Business Opportunities, Challenges, and Next Steps With Accounts Payable

Management of cash flow and working capital requires streamlining of accounts for optimization of ROI, improvement of operational efficiencies, and smoothen vendor and supplier relationships. Optimization of business areas empowers business organizations for better allocation if team members focus on value-added operations and other strategic initiatives. This article is aimed at acknowledging businesses and their owners the advantages of revamping accounts payable and the underlying reasons how leveraging effective technology will enable criticality for business success and staying ahead of the competition. 

Business organizations nowadays struggle much in transforming from fee-for-service to value-based care. While ensuring achievement of stability, and enriching financial agility while improvement of potential outcomes. To solving changes, achieving opportunities, and remain unlocked for whatever comes next, or organizations looking for seeking and implementing approaches for improving the financial bottom line. Taking the result-oriented approach of optimization of cash flows into the organization by enriching the effectiveness of payer reimbursement and patient payment. Ensuring all cash leaving from the organization to be well time and well spent makes transparency across the organization. OURS GLOBAL’s Accounts Payable Outsourcing Services transform the business’s Accounts Payable processes to a strategic business function optimizing working capital, ensuring maximum savings, and improved supplier relationships.

The next strategy involves an in-depth examination of accounts payable processes while keeping an apt focus over approaches for payment to vendors, suppliers, and other partners more efficiently, thus fostering stronger relationships. Thus blending efficiency and strong partnerships, businesses can maintain a much effective and reliable supply chain. While driving such processes forward, it is critical for Accounts Payable departments to stay strict in maintaining compliance with the regulation. Any errors or irregularities will lead to payment delays, penalties, and other issues that can adversely affect payment. Even in the digitized world, with the use of manual paper-based accounting across diverse industries, they are still forced to stick to outdated enterprise resource planning tools. Shifting to automated solutions avoids any lags and other problems too. 

Following are the drawbacks of paper-based accounts payable processes: 

• Overwhelmed manual data entry with higher volumes of paper invoices
• Input errors leading to confusions
• Problems related to matching invoices with purchase orders
• Risks of non-compliance with reporting regulations
• Delays and frustrated suppliers
• More expenditure for printing
• Hassle for staff for the issuing and mailing of checks using postages
• Resource-heavy and slower payables process. 
• More possibilities for fraudulent activities 
• Easy interception, rerouting, and duplication of checks 
• Hassles of generating and mailing of checks

Although the usage of physical checks is so common for extension of Days Payable Outstanding (DPO), this cannot be the strategic way for optimization of cash flow. Getting too much late over cutting checks, will lead to missing out on payments and increased risk for jeopardizations of vendor relationships. Duplicate payments, late payments, missed discounts, and high accounts processing costs are common challenges faced by every business’s payment management team.

Manual accounts payable processes hinder the gain of insight into their payables data over time, preventing them from identification of trends and identification of performance opportunities. The problem in data management will also lead to inefficiencies in strategic planning with negative results over the navigation of innovative payment models or sustaining robust financial health.   

Challenges Related to Supply Operations 

• Supply intensive businesses are always troubled with the pressure of improved cash flow and working capital even with high-interest rates and extensive competition, which requires improved order-to-cash cycle time. Such pressures related to supply-intensive businesses are expected to rise. 
• With iring competition in market places, suppliers trouble much in accepting less-than-ideal payment terms and arrangements for attraction and retainment of businesses. 
• The pressure of tolerating longer payment cycles has increased over years. Suppliers always face troubles with manual accounts payable processes such as overdue receivables for following up on late or incorrect allocation of payments. 
• With each business having varied accounts payable systems and the approaches for various requirements, the complexities and resource intensiveness over management of incoming payments.
• With manual accounts payable process, businesses won’t have insights into their performances against agreed payment terms and ensure appropriate identification of opportunities for better financial results. Paper-based accounting is required when retrieval of checks and sending out invoices.  

Opportunities with Automation of Accounts Payable 

Transitioning from hassle-filled paper-based accounts payable operations to digitized Accounts Payable operations comes with many benefits. 

• Electronic approaches accelerate invoice approval and optimize accounts payable efficiency, supporting managers to shift staff from low-level tasks of cutting and mailing checks to focus on more strategic efforts.
• Automation empowers matching, approval, and payment of invoices electronically, ensuring a cost-effective transaction cycle. 
• Virtually eliminating dependability of paper, printing, and postage, electronic solutions giving business organizations greater visibility into the payment process, ensuring payment tracking and running of reports for identification of trends and opportunities. 
• Businesses also can also take advantage of rebates, early payment discounts, and extended payment options for driving revenue into the business department. 
• Accounts payable, through automation, can generate more revenue instead. Electronic options also offer incentives and help vendors and suppliers for addressing all challenges to be a more streamlined, standardized, and efficient electronic process.

Challenges With Automation

Automated systems resist transition over existing accounts payable processes mainly because of the challenges they face amidst it. Following are the challenges businesses face with the transition to automation. 

