How Suppliers Can Help Themselves to Faster Payments

Why invest in a smart AP Automation solution?

Is your invoicing solution smart enough?

If your invoice processing system is impacting your relationship with suppliers and customers in addition to hurting your brand image, it is time to look at a smart invoice automation solution.

For businesses, a smart accounts payable (AP) automation solution through a self-service invoice portal can be a game-changer. It can streamline your accounting process, improve your customer service, and save you time and money. In this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of a self-service invoice portal and a smart AP automation solution for businesses.

But before we do that, let’s take a closer look at how an ineffective invoice processing system hurts your relationship with suppliers.

How ineffective invoicing hurts your relationship with suppliers

Are your suppliers calling you frequently to track the status of payments? Delayed payments, misplaced invoices, or invoice fraud are serious issues that impact businesses significantly.

According to a study, businesses in the UK are owed an estimated £26 billion in late payments and 58% of SMEs (small to medium businesses) are waiting for payments. This leads to cash flow problems and even bankruptcy.

There is also the challenge of complying with regulations related to the way businesses and suppliers handle invoices. For instance, in the UK, regulations mandate that large companies report their payment practises twice a year, including the time they take on average to clear supplier invoices.

While an ineffective invoicing system impacts your relationship with suppliers, it also hurts your brand image. A recent study shows that 58% of consumers will boycott a business that is known to be a late payment offender. That’s not all. With the late payment interest rates revised to 8% per annum in Ireland, late payments will hurt your business’s bottom line as well.

When invoices are paid late, it can put a strain on the relationship and cause suppliers and customers to reconsider doing business with the company.

While there are challenges to collecting and tracking invoices, businesses can overcome these challenges by being prepared and having a clear plan in place. This includes investing in an efficient invoice system with easy-to-use AP automation, seamless invoice processing and a self-service supplier portal.

What is a self-service supplier portal?

As the name suggests, a self-service supplier invoicing portal is an online platform that allows suppliers to submit and track their invoices without the need for manual intervention from the buyer. A self-service supplier invoicing portal can also help to improve the accuracy of invoices, as suppliers can enter information directly into the portal and there is no need for manual data entry.

This type of portal can be extremely beneficial for both buyers and suppliers. It helps streamline invoice processing, reduce processing time and costs and improve data accuracy.

A self-service supplier portal typically includes a range of features and functionality, such as the ability to:

• Upload and manage invoices
• Track invoice status
• Monitor payments
• Generate reports

Some portals also offer integrated paperless payment processing, e-invoicing, AP automation and other value-added services.

The benefits of AP automation

Accounts payable automation is the process of automating the payment of supplier invoices and other bills. This can be done through the use of software that is designed to streamline the process and make it more efficient. By automating the accounts payable process and opting for paperless payments, businesses can reap multiple benefits, including:

• Reduced manual processing of invoices and bills
• Increased data accuracy and operational efficiency
• Improved cash flow management
• Reduced late payments
• Increased visibility into spending
• Improved relationship with suppliers and customers
• Eliminates duplicate invoices
• Saves your labour costs

Switch over to a smart invoice automation solution

The benefits of AP automation are clear. To take advantage of these benefits, you need an AP automation solution that is a cut above the rest.

Kefron AP automation solution comes with a self-service supplier portal that allows suppliers to stay up to date without having to request and await confirmation on the status of their invoices. It also allows you to automate payments with a unique fraud protection code for each payment, ensuring that all supplier payments are authenticated.

In addition to dynamic data capture and PO creation, Kefron AP offers easy API integration with your accounting system.

Contact us today to ace your invoice processing and strengthen supplier relationships.