AP innovation is a significant step for business owners to make if they want to improve their relationships with other vendors and continue to build strong B2B relationships. Poor communication with vendors is the most-cited challenge for businesses who want to upgrade their AP systems but haven’t yet. Here’s more information on AP innovation helps your current payment strategy thrive:
Automation
Many businesses continue to experience year-over-year sales growth, making it necessary to keep an eye on their current accounts payable system and understand when it’s time to expand. Consider the fact that 82% of online marketplaces said their business’s expansion would be inhibited if they could not handle their forecasted growth, according to data reported by PYMNTS.
Automation is the best solution to handle this growth because it saves business owners significant time and money, For example, the cost per invoice automatically drops dramatically when you focus on automation. It also improves cash flow by reducing the number of invoicing mistakes and delays.
Fraud detection
Digitizing the entire invoice flow helps detect fraud early by using features like automatic invoice review and digital solutions to enforce compliance. Since you have an established relationship with most of your vendors, these payments are pre-approved with no red flags. Some fraudsters try to mimic this process, which is why fake billing is difficult to detect and poses a threat to business owners.
You’ll also want an AP system that conducts regular invoice reviews to detect overbilling and overpayments immediately. Instead of manually searching for the overpayment amount, the AP system flags it immediately which saves you cash you would have otherwise lost.
Improved workflow
Improve your workflow by investing in a system that has automated approvals, effectively eliminating draining accounting tasks. The system also leaves a digital trail of approvals, leaving a digital footprint if you ever have questions or need to conduct a companywide audit. Instead of digging through drawers of paper and searching an office, simply pull up a cloud-based AP system to get the job done.
I’m the payments expert at Richmond Financial Services and I’m here to help you make the right decision for your business to determine if AP innovation is right for you. I also help business owners take control of their payment processing costs to enjoy ongoing savings and gain data portability. Get a free quote and learn more about how I can bring value to your organization by visiting my website or calling (617) 843-5700.