• Without proper budgeting, the perception of current processes being proper, and lack of understanding over solutions are the challenges of adoption. 
• Perceiving cost for fully automating accounts payable system to be cost-prohibitive and disruptive, 
• The perspective of upgrading the accounts payable system to be the top financial priorities discouraging remap of client payment collections and streamlining of payer reimbursement.
• The demand for streamlined payment options and rejecting commercial cards cuts down interchange fees.
• Expenditure over outdated inefficient processes 
• Rethink efforts on payment approach processes

Incorporation of Varied Automated Options

Committing to automated approaches for procurement and payables also involves choosing options over payment solutions such as ACH systems and P-card programs that yield both efficiencies and the strongest cash flow. Improving payment visibility and additional revenue through rebate programs, these approaches benefit the flexibility in payment collection fostering better relationships, reducing dependency on paper maximizing efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance of accounts payable functionalities. 

• Incorporating P-cards is fitting for small dollar-amount purchases or one-time charges to eliminate paperwork related to small checks. Cutting down petty cash reimbursements, purchase cards complete transactions at the point of sale, without worrying the accounts payable department much. 

• Adding in the use of virtual cards comes with a single-time use, auto-generated credit card number for the accounts payable department to share with the supplier. Logging into the system for redeeming payment, offers rewards and rebates with the secure method of exchanging payment. Constraining purchases to a given amount, these have chances of being physically lost or stolen. With flexible options supporting the accounts payable department for optimization of the automated payment process, businesses can benefit with greater ROI.  

Electronic payments support businesses with varied electronic payment options, with ACH, commercial cards, virtual cards, & international payments. Capitalizing appropriate methods for a particular vendor gives benefits with rebates, premature payment discounts, etc for driving revenue. Standardizing approval workflow and comprehensive payment reconciliation accounting team can easily receive, process, and pay invoices.

Following are the Advantages of Electronic Payment Automation

• Maximum rebate opportunities and improved profit margins
• Effective management of accounts payable time and effort
• Optimum Financial efficiency
• Accounts payable teams focus on value-added activities
• Shift accounts payable teams into more value-added activities
• Reduced payment costs
• Minimum reliance on paper
• Efficient cash management
• Compliance across regulations
• Optimum visibility for spending 
• Easy identification of opportunities for optimization of payment mix
• Minimum payment fraud

How Businesses can Develop E-Payment Solutions?

E-payment solutions involve back-end supplier management, recruit, and onboarding of various vendors. Incorporating a variety of communication means such as email, phone, and postal campaigns, starting, and maintenance of technology vendors. These vendor companies will also offer support in handling queries and payment issues and assign a dedicated enablement team for the facilitation of buy-in and onboarding.

With this approach, businesses require to have minimal involvement for comprehensive participation. E-payment solutions service providers assure success with all payments and help businesses to take advantage of potential rebates and early payment discounts. Helping businesses to shift from a cost center to a revenue generator that caters insights with detailed reporting. Businesses can also have payment data in procurement conversations and negotiations driving optimization of payments.

Not much costly and time-consuming, partnering with an ideal service provider helps businesses to benefit from plug-and-play solutions, cloud-based technology, and hassle-free implementation processes. Barring no requirements on training, recruitment, and maintenance of professionals, outsourcing such requirements is the best. With cloud-based technology backing up the whole process, it only requires a minimum IT involvement, and worries over frequent upgrades or complex installations are minimum.

With seamless integration capabilities with ERP systems, these accounting payables solutions will easily adjust to existing systems. To start within the optimization of accounts payable function, businesses must extensively study their current situation and also look for more opportunities. This approach can enhance existing performance and supports organizations for benchmarking against industry standards.  

An extensively detailed accounts payable system will generate the current invoice-to-payment process, to be more knowledgeable with proper identification of shortfalls and identify room for improvement and suggest automation as the best choice. Adopting automated solutions must be executed with the promotion of stakeholder confidence and proper identification of ideal technology service providers. With the application of appropriate interest, engagement, project commitment, and sufficient budget, businesses must also maintain keen focus over user requirements, proper allocation of resources, and proper implementation.  

Dump Paper-Based Payment Systems

With the evolution of the healthcare industry over the years, the application of paper-based accounts payable processes is a failing strategy. Hindering organizations back with inefficiencies and extra costs related to paper-based processes, health care organizations can deliver optimum value and cost-effective care. Incorporating automation, businesses can transform accounts payable operations by streamlining processes, minimizing costs, and executing payments in a timely manner. Improving collaboration between suppliers and providers, e-payment solutions enhance supply chain relationships and enable patient care.  

OURS GLOBAL’s Accounts Payable Outsourcing Services enable businesses to streamline accounts payable processes by streamlining payment processes to eliminate costly, tedious, and ineffective paper-based accounting processes. Cutting down Accounts Payable costs and adding revenue by increasing capturing of rebates. Businesses who are aiming for the enhancement of Accounts Payable Processes can contact us for making informed, timely, & fact-based decisions, ensuring efficient & transparent accounts payable operations and optimum ROI.