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Tips to Streamline Your End-to-End AP Invoice Process

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In order to grow your business you need to focus on planning and strategy.

But, if you’re like most finance and business leaders we speak to, you may find you’re being held back.

60% of finance team time is spent on day-to-day tasks.¹

Streamlining – and even removing – these time-consuming, error-prone tasks is essential if you and your team want to deliver the insights and analysis your business needs as you plan for growth.

From the moment your business receives invoices, right through to payment, there are a number of steps you can take to cut manual data entry, improve accuracy, and ensure you pay within your ideal timeframes.

This eBook will show you how intelligent automation and machine learning technology can free up time so you can focus on growth.

1 Fuelling Business Growth: How UK Finance Leaders Can Drive Strategy and Avoid Risk, Vanson Bourne 2018

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Preparing Your Business for GrowthOn your path to growth, you’ll be assessing your systems and processes to determine which parts of your operation are scalable and which aren’t. A paper-based AP invoice process is the perfect example of an operation that just doesn’t scale well.

If you’re drowning in paper now, imagine what it will be like in two-, five- or ten-years’ time. At a time when you’re probably being asked to do more with less, growing your team may not be an option.

A streamlined and automated invoice management solution can enable your AP team to work smarter – not harder – and ensure you’re well poised for growth.

the time the average 5-person finance team saves by using an invoice management solution.2

£29,000the average amount an SMB using Concur Invoice saves every year.3

40 hours a week

2 Elevate Business Performance and Better Manage Spend with Automation, AMI-Partners 20183 Elevate Business Performance and Better Manage Spend with Automation, AMI-Partners 2018©

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Invoice AutomationBesides giving you time back, you’ll also gain control and visibility of the end-to-end process so you can make smarter decisions about where and when you’re spending money.

Automation gives you instantly accessible real-time information you can drill down into with ease. It revolutionises financial planning and reporting. It means you’re able to deliver the financial insights your business needs.

79% of finance leaders say financial insights are important for driving the growth strategy of the business.4

“We save around nine hours a week across the accounts payable team so we’re making quantifiable cost savings and adding value. The team is also able to be much more proactive now.”Laurence Harper, Systems & Technical Accounting Assistant at DAS and SAP Concur user.5

4 Elevate Business Performance and Better Manage Spend with Automation, AMI-Partners 20185 DAS case study, SAP Concur©

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The Three Key Stages of the AP Invoice Process ExaminedIn the next sections we’ll look at these three main stages of the AP invoice process in turn:

We'll examine the common obstacles as well as how to streamline your processes. We will also show you how invoice automation helps you embrace best practice, get control of costs in the procure-to-pay (P2P) process and prepare your business for growth.

1. Invoice receiving

2. Invoice routing and approval

3. Invoice payment

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Overcome Your Invoice Receiving ObstaclesIn a business with a paper-based AP invoice process, invoices can enter the system in a number of ways:

• Sent directly to you via post or email• Forwarded via email or hard copy from the department that made the purchase

For many businesses, when invoices arrive by email, the first step is often to print the invoice to create a hard copy. We see many challenges with a process that works like this.

It’s a tedious, time-consuming task to manually enter data from hard copy invoices into your AP invoice system. It’s also prone to human error and the risk of duplicate invoices rises.

46% of finance leaders say errors and mistakes are the biggest challenge their team faces.6

6 Connecting the Dots on Travel, Expense and Invoice Spend, SAP Concur

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75% of finance leaders say process inefficiency has reduced job satisfaction within their team.7

67% of finance leaders aren't completely confident their team is protecting the business against risk and fraud.8

There’s the risk of invoices going missing altogether. How often have you received an invoice in your department weeks or even months after it was due because it was sitting in someone’s in-tray waiting to be actioned?

Lack of visibility is also a concern. When you can’t see your outstanding liabilities in a single place, it’s hard to understand your future cash flow requirements or fine-tune your P2P process.

