Best Practices that Impact your AP Operations
It is the Accounts Payable (AP) department that handles cash flow within the organization. There might be a lot of circumstances where mistakes can happen. The good news is that most of the mistakes are avoidable by following some of the best practices. Here are a few best practices that empower AP departments to perform their job better:
Scan Invoices Instantly
Enter new invoices into the system as soon as they arrive. This will make sure you do not lose any invoices and provides clear insight into the AP department. With the AP system in place, you will only have to scan physical invoices while digital invoice copies will get automatically recorded into the system once you get things up.
Centralize Information
Capturing and managing the information all from one place can help you keep track of every invoice. Automating AP processes allow you to read invoice receipts and validate all from a centralized location. Even if the employees handling AP processes are not in the same location, the system will still have a centralize AP process.
Digital Records
Storing paper invoices into the system will help you maintain backup and processing history. Digital records are secure, easy to search, and won’t get damaged compared to paper invoice receipts.
Outline Workflow Rules
Having a clear system in place that outlines rules and regulations can make sure your employees are not working for cross-purposes. Everyone should be on the same page with regards to approval deadlines, policies, and exceptions. Once you have everything set up in place, you can customize AP software to enforce the best workflow practices.
Manage Vendor Data
Having a single, master list that collects your vendor information in one place avoids incomplete, fraudulent, or duplicate vendor information. Not having a proper vetting process puts your company at risk.
Supplier Self-service
The automated AP software helps keep your vendor information up-to-date by allowing vendors to update their information by themselves. Supplier self-service portal allows vendors to check the status of their invoices and find answers to the most common questions. This frees-up AP department as most of the supplier issues can be resolved through the self-service system.
Following these practices facilitates AP department to run smoothly. Having policies and AP software together can improve cash management, save money, and accelerate invoice processing.
Want to learn more about SutiAP Accounts Payable? Request a free demo today.
