As a business grows, the use of manual or semi-manual processes for Accounts Payable (AP) becomes untenable. It’s not just a matter of efficiency and team productivity. While those aspects of running a business are of course important, AP has a lot to do with critical commercial relationships. Sub-standard handling of AP can even negatively affect your reputation and disrupt production operations as deliveries of needed supplies slow down. To avoid these potential problems, you can turn to cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, which offer fast, automated ways to track and pay bills, and more.
Accounts Payable Challenges
AP is an essential part of any business, but it’s also one of the most complex and challenging accounting tasks. Paying bills is only one part of AP. To do AP properly, your team has to be able to reconcile purchase orders (POs) with bills of lading and invoices. Keeping tracking of dates is crucial, as is making sure than any adjustments agreed to with suppliers are reflected in the invoice. You don’t want over- or under-pay. You don’t want to pay late, but you want to avoid paying too early unless that’s a deliberate strategy. As you grow and your list of suppliers expands, this all becomes harder to do.
The Benefits of Automating Accounts Payable
One of the major benefits of automating accounts payable is that it saves time for both the employees paying bills and the vendors who are receiving payments. In fact, according to a survey by EY, 76% of managers said that automation has improved efficiency in their accounts payable department.
By automating your accounts payable processes with a cloud ERP system, you can:
- Gain accurate real-time information and insights into your cash flow
- Avoid vendor relations issues that result from late payments
- Save money on the labor cost of manually processing invoices
- Reduce errors and increase compliance with accounting standards
- Reduce the risk of fraud and loss of sensitive company data
Using Cloud ERP to Solve Accounts Payable Challenges
Acumatica’s Accounts Payable software can make a significant difference in your organization’s accounts payable practices. It can even help you optimize your overall financial process. Acumatica AP enables accounting team members to track and pay invoices quickly and accurately. The solution automatically receives invoices, speeds up approvals and pays quickly. It integrates with operational systems, such as warehouse management, to facilitate PO and bill of lading reconciliations.
Cloud ERP systems can also help reduce errors by allowing users access to only what’s relevant for their job function, reducing human error when entering information into the system or making changes that might affect other parts of your business (like vendors).
To meet the expectations of today’s customers, companies must be able to provide accurate and timely delivery of goods. That requires real-time visibility into inventory and supply chain processes, both of which depend on effective AP.
Acumatica provides cloud-based ERP that helps businesses manage AP, and their overall finances from end to end. The scalable system is perfect for businesses of any size and can be customized based on your unique needs. Contact us today for a demo.
Additional Accounting and Financial Resources
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Benefits to Financial Teams for Embracing Technologies
Why Financial Management Needs to Deliver Powerful Purchasing and AP