Accounts payable (AP) is the money a business owes to its suppliers for goods or services it has received but has not yet paid for. It sits on the buyer’s balance sheet as a short-term liability. AP is the buyer-side mirror of the seller’s accounts receivable: one company’s payable is the other company’s receivable for the same transaction.
How it works
A supplier delivers goods or services and issues an invoice, usually with payment terms like Net 30 or Net 60. Until the buyer pays, the amount stays in accounts payable. The buyer’s finance team matches the invoice against the original purchase order and any goods-received record (a “three-way match”), then schedules payment. Once paid, the balance clears.
Why it matters
AP is how buyers manage cash flow. Longer terms let a business hold onto cash while it sells inventory or completes work. For sellers, understanding a buyer’s AP process explains why B2B deals rarely pay on the spot: there is an approval and matching cycle behind every invoice. Clean paperwork (accurate quote, matching PO number, itemized invoice) moves through that cycle faster and gets you paid sooner.
Example
A retailer accepts a quote for 500 units at 12 dollars each, total 6,000 dollars, on Net 30 terms. When the goods arrive with an invoice, the retailer records 6,000 dollars in accounts payable and pays within 30 days. The supplier records the same 6,000 dollars as accounts receivable until the payment lands.
In B2B quoting on Shopify
A quote is the document a buyer’s AP team checks the eventual invoice against, so line items, quantities, and totals need to match end to end. If your quote converts cleanly into the order and invoice the buyer receives, it slots straight into their AP workflow. See pricing for how quote-to-order flows are handled.