Avanquest Accounts Payable Plus
(AP+)
In every organisation, Accounts Payable (A/P) departments
are challenged with cutting operating costs, while ensuring
invoices are promptly paid and mishandling does not compromise
hard-earned business relationships. According to research
conducted by the Hackett Group, manual A/P processes are costing
companies on average £2-£4 per invoice and reducing
employee productivity by 50% (cited ft.com).
Accounts Payable Plus (AP+) from Avanquest Solutions is a
single ‘start-to-finish’ solution, enabling organisations
to benefit from a compelling ROI, together with measurable
business efficiency improvements for the Accounts Payable
process. Individual products already exist to capture, store
and route data, but until now no one has offered the power
of an end-toend solution. The Accounts Payable Plus solution
uses several best of breed products to:
Capture: Most capture tools operate on template
basis, which require structure and will not work with 1000s
of differently structured invoices. However, AP+ employs an
intelligent capture tool which can extract invoice data automatically
from any invoice, learning and storing information as it goes.
This allows collection of data to be truly automated and ERP
accounts system to be updated, without manual entry.
Manage: Holds all relevant documents and
facilitates delivery and comparison of documents. Allows quick
search and access to documents for processing, and audit.
This negates the need for paper storage, whilst supporting
compliance.
Process: Action needs to be taken on invoices
- AP+ will automatically match invoices to PO and/or POD documents,
compare values and escalate exceptions to other areas of the
business. This greatly reduces process times and mistakes.
Issues in the Current State
There are a number of challenges related to A/P invoice processing,
including:
• Errors associated with manual data entry in accounting
systems
• Slow turn-around time due to manual routing, processing,
and sign-off procedures involving individuals in different
departments
• Inefficiencies due to time spent gathering physical
documents in order to match invoices with purchase
orders, contracts, and accounting system records (with the
occasional need to contact the supplier for additional information
or documentation)
• Inability to maximise financial benefits associated
with payment schedules (such as discounts for early payments,
or avoiding late fees for tardy payments)
• Risk of document loss or damage, as documents are
received at multiple input
points and may be routed or classified incorrectly
• Costs associated with manual document routing, shipping,
couriers, storage, etc.
• Inability to easily audit invoice processing and payments
to match
up document flow with the accounting system
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