Go Green with Document Management

How Much Do Manual Invoice Processes Cost?  Is it Worth It?

What if you could automate your A/P Processing? If you’re thinking about digitizing invoices, you’re not alone! The Institute for Finance & Management (IOFM) indicates that 70-80% of invoices are still paper.

• Fact: 66% of Invoices are on paper
• Fact: $11.66 is the average cost to process a paper invoice
• Fact: 62% of labor costs are consumed by A/P

So, what are you supposed to do?  You can’t change the way people invoice you.  They send them in paper, so you have to process them that way, right?  WRONG!  You can change the way you process them.  Accounts Payable automation helps you enhance A/P process efficiency, improve control of information, and save money.  Here’s how…

Is Your A/P Department Operating at Its Full Potential? 

If your business is like most, your AP department is wasting time, money and ecological resources with processing paper invoices. You’ve probably heard about  the benefits of having a paperless accounts payable system, but with all the paper currently in AP, it seems downright impossible to go paperless.  Yet Accounting Process Improvement begins with paperless AP!

While switching to a paperless accounts payable process can be a challenge, those challenges can be mitigated by doing it right from the outset (and by using a knowledgeable vendor to help you make the switch). Going paperless in the accounts payable department has advantages across the board (check out the infographic below).

Infographic:  A/P Automation Saves $$$ 

How to Streamline Back-Office Functions – Start with A/P

Back-office functions keep your company operating, but add little or nothing to growing your business.  However, when properly managed, these back-office functions can improve your bottom line – nowhere is that more evident than in the accounts payable department. 

The reason is simple…no other department processes the volume of paper that accounts payable departments process.  Daily, weekly and monthly, invoices arrive that must be approved, scheduled, signed and paid on time.  These long, manual multi-touch payment cycles that require staff time, multiple copies, signature approvals, printing, postage, mailing and filing of paper documents and accompanying back-up add up to steep back-office costs.

As organizations grow and change, suppliers increase, resulting in more incoming invoices – and this is not a problem that is limited to large, multi-location companies.  Even small businesses can get bogged down in outdated paper and processes. 

Why Smart Companies Have Paperless Accounts Payable

Little Things Mean a Lot…

honestly, honey, they just cost money.

                                                          song lyrics by Edith Lindeman

They Just Cost Money

Why open a blog post about accounts payable with song lyrics from a 1953 popular song? 

Because it’s a fitting description about A/P Processing…no matter how little the invoice, making sure it’s paid means a lot to your business’s credibility.  And, processing every invoice, no matter how large or how small it is, just costs money in back-office fees, in addition to the deduction from your checking account for the payment.