Endless paperwork is the bane of any business’s productivity: missing orders, late payments and tracking down delinquent clients sap the time and energy from you accounts payable department. Of course, you want to have as many accounts as you can so you can make more money, but the actual work of keeping track with everything can be streamlined.
With today’s technology, there’s really no excuse for not automating your accounts payable department, especially as your business continues to grow. Doing so may seem like a task that will take a lot of time and effort, but it’s not that hard to do with the right program, like business AP software. Here are some reasons that you should automate your accounts payable as soon as possible to increase productivity and get your revenue stream in line.
Save time
Again, wasted time tracking down invoices and keeping up with hundreds or thousands of orders can be a daunting task, even for the best-trained accounts payable staff. By automating your accounts payable, you will always know where invoices are and when they are due so that you never lose out on revenue again.
With automation, you can fax, file, copy, retrieve or email any document you need with a click of the mouse. Automation software can also decrease the time it takes to receive, forward and approve all of your invoices. If you find invoices missing more than you’d like, the software will help you track it down so you can get it taken care of. This allows your employees ease of access to all of the information they need to stay up to date so they can focus on more important tasks.
Eliminate paper
The biggest problem with tradition accounts payable documents is that they are printed on physical paper. This means that documents are easier to misplace or to destroy, which can be a real headache. Not only that, but the costs for paper over a year can really add up.
By automating your accounts payable, you will instantly have no need for paper. All of the relevant information is stored in the software, making it easier than ever to keep track of. Not only does this give your employees instant access to valuable information, it can reduce your paper costs dramatically, which in turns helps you pay for the automation software.
Since there are no paper copies to search through, the software can help you keep track of everything that is important. You can get the instant analysis in a snap so that you can find any problems with your methods and work them out before they end up costing you money and time. This also helps you pay any of your own invoices on time so you can avoid penalties.
Comply with audits
Whatever your in-house audit structure may be, there should be no question that you have plenty of guidelines for your accounts payable: if the accounts payable department doesn’t work efficiently, there could be a lot of money left out there that you don’t have access to.
Using automation software makes it so much easier to get through your internal audits. If there are any questions about whether an invoice was paid or not, the software can call up the information quickly so you can get to the root of the problem. This will cut down on the time you spend tracking down evidence as to whether or not an invoice was paid or not.
Get your money faster
Even though automation software can really make a difference helping you pay your own invoices, automation really shines when it comes to getting money that’s owed to your company.
It’s a fairly common practice that clients who pay before the due date can get a discount of some sort, This gives your clients incentive to make all of their payments on time or early, which will help you keep your cash flow more consistent. Automation software can easily track all of the invoices that are paid early or on time so that those that pay can get a small discount. Everything is done within the software, so you can free up time for your employees to attend to other pressing tasks and still make sure that your cash flow is steady.
With today’s technology, there’s really no excuse not to automate your accounts payable. Not only will your employees thank you for making their jobs easier, but you’ll watch your cash flow grow.
This post was written by Keira Hodgson. Keira is a financial consultant for business owners. Always on the lookout for trends and tips, she loves to share what she finds on various business blogs.
