Raising the Bar for AP
Blog
Businesses expect more from their accounts payable (AP) departments than the prompt payment of invoices. Businesses want AP to become a strategic partner to the enterprise, to help drive strategic objectives for greater profitability and growth. More businesses recognize that AP departments can deliver unique visibility into:
- The financial and operational health of the organization
- Budget and contract compliance
- Lowering the cost of goods through enhanced purchasing control, rebates for card payments and dynamically negotiated early-payment discounts from suppliers
In a paper-based environment: critical data is not captured, data is poorly organized, information is not timely, systems are not well-integrated, and decision-makers cannot access key variables. What’s more, it is hard for staff to track the status of invoices and other documents in a paper-based environment and to ensure that the appropriate individuals have approved documents in a timely manner. Paper invoices can get misplaced, sit for days on an individual’s desk, or get stuck in inter-office mail. In a manual, paper-based procure-to-pay environment, visibility is especially challenging for field staff and those in remote offices. This is why 22 percent of all businesses can only forecast mid-term cash flow with 5 percent accuracy, according to IOFM.
Forty-five percent of controllers surveyed by IOFM in 2014 identified the lack of visibility into invoices and payables information as the top challenge in their organization’s payables department.
Automated AP solutions such as NexusPayables include robust reporting and analytics that support strategic initiatives for working capital management, regulatory compliance, auditing, and operational improvement. Decision-makers can access information on the company’s cash position, at any time from any PC or mobile device. NexusPayables also includes the ability to:
- Monitor AP processing times and on-time payments
- Display unresolved exceptions and discounts captured
- Aggregate data for forecasting (invoices received, invoice status, payment terms)
- Drill-down into invoice data to manage spend
- Access data such as average purchase per vendor and number of overdue invoices
- Perform budget variance analysis and expense analysis by vendor
The visibility provided by systems such as NexusPayables enables business to:
- Make better working capital decisions
- Gain visibility into trends related to Cash Conversion Cycles, Days Payables Outstanding and Days Sales Outstanding
- Aggregate spend calculations (e.g. cost center, category, supplier or invoices sorted by unit, account or location)
- Identify budget variances or maverick spending
- Gain leverage for contract negotiations
These benefits go far beyond the AP department.; they help the enterprise achieve strategic goals.
To learn how Nexus can help your AP department drive strategic objectives for growth and profitability, contact us today!