Small to medium businesses (SMBs) across the country are balancing the stability of headcount, supply chain issues and rising interest rates. Most are manipulating cash on hand to navigate economic hardships, pushing the need to acquire solutions that offer savings, speed, and efficiency.
Solutions for SMBs
Rumors of a recession create distractions that can be debilitating. However, it inspires SMBs to rally, sleuthing out methods to reduce costs and decrease stress.
A smart step is to address the pesky area of payments. Automating payment systems and B2B functionalities improves the bottom line using long-term, cost-effective features.
Accounts payable (AP) teams have had to rely on paper focused processes that ultimately exhaust the total cost of ownership (TCO). Renovating the process using can simplify outbound payments, ensuring vendors are paid faster.
Renovate and Automate
Employment Struggles: With inflation rising and the , SMBs cannot compete with larger businesses offering better wages and benefits. Replacing monotonous tasks tethered to paying vendors with an automated system can alleviate the strain on current employees and decrease the need for new hires.
Cost Over Time: Investing in an AP automation system can recuperate cash over time by reducing the cost associated with manual data entry, avoiding late payments and increasing operational efficiency. As a bonus, AP automation delivers a consistent movement of funds and removes paper elements (i.e., checks, invoices, envelopes).
if the cost is just 1% of the payment amount.
Vital Features for SMBs
AP automation solutions enable businesses to take their current payment procedures and turn them into simple, secure and adaptable processes. Companies can pay vendors using digital payment methods, including and the technology can integrate effortlessly into an existing . Automation improves security to ensure stability doesn't is maintained though operational resourcefulness. The most attractive aspect is that SMBs can optimize vendor payments without changing current accounting practices.
Time Matters
It’s estimated that .
Every minute turns into an hour and hours become days. Consider estimating your own manual invoicing costs by reviewing:
- Total invoice processing time (including time in the post)
- Time spent revising invoices
- Overall time dedicated to identifying and correcting data entry errors, duplicate payments, etc.
- Storing and shipping costs for physical invoices
- Discounts lost and penalties incurred due to late payments, errors, etc.
- Hours lost by staff performing invoicing duties rather than assigned functions
So why push to digitize outbound payments? The right provider can tailor a complete AP solution to support:
- On-time payments for improved vendor relations
- Reduced paper processes and manual data entry
- Automated payment tracking and reporting for easy reconciliation
- Monthly rebates from virtual card spend
- Single source for payment management
AP automation simplifies aspects of payments that are otherwise cumbersome.
Change is inevitable, but transformation is a choice
Payments are developing quickly—just like a business should. B2B dynamics constantly change, leaving you to navigate learn how to be agile and equally tough. AP automation enables businesses stay ahead and coast through economic uncertainties, making transformation the easy choice.
Payment technology providers like offer robust tools to implement AP automation for any size business. Start supporting digital vendor payments to simplify outbound payments and get back to the business of being in business!
about AP automation for your business today.