Then there’s fraud. With invoices coming in from multiple sources, it’s hard to be certain what’s legitimate and what isn’t. And when time is tight, checking isn’t always as good as you’d like it to be.

7 Connecting the Dots on Travel, Expense and Invoice Spend, SAP Concur

8 Fuelling Business Growth: How UK Finance Leaders Can Drive Strategy and Avoid Risk, Vanson Bourne 2018

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Three Top Tips to Streamline Your Invoice Receiving Process1. Centralise Your InvoicesThe first step is to make sure invoices all arrive in one central location. Automation offers a way to do this. It’s also good practice to send inaccurate invoices back to suppliers for correction before they go any further.

2. Accept and Encourage Suppliers to Submit Invoices ElectronicallySet up an AP-specific email alias to receive all invoices from your suppliers. If there’s resistance, explain they’ll see benefits such as quicker processing and approvals, better visibility and improved accuracy.

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3. Implement Machine Learning Technology Data doesn’t have to always be entered manually anymore and OCR (optical character recognition) ends this typical pain point by automatically converting physical invoices into digital form, extracting data from invoice images and populating it into custom fields. This machine learning feature is continually getting more intelligent, more cost-effective and is a central feature of many automated invoice management solutions.

6 month’s filing before invoice automation: six-foot-high filing cabinet

6 month’s filing after invoice automation: one concertina fileLondon charity and Concur Invoice user Thames Reach feedback.11

Save paper, the planet and your patience

£8 the average saving per invoice after implementing an automated invoice management solution.9

14%The average amount of time spent processing invoices by the average finance team each week.10

¹0 Elevate Business Performance and Better Manage Spend with Automation, AMI-Partners 201811 Concur Partner Excluserv and Thames Reach, SAP Concur

9 Elevate Business Performance and Better Manage Spend with Automation, AMI-Partners 2018

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Overcome Your Invoice Approval ObstaclesOnce an invoice has entered your system, the next step is to get it approved. And for many businesses, this is where the real problems and delays start.

You lose track of invoices in the approval process. Once you’ve sent an invoice for approval it’s often like it’s disappeared into a black hole and you have no idea where it is in the process. After all, you can’t be expected to know who is on holiday, who is out on business and who has simply forgotten they have invoices to review. In the meantime, you lose precious days and weeks.

You may use spreadsheets to keep track of invoices, but these are difficult to continuously keep up-to-date and so you don’t have visibility into your outstanding invoices.

20-30% of invoices result in exceptions in one form or another.12

12 The True Costs of Paper-Based Invoice Processing and Disbursements, SAP Concur

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83% of finance leaders say they pay supplier invoices late at least some of the time.13

56%of finance teams are unable to identify their supplier invoice liabilities at any time.14

¹3 Connecting the Dots on Travel, Expense and Invoice Spend, SAP Concur14 A 10-Step Guide to an Efficient Supplier Invoice Process, SAP Concur

Worse still, spotting errors, mismatches and duplications manually is typically the most time-consuming task of all and it’s very easy to miss something, leaving you at risk of duplicate payments and even fraud. Overall, it’s a process that’s very hands-on, requires lots of chasing and simply isn’t scalable as you grow.

Insight: Read this article on sneaky tricks of the invoice fraudster to look out for.

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Four Top Tips to Streamline Your Invoice Approval Process1. Create Management WorkflowsThe first step to improving efficiency is to understand the current picture. Map your current processes, identify where the bottlenecks are and see how you can resolve them. For example, make sure every invoice goes straight to the invoice owner. Set internal service level agreements so everyone knows you’ve got a KPI you want to meet.

To keep on top of the process, invoice automation solutions such as Concur Invoice make sure all this happens, sending out reminders automatically and letting you see at a glance where every invoice is in the process.

2. Implement a PO SystemPurchase orders make it much easier to spot fraudulent invoices, errors and mistakes. They’re also a vital step in a robust P2P process. Concur Invoice offers PO, invoice receipt, approval and payment information in a single system. It enables three-way matching – automatically checking what was ordered against what was received and invoiced, flagging any discrepancies along the way.

