As a business owner, managing sustainable growth is one of your top priorities. However, growth can often increase process challenges within your organization, including those in your accounts payable (AP) department.
For example, scaling your business will inevitably result in a high volume of invoices that need to be entered into your ERP system, reviewed, and approved for payment. Businesses that still rely on manual processes to manage their AP departments may find their outdated practices causing problems across their financial operations, including with their cash flow management, financial reporting accuracy, and relationships with suppliers and vendors.
The answer to properly managing high volume invoicing is an automated AP invoice processing system that streamlines the entire process, resulting in faster payments, improved efficiency, and long-term sustainable profits.
Challenges of high-volume invoice processing
Managing thousands of invoices monthly can be overwhelming for even the most efficient AP teams. In a deadline-driven process that involves invoice entry, verification, review, approval, and payment, working with paper presents your company with several challenges that can hurt your bottom line if not efficiently solved, such as:
Increased workload and reduced efficiency
A higher volume of invoices puts tremendous pressure on your AP teams to keep the process moving forward efficiently. Unfortunately, working with a large number of paper invoices can cause confusion, inefficiency, and disruption, especially if the invoice gets lost or duplicated.
Higher risk of errors
Invoices need to be processed quickly, but rushing to enter data from a heavy influx of paper can lead to errors or duplicated invoices. Errors caught later in the chain require additional resources to correct, verify, and, in the worst case, trigger a time-consuming audit.
Escalating costs
Your AP team will spend a lot of time keying in and verifying paper invoices before sending them for approval, which can also take longer when dealing with a high volume of invoices. More time spent processing paper increases your cost per invoice, which adds up over time and eats into your profit margins.
Security risks and compliance issues
Fraud is a significant concern among business owners. Unfortunately, paper-based AP processes open the door to bad actors because virtually anyone in the organization can access the invoices and, in some cases, the invoice system. Compliance is another concern due to errors that occur when manually keying in high volumes of invoices.
Difficulties in managing approvals
Moving piles of paper invoices manually through the approval chain is time-consuming and can easily disrupt the process if the invoice is misdirected or lost. If someone is away from their desk for a day or more, the invoices can sit on their desk unapproved for an extended period, leading to late payments and potential penalties from the supplier.
Slow payments and strained supplier relationships
Not only can late payments cost you money through penalties, but they can also strain relationships with your suppliers. Unhappy suppliers won’t be open to offering you discounts or renegotiating payment terms. Additionally, the reputational damage to your brand can have negative ramifications within your business community.
Benefits of automating high-volume invoice processing
The challenges that come with manual high-volume invoice AP processes can severely impact a company’s sustainable success. However, a tech-driven automated AP solution can solve each of these challenges while increasing the company’s bottom line.
Streamlined workflow and increased efficiency
Automated AP systems streamline the invoice approval process and significantly increase operational efficiency. Secure, remote access to the cloud-based approval platform allows stakeholders to review and approve invoices from anywhere on any device connected to the internet. This approach can see invoices approved on the same day they’re scanned into the system, speeding up the payment to suppliers.
Reduced costs and improved ROI
Transitioning from a paper-based invoice system to automation reduces the time an invoice spends in the approval system, bringing down your cost per invoice. Other savings that will improve your company’s ROI include lower administrative and labour costs and costs for office supplies, such as paper and printer ink.
Enhanced accuracy and reduced errors
Digital AP systems use optical character recognition (OCR) technology to ensure that the information scanned into the system is entirely accurate, minimizing the error rate. This feature saves time spent correcting errors from manual keying that can stack up during high-volume invoice processing.
Improved visibility and analytics
Cloud-based AP systems offer finance teams real-time invoice status and analytics on spend and cash flow, supporting strategic decision-making by business leaders that help reduce spending and increase ROI.
Enhanced compliance and reduced risk
Automated AP systems include internal control features such as user authentication, access permissions, audit trails, and three-way matching to curtail fraud and ensure complete regulatory compliance.
Strengthened supplier relationships
An automated AP approval process moves invoices quickly through the system, even when invoice volume is high. This results in suppliers getting paid faster, improving relationships, and potentially opening up opportunities for early payment discounts and easier credit terms.
Improved financial health and profitability
The time and cost savings that come with an automated AP solution support long-term organic growth for your business through increased profits. Savings include reduced invoice processing time, error rates, and days payable outstanding. Additionally, reaping early payment discounts will boost your bottom line.
Automated AP technology is one of the wisest and most cost-effective investments you can make to handle high-volume invoice processing quickly and efficiently. When you’re ready to explore a customized AP solution that will bring increased efficiency, streamlined processes, and bigger profits to your company, call Ash Conversions International (ACI) for a free demonstration of our automated AP solution.
Streamline high-volume invoice processing with an automated accounts payable solution from Ash Conversions International
For over 40 years, ACI has specialized in transforming how companies manage their daily business processes. We offer efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally conscious accounts payable solutions that streamline processes, improve efficiencies, and boost profits.
Our tech-based systems can be completely customized to meet your unique requirements, integrate seamlessly with your existing tech infrastructure, and are supported by our team of experts during and after implementation.
For more information on how your company can benefit from a digital document management system, call us at 800-719-9621 or click the button below.
