of relying on custom ERP logic and emails, compliance evidence is captured automatically in a centralized workflow.
A cloud AP automation platform reduces overall maintenance by removing custom ERP code and consolidating AP workflows in one place. IT shifts from maintaining brittle scripts to managing standardized integrations and configuration.
Yes. Leading platforms support multi-entity routing, local approval variations, currency and tax requirements, and shared governance. This is often where automation adds the most value because ERP customizations usually multiply in multi-entity setups.
Most organizations phase out ERP-based AP workflows. The ERP continues to post invoices and payments, but routing, approvals, matching, and exceptions are handled in automation. This simplifies the ERP core and reduces change requests.
IT usually sees reduction early, once invoice routing and exception handling stop relying on ERP custom code. The biggest gains come at the next ERP upgrade cycle, when fewer custom workflows need to be rebuilt or retested.
It replaces the need to custom-build or heavily configure matching logic inside ERP. AP automation performs PO and receipt matching before posting to ERP, with configurable tolerances and automated exception handling.
