Improve Accounts Payable Efficiency

From the first step of data collection all the way to payment, a cloud-based AP automation solution eliminates manual tasks and reducing processing time, all while saving money and improving cash flow. Best of all, the new dynamic workflow tracks each step of the process in real time. The resulting information gives management a new level of strategic insight into your entire AP process.

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Accounts Payable Process Improvement

 

Forget about time-consuming, repetitive, manual based accounting processes (at least when it comes to invoices!). Streamlining the entire Accounts Payable process using a cutting-edge, cloud-based platform provides almost immediate improvements including tangible savings.

Speed, savings, mobility, transparency, and zero-risk are just a few of the benefits that can be obtained by making starting your Accounts Payable process improvement. Your employees will become more tech-savvy, increasingly welcoming of a digital transition, and happier that their skills are being better used.

What Should An Accounts Payable Manager Goals And Objectives Be?

 

The accounts payable manager goals and objectives should go beyond getting invoices into their system fast and paid on time. Not addressing the pain points holding your organization back, can hurt efficiency and increase costs.

 

5 ways Accounts Payable and Finance leaders can streamline their invoice processing and payment workflows include:

 

  1. Eliminating paper from the entire Accounts Payable process from procurement to payment
  2. Drive enablement and participation from suppliers and vendors
  3. Take advantage of same-day invoice approvals
  4. Capture and early payment discounts provided by suppliers and vendors
  5. Give the Accounts Payable team mobile access to the invoice process for approvals from anywhere at anytime.
 

By automating your business’s entire Accounts Payable process with an all-in-one automation solution like Yooz you can implement all of these best practices to meet the goals of increasing efficiency, cutting cycle times and reducing costs.

How to Measure Accounts Payable Performance and Manage AP Goals

 

When it comes to achieving your KPIs and creating the most efficient and effective Accounts Payable invoice and payment process and department for your business IOFM presents four main metrics you can use as a benchmark to judge the quality of your Accounts Payable team:

 

  1. Pain On-Time Rates
  2. Cost Per Invoice
  3. Number of Invoices Processed Per Full-Time Employee
  4. Mix of Specialists vs. Managers on Your Team.

 

Let’s dive a little deeper into what each of these metrics means and how to measure Accounts Payable performance for Finance leaders.

Accounts Payable Key Performance Metrics 

 

Throughout your AP automation journey, you'll need to continue to monitor your accounts payable key performance metrics to make sure your business thrives. To do this you will need to be able to determine what those key performance metrics for your Accounts Payable workflow and department are by answering a few questions:

 

  • Is your business centralized or decentralized?
  • What level of Accounts Payable automation is your company currently running at?
  • Are you already capturing early payment discounts from your vendors and suppliers?
  • How much time does it take to process a single invoice?
  • How much does it cost your company to process a single invoice?

Why You Should Boost Accounts Payable Efficiency

 

Getting things done sounds easier than it is when it comes to handling invoices. Forget about video calls, collaboration platforms and email. Many accounts payable teams are still stuck in the paper age. Staff has to deal with reams of paper trickling in from vendors and suppliers. They spend hours opening envelopes, manually entering data, scanning documents and sending invoices, purchase orders and even checks around to other departments to review and approve, before finally filing them. 


Here are the top five challenges facing accounts payable teams in 2021, ranked in the order of importance:

 

  • Invoice/payment approvals take too long
  • A high percentage of exceptions
  • Too much paper
  • Manual B2B payments
  • Late supplier payments
 
Improving your accounts payable efficiency with an automated AP workflow can tackle all of those challenges and unlock almost immediate benefits. Cutting back on paper documents unburdens your team from manual entry and simultaneously cuts back on errors. Overall processing cost and cycle time go down by 80 percent. That’s an impressive accomplishment made possible by digital transformation

 

Companies that streamline their entire approach to how they handle the accounts payable process gain more than operational efficiency, though. Companies that embark on digital transformation, in short, go from searching for files to simply finding them in their browser. But those aren't the only processes made easier by AP automation.

 

The 5 Habits of Highly Effective AP Departments

 

What does it take to be a best-in-class AP organization? In this on demand webinar Bob Cohen, research director at Ardent Partners, will dive into the five habits of highly effective AP departments.

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Your Accounts Payable Budget Can't Wait Until Next Quarter

 

Your accounts payable budget has as much influence on your Accounts Payable process as it is influenced by it. Learning how set SMART goals and leveraging invoice processing and payment automation will help your company improve its cash flow management and the efficiency of your Accounts Payable department.

