An accounts payable clerk's practicum log records every held invoice the clerk decides over the two weeks: what the agent proposed, which bound held it, what the clerk decided and why, what the supervisor decided independently, whether they matched, and whether a red line was in play. Copy the template below; the worked example shows three real-looking entries.
What is the log for?
It is the evidence that decides whether the clerk may release held invoices alone. A practicum score with no log behind it is an opinion. A log with two hundred lines, each showing both decisions and the reason, is something an assessor, an auditor or a future employer can test.
It also teaches. Patterns show up quickly: a clerk who keeps releasing invoices with a small quantity variance, or who never questions a credit note, is visible by day three. The supervisor's daily debrief works from the log, not from memory. How the fortnight itself is run is covered in how to run a two-week practicum for accounts payable clerks.
Which invoices belong in it?
Every item the clerk decides, not a sample. In accounts payable that means invoices the agent held for a reason, such as:
- price or quantity variance against the purchase order or goods receipt;
- no purchase order, or a closed one;
- a suspected duplicate: same supplier and amount, or same invoice number with a new date;
- a credit note that should offset an open invoice;
- a supplier bank-detail change, which must be verified through a known channel before any payment;
- refusals the clerk must confirm or challenge.
Bank-detail changes deserve their own flag. An email asking to change details is external provenance and cannot authorise a payment, however convincing the letterhead.
How do you fill it in?
The agent can pre-fill the first five columns at depth 1, from its own verdict in the record. The clerk fills in their decision and reason before seeing the supervisor's. The supervisor fills in their decision without seeing the clerk's, then the match column is completed. Red-line and note columns are filled in at the daily debrief.
Keep reasons short and specific: "PO 4410 closed; returned to buyer" beats "not valid".
The practicum log template
Header (once per practicum)
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Clerk | |
| Supervisor (current certificate) | |
| Ledger and entities covered | |
| Dates (10 working days) | |
| Bar | At least 95 correct in every 100; no missed red line |
| Red lines | Paying on unverified bank details; paying a duplicate; releasing above authority |
Daily log (one row per held invoice)
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Line | Sequential number |
| Date | |
| Invoice ref and supplier | |
| Amount band | Under 1,000 / 1,000 to 10,000 / over 10,000 |
| Hold reason and deciding bound | As shown in the verdict |
| Key fact and its provenance | Sealed, signed, declared or external |
| Clerk's decision | Release / edit / return / escalate |
| Clerk's reason | One line |
| Supervisor's decision | Recorded before seeing the clerk's |
| Match | Yes / no / defensible |
| Red line in play? | Which one, and was it caught |
| Debrief note | What was learned |
Day-ten summary: total decisions; correct as a count; red lines in play and caught; repeat mismatches by hold type; supervisor's recommendation.
A worked example
Take a sample wholesaler's AP team. Values are illustrative.
| Line | Hold reason | Key fact, provenance | Clerk | Supervisor | Match | Red line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Quantity variance: invoiced 120, received 100 | Goods receipt, sealed | Return to supplier for credit | Return to supplier | Yes | No |
| 42 | Bank-detail change on a 6,200 invoice | Supplier email, external | Release | Hold; call supplier on file number | No | Yes, missed |
| 43 | Possible duplicate: same amount, new date | Earlier payment, sealed | Escalate to supervisor | Reject as duplicate | Defensible | Yes, caught |
Line 42 is the one that matters. The clerk released on the strength of an email; the supervisor's independent decision held it, so no money moved, but it counts as a missed red line. Under the bar, that fails the practicum regardless of the other 199 lines. The debrief note reads: "Email is external; verify by phone on the number already on file." Line 43 shows the opposite: escalating when unsure is counted as defensible, not as a miss.
Who carries the blame when a clerk's release goes wrong is a separate question, answered in whether accounts payable clerks are accountable for an AI agent's mistakes. Whether a certificate is needed at all is in do accounts payable clerks need a certificate to approve AI agent actions.
Where the Academy fits
The Certified Pryme Operator practicum from Pryme Intelligence Academy asks for two weeks of real review decisions, at least 95 in every 100 correct and no missed red line, signed off by a Pryme assessor. A log kept in this form gives the assessor every decision and its reason. See AI literacy and certification for people who work with agents for the wider picture.
Questions people ask
Should the clerk see the supervisor's decision straight away?
Not until the clerk's own decision and reason are recorded. Otherwise the log measures agreement, not judgement.
What if the agent's own certificate lapses during the practicum?
The agent drops in depth and fewer invoices reach the queue until it recertifies. Note the dates in the header; keeping clerks ready for the agent's 90-day recertification covers how teams plan around it.
Can the log be kept by the agent alone?
The agent can pre-fill the factual columns, but reasons, decisions and debrief notes must come from people. A log written entirely by the system under test is not independent evidence.