7 Tips to Streamline Accounts Payable Process

Do your accounts payable department give you a headache? Are you procrastinating on sorting your invoices? You are not alone! Most business owners loathe the invoice handling process, it may seem harmless, but these untimely delays and late penalties can affect your relationship with suppliers. Whether you own a small business or have an established one, slacking on the accounts payable department can jeopardize your business. And if you are a startup, then you are in bigger trouble! Do you know 82% of startups fail due to a lack of funds? 

As a business owner, managing accounts payable is not only about saving money, it includes other important aspects like transparency, error-free invoice management, on-time invoice generation. And all this is possible only when you game up from manual invoice management to automated solutions like DocAcquire. In this article, we will share some tips that will help in the effective management of invoices.

1. Get it right from the beginning!

If you wish to create an organized account payable system, you have to go back to the basics. You need to input every important detail in a spreadsheet-like vendor name, invoice name, invoice number, service, invoice date, payment due date, and much more. However, creating a detailed excel sheet manually is not so straightforward. You may end up missing out on some details or copying the wrong information. All this fiasco can be put to an end by using invoice processing software like  DocAcquire. This software scans, sorts, and converts the data into a detailed excel sheet. So, you will no longer have to type in the data manually.

2. Verify and track the information.

Verification is one of the most crucial steps in invoice processing. There are two aspects to the data verification process. Firstly, you have to make sure the invoices contain the right information, and secondly, the data you key in should be error-free. Storing the wrong data can affect your financial record and eventually your business as well. However, If you choose invoice processing software like DocAcquire the data verification process will become very easy. Moreover, the chances of generating errors will be reduced by manifolds.

 3. Track down the problem.

Most of the complications in invoice processing are caused when your invoices do not match the outcome you expected. Be it structured, unstructured, complex, lengthy, or simple invoice, it can hamper the entire processing. And there’s not always a serious issue that halts the invoice processing, errors can be as trivial as a typo. So, to prevent such minor yet critical mistakes, you need to go to the root of the issue. A simple solution to keep off such mistakes is to introduce an invoice processing software for managing your invoices automatically. This way, you will no longer have to deal with issues related to complicated invoices that include multi-level rates, tariff structure, utility bills, etc.

 4. Create an end-to-end process

Invoices are clear-cut mirrors of your business. They give an insight into “who ordered what and when”. So, it is essential to keep the accounts payable department as visible as possible. You should devise a process that provides solutions in different scenarios. Like, if an invoice does not have an invoice number, so instead of ignoring such an invoice, you should have an alternate method to locate the invoice number and carry on further processing. This will make the auditing process much easier.

5. Monitor your system.

Managing your system is harder than creating a good one. You have to monitor the regular deadlocks you encounter and look out for methods to avoid them. It is better to prevent a problem than trying to fix it. Also, stay updated, make changes, improvise, and come up with new methods to optimize the account payable solution.

6. Bid Adios to Paper!

The sooner you quit using paper invoices, the faster you will see an improvement in managing the invoices. As a business, you need to deal with thousands of invoices weekly, leave out the hassle to store them. Such invoices are difficult to handle as well. Switch to e-invoices that are easier to track, handle, manage, and use. Moreover, you can use DocAcquire to manage your invoice data and save yourself from hours of cumbersome work.

7. Automate Payments Using DocAcquire.

Even if you are using paper invoices, you can still optimize your accounts payable system with the help of DocAcquire. All you need to do is click a picture of your invoice, upload it to our software, and voila! You can easily extract the data from the invoice, verify the information, and export the data to various other platforms. This is how simple we have made invoice processing for you. Softwares like DocAcquire will also help in preventing bottlenecks, save your time, and reduce human errors.

Summing it up.

Using these tips you can save a lot of time, especially the precious hours of your employees who spend hours and hours typing the data. Moreover, your accounts payable system will become more productive, accurate, and stabilized. It is an upgrade that your business deserves and requires.

Ready to bring in a change in your business? How about trying out our 14-day free trial? 

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