Implementing Accounts Payable automation allows your business to be among the 20% of companies taking advantage of this advanced technology and on average saving 80% on their invoice processing costs. Yooz AP automation benefitsap automation benefits your company’s Accounts Payable budget in 5 ways:

 

  1. Yooz streamlines your Accounts Payable workflow
  2. Yooz save you cash
  3. Yooz cuts Accounts Payable cycle time to hours
  4. Yooz increases the visibility you have into your AP process
  5. Yooz digitally transforms your Finance department.
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"It is no wonder why accounts payable departments have made automation their top budget priority. But achieving the benefits of automation will remain out of reach for accounts payable departments that don’t take the right approach to selecting and implementing a solution."

- Mark Brousseau in the article "Seven Ways to Make the Most of Your Accounts Payable Budget"

How CFOs Manage Accounts Payable Through Automation

 

There has been a need for change in the duties and responsibilities of today’s CFO. Previously confined to accounting and finance optimization tasks, CFOs now find themselves having to confront new challenges and are becoming increasingly involved in the overall strategy of the company including how CFOs manage Accounts Payable processes. 
 
10 ways Accounts Payable automation is transforming the role of the CFO and the invoice and payment processing workflow:
 
  1. From a silo approach to an integrated value chain
  2. From an individual approach to a coordinated approach
  3. From an asynchronous approach to a real-time approach
  4. From an elitist approach to a mainstream approach
  5. From a mechanistic approach to an intelligent approach
  6. From a design approach to a machine learning approach
  7. From an intermediation approach to an interoperability and collaboration approach
  8. From a forecasting approach to a predictive approach
  9. From a tedious approach to a staff empowerment approach
  10. From a cost center approach to a value center approach.

Harnessing Real-Time AP Data for Strategic Decisions

 

Next time you process an invoice, try to see beyond the amount and due date. That invoice isn’t simply a paper or number, rather it is a small piece of information that fits perfectly into the bigger puzzle of how your organization manages its cash flow and makes strategic financial decisions. With intelligent accounts payable automation, that data becomes a valuable asset that helps you improve accounts payable efficiency.


Data is what fuels your financial decisions, starting with whom you paid for what products and services under what terms and when. Nice in theory, but if you suffer from missing or inaccurate data you are setting yourself up for a world of pain. That means delays, unnecessary expenses in the form of exceptions and late fees and - in the worst case - flagging productivity that eventually leads to failure to keep up with the competition that’s eager to embrace digital transformation.

Serenity Now, and Later: The Business Case for AP Automation

 

Companies that spend sufficient time and resources to figure out the best Accounts Payable (AP) solution for their business can discover and unlock the benefits of end-to-end automation, from purchase to payment. They score by gaining the ability to approve and pay invoices with unmatched speed, savings, and security.

The best way to do this is to identify the company’s specific needs, gather the information, and create an AP automation business case. Once they finish matching specific needs to benefits, without question everyone should see there is a pretty compelling case to move forward.

Automating the Purchase-to-Pay Process: How does it work?


Thanks to automated invoicing solutions, the time has come when we can say goodbye to the disparate tools commonly used throughout the purchasing process, such as specific accounting software, messaging tools and even scanners. One single application, modern and practical, makes it possible to replace them and create an automated Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) process that is integrated end-to-end.

Payment Approval Automation: Improving Your Company’s Financial Performance

 

Payment approval is a crucial business practice that requires careful attention to detail, safety, and compliance. However, the conventional method of approving payments is time-consuming, resource-intensive, and prone to human error. How to ensure everything flows smoothly? One of the best ways to improve your Accounts Payable efficiency is through the use of automation. Learn more about it here!

Improving Cash Flow Management

 

Effective cash flow management is essential for the success and growth of any organization, offering the necessary financial insight and controls to ensure the availability of funds. Because inadequate forecasting and data can result in cash flow problems - including a negative cash flow - an increasing number of organizations are turning to technology as a strategic tool. By implementing software automation solutions, businesses can eliminate errors and gain real-time insights, thereby optimizing their cash flow management and enhancing overall financial performance.

How to Optimize the Procure-to-Pay Process

 

Struggling with your supply chain? Time to elevate your business and conquer the supply chain challenges! Optimize your business with seamless Procure-to-Pay (P2P) processing. Here we explore the essential steps, automation benefits, and real-time strategic decision-making, all to empower you with efficient operations and substantial cost savings. 

Understanding Net 30 Payment Terms

Discover the power of Net 30 payment terms as a method to improve accounts payable efficiency as well as shaping successful business transactions. Learn the basics, advantages, and challenges as well as how it is a strategic asset for fostering trust and enduring client relations.

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