Document Processing: How it enhances your Accounts Payable process

Every business has to work with several suppliers and vendors which means there are a number of invoices to pay every month. A major challenge is managing the huge volumes of invoices that arrive from different vendors and parties, in different formats and types, at different times. Industry surveys indicate that approximately 80 percent of invoices are on paper – each of which is processed manually by being circulated to department heads for approval. While a strong Accounts Payable (AP) function can handle the process, lack of efficient document processing still means companies can lose thousands of dollars a year in processing invoices, on late-payment fees and more.

This is why you can enhance your Accounts Payable function with efficient document management services and increase the efficiency within your AP function.

What is End-to-End Document Processing in AP?

One of the major roles of an AP function is to process vendor invoices on time and manage cash flow. However, many organizations may experience significant disruptions in their workflow due to the unmanageable amount of paperwork involved. Before invoices are updated into an accounts payable system, several things need to be verified. These include vendor verification, checking for an existing contract, against which the invoice has been raised, checking for completion elements to ensure that the invoice is now due to pay, checking for amounts to ensure that they map with what was proposed, etc.

Document processing involves addressing such issues and handling invoices, either in paper form or through email or secure FTPs. After verification of PO’s, contracts, these need to be input into an approval workflow and then scheduled for payment. AP based Document processing is an integrated and comprehensive solution that you can offer your clients to streamline your accounts payable function.

Benefits of End-to-End Document Processing

1. Streamlining Finance

End-to-end document processing contributes in streamlining finances, handling documentation and ensuring your clients’ Accounts Payable documents are approved and processed efficiently at every stage. It helps reduce costs and increase cash flow, in turn maximizing the control and efficiencies of the business.

2. Value Addition to AP Process

Document processing adds value to the accounts payable function and turns it into a strategy-oriented, value-generating process. As an important cog in the wheel of the accounts payable process, document processing can play a critical role in helping improve your clients’ finances.

3. Managing Cash Flow

With document processing, you can support your clients to manage the cash flow within their organization. When invoices are accurately processed, companies can maximize cash flow by getting more favorable payment terms, better pricing, or even better discounts. Besides, such solutions speed up approvals and exceptions resolution, which aid AP departments in avoiding late penalties, stalled invoices, and inaccurate accruals. This results in less risk, more discounts, and easier accounting audits.

4. Improved Vendor Relationships

Most businesses rely heavily on their vendors to deliver their products or offering to the market. These companies can’t afford to lose their vendors to issues in accounts payable functions such as late or missed payments. In the absence of effective document processing, the AP team may be overwhelmed with paperwork and inbound inquiries. Under this stress, invoices may often be processed slowly or sometimes get easily lost. By offering document processing, you can drastically increase the productivity of your AP function because of fewer mistakes, positively impacting many areas inside and outside for your client organization.

5. Transparency and Accountability

Your clients may face challenges at some point with invoice processing or order deliveries. With effective document processing, you can help them address such issues with their vendors in a more organized manner. Document processing offers real-time reporting capabilities, allowing your AP team to understand where late payment fees are occurring and how to address those payment delays. In other words, document processing can help your AP function and in turn your client companies to work more efficiently and transparently.

6. Easy Compliance

With document processing services that strictly adhere to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and have stringent processes related to data security and confidentiality, your clients can rest assured that their data is safe. Document processing also brings speed, transparency, and accuracy to the AP function which makes compliance much easier to maintain. With less time spent on slow manual tasks, AP teams have more time for due diligence and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Conclusion

With document processing, your clients can process vendor invoices and make payments much faster and in an accurate manner. CoreFlex offers document processing services that are quick-to-implement and leverage modern tools and techniques to help you deliver the best to your clients. With these services, your clients can concentrate on other aspects of the business while their processing requirements are taken care of.