3 Ways to Prepare Your AP team for an Economic Downturn

Lower costs, Avoid penalties, Keep staff happy!

The economic forecast is calling for headwinds. Here are three ways to help your Accounts Payable (AP) team weather the storm.

1. Ditch the paper

Despite the advancements in technology, many companies still receive paper invoices and pay their vendors by cheque! This process is not only time consuming but incredibly costly.

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Take stock of your current processes: how much are you spending on paper and ink and stamps? Converting as much as possible to digital methods will reduce costs! Consider switching to a more automated accounts payable system to cut costs.

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2. Pay on time

Do you know your company’s average time to pay an invoice? You could be losing money incurring late fees (not to mention strained vendor relationships). Or there could be early payment discounts available. Having an efficient process in place to ensure timely payment is key.

Consider how to optimize processes and approval timelines to ensure speedy turn around. Automating your accounts payable process is a great way to ensure bills are processed ASAP and paid on time!

3. Retain your staff

Personnel changes result in a lot of costs and lost knowledge! It is key to retain your staff during times of economic stress. A great way to improve staff retention is to focus on employee satisfaction - do they enjoy their jobs?

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Many accounts payable duties involve repetitive and mundane tasks that can keep employees from being fully engaged at work! Consider introducing automation into the AP process to make your employee’s lives easier, and allow them to focus on more engaging tasks.

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Interested in seeing how AP automation can help you weather the storm? Let us know here!