> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.layerfi.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bills and AP import

> Vendors, bills, bill payments, vendor credits, refunds, payouts, and expenses.

AP import tools are in the `ap_imports` group. Vendor **reads** are also in `core`. Writes are business mode.

Use **vendor credit**, not “credit note”. Prefer `external_id` on imports.

REST guide: [Importing bills / AP data](/guides/importing-bill-ap-data).

## Sequence

<Steps>
  <Step title="Vendors">
    Reads: `list_vendors`, `get_vendor`. Writes: `create_vendor`, `update_vendor`, `archive_vendor` (destructive), `unarchive_vendor`, `merge_vendors` (destructive).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Import bills">
    `list_bills`, `get_bill`, `import_bills` (`POST …/bills/bulk`), `update_bill`. Destructive: `void_bill`, `delete_bill`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Payments, credits, refunds, payouts">
    Bill payments: list/get/`import_bill_payments`/update/`delete_bill_payment`. Vendor credits: list/get/create/update/`delete_vendor_credit`. Vendor refunds and vendor payouts similarly, including `record_vendor_refund_payment`.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Expenses

`create_expense` (`POST …/expenses`) creates a paid-on-receipt expense (bill + payment). Prefer `external_id` as the idempotency key. See [Create expense](/api-reference/v1/create-expense).

Search phrases: bills, bill payments, vendor credit, vendor refunds, expenses, vendor payouts.