How to Save on Invoice Processing Costs

When it comes to keeping a business operating at a manageable level financially, cutting costs often plays a crucial role in the process. There are hundreds, if not thousands of ways to cut business expenditures, but one important area that often gets overlooked is the cost of invoice processing. Some invoice processing costs are clearly defined, while others are hidden under the pressure of the workweek and may go overlooked.

So, how exactly can you help save your organization valuable time and money on you’re A/P team’s invoice processing costs? Here are a few tips to point you in the right direction.

If you’re still printing out invoices and handing them out around the office for signatures, review, and filing, you’re creating a wide-reaching paper trail that is not only unnecessary, but actually problematic and costly. Paper is necessary under certain circumstances, but the vast majority of accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR)-related processes can now be handled digitally. As difficult as it may seem to make the switch, doing so will benefit you in countless ways over the years the come.

It’s not uncommon for businesses across all industries to receive an overwhelming number of invoices each month. If a vendor is invoicing for every small project that comes to completion, this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to write an endless amount of separate checks. When appropriate, make strides to combine at least two or three invoices into a single payment so long as you aren’t delaying payment terms. Many vendors actually appreciate lump-sum payments, as in the end, fewer checks is better for all parties involved.

Benchmarks are an important part of analytics, largely because they use data intelligently to help to identify progress while saving time and effort in the process. Be sure to diligently monitor factors such as the time it takes to process invoices, number of accurate payments, number of invoices paid on time and whatever else fits into the areas you’re looking to improve. The clarity that comes along with setting goals and benchmarks is refreshing, and it’s not as much work as you might think.

There comes a point for every growing business when handling accounts payable in-house becomes more of a burden than a wise idea—it can also lead to excess costs. By outsourcing AP to a trusted vendor known for providing reputable automated financial solutions to businesses like yours, you can free up a great deal of time and energy for your team while knowing you’re accounts payable (AP) processes are being handled by a group of experts.

Invoice processing costs will always find a way of popping up, but the more you can do to keep them under control, the less they’ll disrupt your business’ cash flow.

Billtrust is dedicated to making invoicing and invoice processing as smooth and cost effective as possible for both accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) teams. Billtrust Quantum seamlessly integrates with your customers’ AP platforms, so you can be sure that they will receive invoices quickly, efficiently and in their preferred formats. Billtrust’s suite of AR solutions help companies of any size operate with greater ease and simplicity, while increasing customer satisfaction by making their accounts payable (AP) processes easier as well. Request a demo today to learn more!