The property management industry is struggling to find the solution to everyday property problems. Juggling transactions, financial statements, accounts receivables, and more isn’t easy. But the accounts payable cycle is the process that causes the most pain, especially for AP managers. Countless responsibilities make it nearly impossible to optimize the payable process that’s wasting valuable time and money. Top performers in the property management market use one simple, streamlined solution. AP automation is no longer a ‘nice to have,’ but a necessity that’s critical to your company’s goals and growth. Here’s why:
Managing Maintenance Payment Processes Manually is Tough
Regardless of the number of properties you manage, maintenance costs add up. Naturally, maintenance invoices equal payments that your property management organization is responsible for paying on time.
A recent Buildium study found that one in three respondents reported maintenance and efficiency are their biggest challenges in the property management industry. Even though property management software helps manage expenses, it doesn’t simplify the accounts payable or payment process. Your organization may still be stuck in the Stone Ages of paying for maintenance with paper checks and manually keeping tracking of payments with various electronic and manual processes. Let’s not forget the worries that come with payments getting lost in the mail, or bills for repair specialists and supplies sitting under stacks of paper.
AP managers juggle multiple steps to ensure suppliers and repairmen are paid on time. But, unfortunately, handling payments with mixed processes and solutions leads to overlooking bills and late payments that ultimately upset your tenants.
Top performing organizations are relying on AP and payment automation to streamline the payment process without problems. With automated AP and payment processes, invoice details are entered into one portal for easy electronic reviewing and approval rerouting. The even better news is that with AP automation solutions like AvidXchange, once invoices are approved, our AvidPay Network works closely with your vendors to pay them the way they prefer. AP automation allows the best property management AP managers and specialists to save time and money without worrying about bills getting lost or irritating maintenance suppliers with late payments.
Paper-Based Payment Processes Aren’t Easy
The biggest priority of real estate isn’t handling payments, it’s clients and tenants. However, most spend a great deal of the work day juggling all types of payments including mortgages, insurance, cleaning, and more. Chances are, each type of invoice and payment must be handled with care, compliance, and internal processes. Processing each invoice and payment manually wastes valuable time that your organization cannot reclaim.
Automating processes improves efficiency without a steep learning curve. Your team has time to focus on bettering growth and service such as handling responses to current or potential tenants, negotiations, and managing receivables that keep your organization thriving. AP and payment automation have also been proven to reduce costs, headcount, and hours to meet the need of scaling for growth.
One of the biggest fears the real estate industry faces is sending unauthorized payments, which profoundly impacts the bottom line.
Thankfully, there’s a simple solution. During setup, create rules instructing the software when to send payments, and when they require a manager’s review and approval. Rules can be established to alert your team when details don’t match, a bill exceeds a certain threshold, and even for vendors that require special review. Trusting AP automation to streamline these steps and alert you when necessary allows you to spend more time focusing on exceeding expectations for your properties and customers.
Scaling for Growth is Impossible Without Automated Solutions
Let’s face it, it’s impossible to scale for growth with manual AP and payment processes. Efficiency has been proven to lead to savings for many businesses. Multiplying soft and hard payment processing costs by each payment can add up costs quickly. If your organization plans to handle more with less, implementing automated solutions is critical. AP automation doesn’t multiply costs or increase hours when a new invoice is received. You’ll have the ability to handle a large amount of invoices and payments with batch payment processing and paperless invoice routing.
When businesses consider growth, they often focus on profits. Two ways to improve earnings in property management are to increase profit margins or to add more clients and properties. With manual processes, you’ll have to choose which way is best for your business, but with AP automation, your business can have both. AP and payment automation solutions allow you to control payment processing costs better and give your team time to focus on property management needs at the same time.
In addition to reduced costs, your organization can focus on perfecting other processes including maintenance requests and property marketing. As your sizeable business continues to grow, your AP solution will pay for itself within months without any additional costs. You’ll be able to scale up regardless of the number of properties in your portfolio.
eBook: Top 3 Reasons AP Automation is Critical for Property Management Companies
Whether your property management company handles single-family rentals or industrial properties, manual AP processes can be a pain. In our eBook, we’ll show you AP automation saves money with streamlined payable processes. We’ll show you how AP automation fits perfectly into property management businesses. By the end, you’ll be ready to turn your company’s cost center into a controlled, efficient machine.