Why Deploy a Supplier Portal for AP Automation

Does your accounts payable (AP) department…

… take too long to onboard suppliers?

… struggle with the collection of invoices from various channels?

… spend lots of time responding to phone calls and e-mails from suppliers regarding the status of their invoice or payment, or what’s taking so long?

… have trouble collecting tax forms and other documents from suppliers?

 

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then AP automation software with a supplier portal may be the answer.

The supplier portal built into the best AP automation solutions facilitates the secure, electronic exchange of documents and information between trading partners.  A supplier portal can be integrated with a buyer’s legacy applications.  Some portals are built into an end-to-end platform for transforming the accounts payable lifecycle.

What are the benefits of a self-service supplier portal

Incorporating a supplier portal into your AP automation strategy delivers seven critical invoice processing benefits:

Increased supplier adoption of electronic invoices.

A lack of invoice standards has made electronic invoicing a tough sell in the United States.  Moreover, most small businesses have struggled to find the capital, technical, and departmental resources required to deploy an electronic data interchange (EDI) platform for generating electronic invoices.

An AP automation solution with an online supplier portal makes it easy for suppliers to submit invoices electronically.  In fact, suppliers can instantly convert (or “flip”) the electronic purchase orders that they receive from buyers through an online portal into an electronic invoice that flows straight-through to a buyer’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, without operator intervention.  Shipping notices and other routine documents also can be submitted electronically through an online portal.

Fewer phone calls and e-mails from suppliers to AP staff.

An accounts payable automation system with an online portal provides suppliers with visibility into their invoices and payments status. This visibility eliminates the time-consuming game of phone tag that occurs when a supplier’s collections team wants to determine when an invoice will be paid.  Providing suppliers with self-service visibility into invoices and payments through AP automation frees your staff to focus more time on value-added activities.

Greater invoice processing visibility.

An AP automation solution with an online portal makes supplier and transaction information instantly available to authorized users across your business, regardless of their geographic location. The visibility provided by AP automation software and an online portal is ideal for businesses with far-flung business units, shared services centers, and sites.

Streamlined AP operations.

An AP automation solution with an online supplier portal can be the first step towards increasing the percentage of invoices that a buyer posts straight-through to their ERP application, without human operator intervention.

The supplier portal built into the best invoice processing software can aggregate all invoices onto a single platform.  Additionally, suppliers can input missing information into a portal to resolve exceptions without the back-and-forth phone calls or e-mails.

 Better collaboration between AP and internal stakeholders.

Getting an answer on seemingly straight-forward questions about an invoice is easier said than done when buyers and suppliers are viewing out-of-sync data stored in their respective business systems.  Resolving a single invoice exception can involve weeks of tracking down documentation and e-mailing documents back-and-forth.  An AP automation solution with an online portal improves trading partner collaboration. It provides  users with a common real-time view of purchase orders, invoices, and other financial information.

 Streamlined supplier onboarding for accounts payable and other departments.

It can take weeks for AP, procurement, or other departments to collect, validate and input the information required to onboard suppliers, with purchasers anxiously waiting out the ordeal. The supplier onboarding process at some businesses is so onerous that purchasers may not receive goods and services in a timely manner.

An AP automation solution with an online supplier portal accelerates the onboarding process by requesting, collecting and tracking information such as financial documents, non-disclosure agreements, contracts, compliance surveys and more.  The portals in some invoice processing software also monitor to documents to ensure that they do not age out of compliance.

Enhanced invoice processing control.

An AP automation solution with a self-service supplier portal can help safeguard sensitive financial information with segregation of duties, roles-based access and multi-factor authentication. The self-service supplier portal built into some accounts payable software also makes it easy to audit changes to supplier information and bank account information, conduct tax reviews and notify users of outdated documents.

How to find the best self-service supplier portal

Each of these benefits of an AP automation solution with a self-service portal is compelling. 

Together, they transform accounts payable into a highly efficient, strategic powerhouse with streamlined invoice processing.

However, you cannot achieve these benefits without the right supplier portal.  Many providers of supplier portals use approaches that make it difficult to achieve the rate of adoption or process improvements that accounts payable departments require for invoice processing.

To avoid these “gotchas,” look for an AP automation solution with a self-service supplier portal that:

• Supports traditional e-mail methods, enabling invoices to be forwarded for processing
• Accommodates universal standards for invoice and document submission including PDF, JPEG, Word and Excel format
• Aggregates data on all paper and electronic invoices for reporting
• Does not force significant behavior changes on your suppliers

 

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Edenred Pay, an Edenred Company, is the global leader in invoice-to-pay automation. Our integrated platform connects businesses with suppliers, ERPs, banks, FinTechs, and payment rails to automate, optimize, and monetize the entire B2B payments lifecycle – from invoice receipt through payment reconciliation. Edenred Pay’s efficient, integrated solutions create a frictionless process and help deliver value to the enterprise by enhancing visibility and monetizing AP.

Visit www.edenredpay.com or contact us to learn more.