It’s pretty normal for businesses to neglect their accounts payable (AP) process. After all, their main focuses are to expand their brand, focus on their customers and become successes in their industries. However, if you fail to update your AP process, you may find that you miss out on a number of discounts or are forced to deal with a late payment fee. Here are five ways that you can simplify your AP process by streamlining it instead of handling it manually.
Consider your basic operations
It’s important to take a look at your AP process and evaluate its effectiveness. There may be some red flags that can indicate you are not being as efficient as you may have originally hoped. For instance, are you able to handle paper invoices, as well as electronic invoices? How do you handle invoices that have not been paid and are overdue? Make sure to take a look at your staff members that are not processing these payments properly or low levels of payments made from different vendors. If you focus on the basics of your AP process, you will find that it will be easier to streamline it in the future.
Consider automating your AP process
If you are thinking about how to streamline your AP process, it may be more useful to automate it. That way you can avoid invoices becoming overdue. By automating this process, you will find that it becomes easier to collect data and solve work-flow issues.
Involve a third party
Sometimes it can be easier to involve specialists in the AP process to ensure that your invoices are sorted out efficiently. There are specialist AP process services that can help you now, such as those from Xelix. These services can protect your data, protect your bottom line and provide you vendor analysis. So, they are worth speaking to about your AP process!
Figure out your payment method
A good way to streamline your AP is to focus on your payment methods. This includes what day you pay the invoices on, whether you are willing to deal with paper and electronic invoices and how these invoices are ultimately documented. If you keep to a certain schedule, you will find that this can help your vendors understand what they can expect from you. Ultimately, this will help you streamline your APs in the future.
Train the appropriate staff
It can be extremely frustrating to undertake invoices on your own. You have enough things to deal with on your plate. So, a good way to streamline your AP processes is to train your staff to deal with invoices and vendors. Having someone who is specifically trained for the job will make it easier for you to keep organized with the payments you receive and are sent.
Are you going to streamline your AP?
By streamlining your AP, you will find that all processes done with vendors and invoices will become easier. So, try it out today, using these 5 simple tips to help you get started. One thing is for sure – it will make conducting business far more efficient.
