The perks of paperless invoice processing

SAP Concur Team | 07-18-2017

If you’re like most small and midsize business AP teams we work with, you handle around 600 invoices per month and at least half of those invoices are coming in as paper invoices. Your AP process probably sounds something like this: An invoice comes into your company, but potentially not always to you. And then, according to most organizations, the invoice is passed to as many as 15 different people before it is even approved for payment. Once approved, you cut a check, put it in an envelope and mail it off. Throughout this process you’re likely having to match it to POs, resolve exceptions, and get a phone call or two asking on the status of payment. 

 

Multiply this process for every invoice and you’ve handled a lot of paper and, as one of our clients told us, suffered serious paper cuts in the process.

 

The good news is there is a better way. According to a recent IDC White Paper, sponsored by Concur, “The Business Value of Concur Invoice,” and accounts payable teams that deployed Concur Invoice reduced time spent on tasks and manual processes related to invoice management by 34% and accelerated their average time to pay vendors by 51%. These benefits are equivalent to $511 for every 1,000 invoices processed.

 

Additional benefits of paperless AP automation include:

  • Greater visibility into spend and cash flow
  • Reduced time to pay vendors through an improved approval process
  • Qualified for early payment discounts
  • Reduce data entry and reallocate resources into more value-add projects

 

Schmetzer’s Sporthaus, a soccer retail store, struggled with lost invoices, endless paper trails and late payment charges. After implementing Concur Invoice, the business streamlined its entire AP process and accounting system, added significant efficiencies, pays vendors early and most importantly, is able to focus more on its soccer-loving customers.

 

Watch the video to learn more about Schmetzer’s Sporthaus’ story and consider what automating your AP system can do for your organization. After all, the price of not automating your AP is greater than just the cost of bandaids.