“We can instantly pull up an invoice, cross-reference against the PO, check bank details, search historical payments and reduce the risk of error.”David Hawes, Finance Director, Devon Air Ambulance.15

¹5 Devon Air Ambulance case study, SAP Concur

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3. Get a Mobile App Solution A mobile app means invoices can be approved on-the-go in a moment. It also puts an end to waiting for someone to return from a business trip and plough through their inbox.

4. Optimise ApprovalsDoes your CEO or CFO have to sign off on all invoices or could lower value invoices have different threshold levels? Invoice automation makes implementing different approval levels easy because it happens automatically. You can also see where an invoice has reached in the chain, making it easy to identify persistently slow approvers.

4.6/5SAP Concur app rating in the Apple UK App Store.18

16 A 10-Step Guide to an Efficient Supplier Invoice Process, SAP Concur ¹7 A 10-Step Guide to an Efficient Supplier Invoice Process, SAP Concur18 https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sap-concur/id335023774?mt=8

£6 millionthe value of duplicate invoices SAP Concur identified and stopped being paid by its UK clients in one year.17

The average paper invoice involves

15 people and takes

7.2 days to process.16

Insight: Is Your AP Process Fully Automated? Consider These Four Telling Scenarios

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Overcome Your Invoice Payment ObstaclesPayment is the final, yet most crucial, step in the AP invoice process. But if it’s a largely manual-based process, what should be a quick and easy last link in the chain often takes longer than it should.

Paper cheques, late bank transfers or expensive speedy payment methods due to being late are some of the challenges you’re likely to face. All this leads to frustrating, difficult conversations with suppliers chasing late payments and putting business relationships under strain.

And then there’s new legislation to consider. The Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations (Duty to Report) are designed to tackle the problem of late payment. It means paying invoices on time has become more important than ever.In a paper-based world, you also lack visibility and insight.

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It’s difficult to see where there are opportunities to negotiate discounts with regular suppliers as gathering this information is tricky and you can’t arm yourself with the facts.

The end result is you’re always playing catch-up rather than being proactive and strategic.

£26.8 billionthe amount owed to SMBs in late payments.19

19 Duty to Report on Payment Practices and Performance, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

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Four Top Tips to Streamline Your Invoice Payment Process1. Take Advantage of Credit Cards andDigital PaymentsThis is one of the quickest and easiest changes you can make. Using credit cards or taking advantage of digital payment technology saves administration time and enables you to earn cash back simply by paying your bill on time.

2. Gather Data for NegotiationsSuppliers will often give discounts, special terms or preferential pricing to valuable customers. Automated invoice solutions make it easy to gather data you can take into negotiations. For example, you can see at a glance how much you spend each year with your local taxi firm on trips to and from the office. They give you the insight you need to make more strategic supplier decisions, improve your P2P process and free up working capital.

£27,000 unapproved spend with Amazon in 2017.

By moving to a single Amazon Business account, all spend is now approved.Professional services company RED’s example of benefit of using SAP Concur.20

20 RED case study, SAP Concur

How increased spend visibility helped RED

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3. Create a Supplier Portal A supplier portal puts suppliers in control, saving both you and them time. Suppliers can log in to your system and track the status of orders and payments at-a-glance. Invoice automation solutions such as Concur Invoice include this functionality. It means a way to improve supplier relations and save you time is an easy thing to add to your set-up.

4. Streamline Payment through Connected Partners Invoice automation solutions often work with partners to add even further value to payment processes. For example, SAP Concur works with companies such as VATIT, Taxback International and TransferMate to enable VAT to be reclaimed automatically without any hassle.

69% of AP professionals deal with supplier calls about payment at least once a week.21

21 A 10-Step Guide to an Efficient Supplier Invoice Process, SAP Concur

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Start to Streamline Your Entire AP Process Today

Find out More About Automated Invoice Management with SAP Concur: Understand how Concur Invoice helps you capture invoices quickly and accurately, stay on top of spend, streamline purchase requests, automate approvals and spot inaccurate and duplicate invoices before they get paid.

