If you are looking for the best ways to improve your company’s AP invoice processes, it is very important that you are doing your research well in advance. Though you may find a wide range of automated options in this industry to make your selections from, some of these invoice processes are clearly better than others. Therefore, as you start your quest to find the absolute best, here are 4 ways that you can make essential improvements
- Talk to AP Invoice Team Members to Identify Problems and Solutions
If your company is processing its AP invoices manually, you have a huge opportunity to make lots of changes in both accuracy and speed. This is because you can replace your manual processing systems altogether with an innovative AP automation software solution. An AP automation solution will give your team members the capabilities needed to process larger volumes of invoices with higher rates of accuracy. Based on your needs and the size of your operation, you may want to incorporate a QuickBooks app into your daily invoice processing. This is especially the case if you are a small business owner. Or, you may want to use a Netsuite accounts payable software product to handle the AP invoices that need to be completed. In either case, the software solution that you choose can make a big difference in accuracy and volume amounts that can be completed within a day.
- Think About Implementing a Custom AP Invoice System
If your company processes large volumes of AP invoices on a daily basis, you may want to search for an application that fits your needs. In some cases, however, the volume may exceed the software products available on the market today. When this is the situation, you may need to pursue an AP Invoice Processing solution that can be customized to your specific needs and requirements. For instance, if you are processing one vendor’s AP invoices in a special manner that is different from all others, you need to implement these features in a customized database.
- Create Workflow Process for Your AP Invoices that Everyone Can Follows
In some companies, the team of AP employees may have established processes in mind that everyone must follow in a certain order before an invoice is actually complete. In other companies, the team of AP employees may complete their AP invoices by using a variety of different procedures. Even though the processes are different, the results achieved are almost the same. Normally, the latter version of process AP invoices is based on manual process procedures and requires a lot of paperwork handling to get the job done.
While the team of AP employees can process large volumes of invoices, the accuracy rates for each employee is more than likely very different from one employee to another. This is because there is really no standardized way to catch inaccuracies before these invoices are sent out. To correct these kinds of problems and improve the way things are being done, you should create a standardized workflow in this operation to minimize the steps for completion and accuracy as well. A standardized workflow procedure is essential for many different purposes, including using the workflow process to customize an automated AP invoice database.
- Make Sure to Collect the Input and Feedback of the Employees in Your AP Invoice Operation Before Implementing a New Paperless System
When you are working toward automating the AP invoice process in your business to improve the way invoices are being processed, it is important that you take the time to listen to the employees in your company that process these invoices on a regular basis. Since these employees are not only familiar with the benefits of their present workflow process, they can also alert you to some of the drawbacks, too. By listening to their input actively before a new paperless process is implemented, you can establish the new process without carrying over inaccuracies that need to be corrected.
If you have been assigned the project of improving your AP Invoice process, you should consider a variety of different ways to make improvements. Some of the most beneficial that you can use today, includes consulting to the workgroup about the new proposed changes and automating the process with an efficient paperless AP invoice system.
