Vendor Payment Approval Agent
Bookkeeper logs into Butterfield Bank portal, enters vendor bank details and payment amount, requests approval via email, waits for sign-off, uploads payment. No audit trail. Single person can change bank details or release payment.
Submitter selects vendors and amounts in the approval portal. Approver reviews batch and authorizes with 2FA. EDI file is generated automatically, grouped by currency. Approver downloads and uploads to Butterfield. All changes logged. No single person can authorize and release.
Manual banking portals waste hours and create fraud risk.
Cayman accounting firms log into banking portals one payment at a time.
Each payment requires someone to log in, enter vendor details, and request approval separately.
Bookkeepers with both input and release access can steal money or redirect payments without a second authorization.
US businesses use QuickBooks bank feeds and ACH. Cayman banks require manual EDI file uploads or portal entry.
Dual approval, EDI file generation, and per-client data isolation.
Two authorized persons must approve each payment batch. Neither can authorize and release alone.
Approved payments become a Butterfield Bank-compatible EDI file, grouped by currency (KYD/USD), ready to upload.
Changing a vendor's bank account number requires Approver sign-off and 2FA. All changes logged.
Viewers read-only. Submitters create payment batches. Approvers authorize with 2FA. Each role has defined permissions.
The approval workflow reads your vendor database, enforces dual approval with 2FA so no single person can authorize and release payments, and generates a bank-uploadable EDI file grouped by currency. The Approver downloads the file and uploads it to Butterfield Bank. Vendor bank detail changes require separate authorization. All actions are logged with who changed what and when.
From vendor selection to EDI file in four steps.
The approval workflow replaces manual portal logins with a secure, approval-gated payment workflow that generates bank-uploadable EDI files.
Each client has an isolated vendor list with bank name, account number, currency (KYD/USD), and email. Bank detail changes require Approver authorization and 2FA.
A Submitter selects one or more vendors, enters payment amounts, and reviews the batch grouped by currency. Submits for approval.
Approvers review the batch, verify vendor details and amounts, and authorize with 2FA. Dual approval supported (one or two approvers required per configuration).
Approved batch triggers EDI file generation. Approver downloads the file (one per currency) and uploads it to Butterfield Bank portal.
Vendor database +
Per-client isolated list of vendors with bank name, account number, currency, and email. Each client's data is completely separate.
Payment selections +
Submitter selects vendors and enters payment amounts. Payments automatically grouped by currency (KYD batch, USD batch).
Approver authorization +
Approver reviews batch details and authorizes with 2FA. Dual approval supported (one or two approvers per configuration).
Vendor bank detail validation +
System verifies vendor bank account number, currency, and bank name are current and authorized.
Payment batch grouping +
Payments grouped by currency (KYD/USD) and sorted by vendor for EDI file generation.
EDI file generation +
Approved batch converted to Butterfield Bank-compatible EDI format with payee bank details, amount, reference, and date.
Audit trail logging +
All actions recorded: who submitted, who approved, when, and any vendor bank detail changes with authorization.
EDI file (KYD) +
Butterfield Bank-compatible text file with all KYD payments, ready to upload to banking portal.
EDI file (USD) +
Butterfield Bank-compatible text file with all USD payments, ready to upload to banking portal.
Approval record +
Payment batch record with approver names, authorization timestamp, and 2FA confirmation.
Audit trail +
Complete log of all actions: vendor changes, payment submissions, approvals, and EDI file generation with timestamps and user attribution.
Is this for you?
- + Accounting firms - Manage multiple clients' vendor payments with per-client data isolation and dual approval controls.
- + Law firms - Process trust account and operating account payments with role-based access and fraud prevention.
- + Corporate service providers - Handle vendor payments for offshore entities with audit trail and authorization workflows.
- + Multi-person payment teams - Enforce separation of duties so Submitters create payments and Approvers authorize them.
- - Single-person operations - Dual approval and role-based access are designed for teams. A solo operator does not benefit from the fraud-prevention architecture.
- - Non-Butterfield banks - v1 supports Butterfield Bank EDI format only. Other Cayman banks have different file formats and portal UIs.
- - Payroll processing - The approval workflow handles vendor payments. Payroll has separate requirements and is out of scope.
Scoped build plus usage-based runs.
The approval workflow is built as a multitenant product from the start. Pricing covers the initial build, deployment, and hosting. Usage-based fees apply per payment batch processed and per EDI file generated.
- Initial build includes vendor database, approval workflow, EDI file generation for Butterfield Bank, role-based access, and 2FA.
- Hosting on Railway with Postgres database.
- Per-client data isolation included.
- Future integrations (QuickBooks, automated bank upload, additional banks) are separate scopes.
Do I need to use QuickBooks to submit payments?
No. The approval workflow works with manual payment entry in v1. You select vendors from your database, enter amounts, and submit for approval. QuickBooks integration is planned for a future release.
Can a single person authorize and release a payment?
No. The approval workflow requires dual approval. Two authorized persons must review and sign off on every payment batch before the EDI file is generated. This prevents a single bookkeeper from stealing money or redirecting payments without a second check.
What happens if I need to change a vendor's bank account number?
Vendor bank detail changes require Approver authorization and 2FA. You cannot edit a vendor's bank account, routing number, or currency without a second person approving the change. All changes are logged with who made the change and when.
Does the approval workflow work with banks other than Butterfield?
Not in v1. The approval workflow generates EDI files for Butterfield Bank only. Other Cayman banks have different file formats and portal interfaces. Support for additional banks will be added based on customer demand.
How do I upload the EDI file to Butterfield Bank?
In v1, you download the EDI file from the approval portal and manually upload it to the Butterfield Bank portal. The file is grouped by currency (one KYD file, one USD file if needed) and ready to upload. Future versions will automate this step.
Can I manage payments for multiple clients in one account?
Yes. The approval workflow is built as a multitenant system from the start. Each client's vendor database, payments, and approval records are completely isolated. One accounting firm can manage payments for multiple clients without any data leakage between them.
What roles do I need to set up for my team?
The approval workflow has three roles. Viewers can read payment records and vendor lists but cannot create or approve payments. Submitters create payment batches and submit them for approval. Approvers review batches, authorize with 2FA, and trigger EDI file generation. Each role has defined permissions so the right people can act without overreach.
Is there an audit trail of who approved each payment?
Yes. Every action in the approval portal is logged: who submitted the batch, who approved it, when the approval happened, and any changes to vendor bank details. The audit trail includes timestamps and user attribution so you can verify who authorized each payment and when.
Useful comparison for teams managing vendor payments and invoice matching. Both handle vendor data and approval workflows, but this build focuses on reconciliation across multiple invoices and payment records.
Similar three-way financial reconciliation pattern with approval workflows and audit trails. Useful for teams that need to validate payments against source records before release.
Ready to eliminate manual payment portals.
The approval workflow is built for Cayman accounting firms, law firms, and corporate service providers. Start with your internal team, prove the workflow, then onboard external clients. Dual approval, EDI file generation, and per-client isolation are built in from day one.