A complete invoice-to-pay solution is a bonus for media agency digital payments.
The media industry is painfully aware of the hardships of processing vendor payments. Delays on long-term projects that require ongoing payments, complex invoicing for various services, and disparate payment methods are only some of the challenges.
However, industry trends show the advertising sector is prioritizing B2B automated payables. Manual payment processes cannot keep up with the speed of advertising or rapid growth. And there are many benefits to having a digital B2B payment process.
Digital advertising is forecast to grow in 2023. And B2B payments are one of the industry’s top challenges. Payment delays, complicated invoicing, and time-consuming reconciliation all contribute to the arduous advertising and media agency payables process. Add to that the various payment methods required by vendors and the strict regulations for customer data security and media payments become difficult, if not impossible, to manage manually.
Benefits of a Complete Invoice-To-Pay Solution
Automated payables help ease the strain of having to manually track payments. Additionally, an invoice-to-pay solution provides even more benefits to the accounts payable process for the agency and its vendors. Invoice-to-pay is a more cohesive payment process in place of segregated automated processes.
Some of the most valuable benefits that an invoice-to-pay solution provides for media agencies are:
- Faster processing
- Fewer exceptions and errors
- Increased visibility
- Enhanced security
- Improved cash management
Faster Payment Processing
A complete end-to-end AP solution means faster processing for media agencies. For example, the internal payables process can take days or weeks while fielding calls from vendors looking for their payments.
CSI and IPS seamlessly connect to leading banks and payment rails, so your agency isn’t limited in how it makes payments. This allows B2B transactions to flow fast and securely between parties at any scale. By automating invoice intake and payables, media agencies can reduce their payment processing time by half or less, depending on the number of vendors.
Fewer Exceptions and Less Errors Overall
Exceptions are invoice errors on the front end of invoice intake that can cause delays later in the payment process. The name is a misnomer because exceptions are quite common. They are one of the biggest challenges for AP professionals.
Having a highly accurate invoice intake system reduces the occurrences and burden of correcting exceptions. In addition, electronic collaboration with vendors helps resolve exceptions and move the payables process along much faster than a manual process.
CSI and IPS’ invoice intake process automatically identifies missing or incorrect invoice data and notifies vendors of the issue. We provide 99.95% data capture accuracy. Our unique verification process minimizes errors and reduces the number of invoice exceptions you receive. And our human-assisted exceptions resolution service allows your agency to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to efficiently resolve issues.
Increased Visibility for Your Agency and Your Vendors
Lack of visibility into cash flow and payments causes additional manual labor hours. It means more time is spent searching for where each vendor’s disbursement is in the payment cycle. Agencies typically have multiple vendors per campaign and can quickly lose sight of disbursements and whether or not they’ve been processed.
A complete invoice-to-pay solution helps agencies optimize their entire payables process. CSI and IPS’ end-to-end AP automation platform provides touch-free posting of invoices to ERPs and accounting software. It allows media agencies to receive invoices from vendors in any format. And then digitally route invoices requiring approval based on preset rules.
Invoices can be matched against orders in industry-specific ERPs or accounting systems. CSI and IPS’ advanced technologies and pre-built integrations with Advantage, Mediaocean, Workamajig, Accountability, NetSuite, and Sage allow for faster payments and greater visibility.
Visibility is also extended to your vendors in an easy-to-use portal. They can track invoices and disbursements, freeing you from calls and emails about payment status.
The flexible interface includes custom payment approval workflows that help connect media buyers, vendors, planners, and finance departments. Our complete invoice-to-pay solution helps agencies optimize their entire payables process to better manage working capital and spending.
Enhanced Payables Security
Another top concern for digital advertising and media agencies is fraud. Agency budgets are already strained between click fraud gangs and ad fraud that negatively affects ad traffic. So payment fraud should not be an added burden.
Virtual cards are one of the most secure methods of payment. But not all AP automation companies are equal when it comes to security. By automating the AP process with a fintech that maintains compliance with industry regulations, agencies can rest easy about their payments.
Media is highly regulated by government rules such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). CSI and IPS comply with those same rules to protect clients’ information. Internal and industry security measures are strictly upheld by CSI, IPS, and its employees. Annual third-party audits confirm our ongoing security compliance. It proves our ability to provide secure card and network payment options that reduce the risk of fraud losses for our customers.
Improved Cash Management
Advertising and media agencies typically have significant up-front expenses. So delays in receiving payments can create issues with cash flow. An inefficient vendor payables system can lead to even greater cash flow challenges, particularly when using manual processes. For example, manual reconciliation becomes time-consuming and problematic when agencies potentially have several hundred ad charges for a single vendor.
CSI and IPS’ end-to-end payables solution makes it easy to pay vendors faster, reducing late payment fees. Virtual cards and ghost cards for specific vendors or campaigns make matching invoice transactions and payments quicker and less labor-intensive. It also helps your agency make informed decisions, such as taking advantage of early payment discounts. CSI and IPS provide you with real-time cash flow insights so that you can better manage your cash on hand.
Faster Payments and So Much More
Overall, CSI and IPS help media agencies digitally connect media buyers, vendors, and planners, to reduce friction, boost visibility, and mitigate risk. Our flexible interface includes custom payment approval workflows. It allows you to use a single file to pay all your vendors how they want to be paid. Your agency will have fewer systems to manage, better visibility and control, and streamlined reconciliation.
With faster processing, fewer errors and exceptions, and increased visibility, your agency can spend less time on vendor payments and more time on your clients.
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Edenred Pay, an Edenred Company, is the global leader in B2B payments automation. Our integrated platform connects buyers with trading partners, ERPs, banks, FinTechs, and payment rails to optimize supplier enablement, invoice approvals, and B2B payments and create a frictionless process for B2B transactions. Learn more at www.edenredpay.com or schedule a meeting with us.