See How Technology Streamlines Your Payment Processes:Learn how to leverage technology to streamline your payment processes in this short video.

Build an Invoice Policy: Creating a policy for managing, storing and processing supplier invoices can ensure everyone is on the same page and means your people spend less time on admin and your suppliers get paid promptly. This resource has nine top tips you need to consider if you’re thinking about introducing an invoice policy, as well as a template you can use.

Assess the Risk to Your AP Process:Managing risk and ensuring compliance is a vital part of every finance manager’s role. This tool helps you understand the potential risks in your AP process, conduct a risk analysis and identify the fix.

If you’re ready to start streamlining and automating your AP invoice processes, here’s what to do next:

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46% 2. We are more

productive

44% 3. We are able to

optimise other processes in the business

42%4. We can spend

more time planning for

the future

41% 5. We are more

confident of our financial audits 22

22 The Finance Leader Report: What Could You Do With an Extra Day? SAP Concur

What are the Top Benefits Finance Leaders are Experiencing?

50% 1. We have a

better view of cash flow

£

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Find the Right Technology PartnerAs we’ve seen, invoice automation does all the heavy lifting when it comes to streamlining your AP invoice process. But if you want to realise all the benefits, the first step is to choose the right technology partner.

SAP Concur is a leading global provider of invoice, expense and travel solutions, so you can have peace of mind you are using reliable reliable, top-rated software.

When you automate your AP processes with SAP Concur, you gain speed and efficiency as well as control and visibility of your spend so you can maximise your profitability and equip yourself for growth.

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Small Business-FriendlyYou are assigned a dedicated account manager who will work closely with you throughout the implementation and deployment process and beyond. It means you don’t need specialist IT expertise. And you pay on a rolling month-by-month basis without being tied into a lengthy contract.

ScalableYou pay per invoice processed not per user, so it’s incredibly cost-effective no matter where you’re at in your growth.

Part of a Wider EcosystemOur global partner community can customise and enhance SAP Concur technology to help you see more bottom line savings, improved employee productivity and rapid ROI. Plus our range of finance connectors means that you can connect and integrate your numbers automatically.

Always at the Cutting EdgeAs a cloud-based SaaS solution, you’re always using the latest version and there’s no need to worry about allocating capital for upgrades.

Why UK Businesses Opt for SAP Concur

“I really believe that from signing the paperwork you can be live within two weeks. Anybody, in any department, could administer, configure and run the product.” Luke Braham, Head of Technology Operations at RED and SAP Concur user.23

23 RED case study, SAP Concur24 FBD case study, SAP Concur

“It was richer in terms of functionality than any of the other applications that we looked at. The phone app in particular was a long way ahead of the nearest competitor.”Michael Tinney, Finance Manager at FBD Insurance and SAP Concur user.24

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When you’re preparing for growth, it’s easy to focus on the customer-facing sections of the business. But the back-office systems are just as important. In fact, as we’ve seen, when your finance processes are streamlined, efficient and automated, your business is much better equipped for the journey ahead. And you and your team are empowered to be the strategic leaders you want to be – and your business needs.

SAP® Concur® is the world’s leading provider of integrated travel, expense, and invoice management solutions, driven by a relentless pursuit to simplify and automate these everyday processes. With SAP Concur solutions, a top-rated app guides employees through every trip, charges are effortlessly populated into expense reports, and invoice approvals are automated. By integrating near-real-time data and using AI to audit 100% of transactions, businesses can see exactly what they’re spending without worrying about blind spots in the budget. SAP Concur solutions eliminate yesterday’s tedious tasks, makes today’s work easier, and help businesses run at their best every day. Learn more at concur.co.uk or the SAP Concur blog.

A Business Poised for Growth

ABOUT SAP CONCUR

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eBook Tips to Streamline Your AP Invoice Process enUK (19/05)

Learn more at concur.co.uk

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