These inefficiencies are why some accounts payable teams are looking for an effective bill processing system. An effective bill processing system automates the accounts payable and receivable journal entries. This system makes it easy to keep records and allows you to easily display an accounts payable journal entry example. These journal entries examples can be used to educate your team and ensure that everyone is on the same page. A bill processing system such as AvidPay from AvidXchange can enable you to eliminate paper checks and cut fraud out of the picture, as well as cut down on payment processing costs.
One thing you should always be sure of in your accounts payable software platforms is reliability. Is this company one that has the experience I can trust? AvidPay is connected to the AvidPay Network, which consists of over 825,000 suppliers and is growing all the time. Each of these suppliers is supported by our full-service team members to ensure they always have a positive experience. Our solution also allows you to strengthen your relationships with your suppliers by ensuring that bills are always paid on time and with the payment method the supplier prefers. This massive network of suppliers not only makes it even simpler to pay suppliers through AvidPay but also demonstrates the strength of the AvidXchange system. If so many different suppliers are already enjoying the benefits of automation in the bill-paying process, why shouldn’t you?
In the end, paper checks are more prone to fraud than their e-payment counterparts. Furthermore, paper-based bill payments can really mount up in times of rapid growth, leaving your accounts payable team with a massive pile of paperwork that will leave them with a headache. Fortunately, an effective bill processing system can cut all that out and let your team focus on the tasks that really matter.
Billing and Invoicing Process
The billing and invoicing process are rather simple. If you were to look at an accounts payable invoice processing flowchart, you’d see that it all starts with the invoice being received by the accounts payable department. After that, the invoice is coded. Coding is the process of assigning a specific code to each invoice to make it easier to track as it moves through your workflow and is eventually paid. What is coding in invoice processing? Coding also makes it easier to retrieve records of the invoice in the event of an audit. The second of the invoice processing steps involves sending the invoice to the proper employees for approval. Approval is an important process and may look different for different projects and suppliers. Therefore, each invoice needs to be able to be sent to the right person. After the invoice is approved, it is then sent to accounting and the money is paid out to the supplier. These are the same invoice processing steps in SAP as in any other bill payment processing system. An invoice processing system can eliminate the inefficiencies of paper-based processes. Something many people are concerned about when considering a system like this is whether or not they will be able to maintain control over the workflows of the different invoices. With a bill payment system like AvidPay, you can get the power of automation while also keeping control over your workflows.
Invoice Management System
We are discussing an invoice, meaning the document that suppliers and vendors send to your accounts payable team as a request for payment for services or products purchased. An invoice management system is different from a bill payment system. An invoice management system designed to automate the invoice process can digitize invoices. This is the main benefit of an online billing system project or product. As soon as your team receives an invoice, you scan it into the system. If you are using a truly effective solution such as AvidInvoice from AvidXchange, the system will use OCR to automatically scan the invoice for errors and load it into the system.
From there, invoices are coded by the system and will then need to be sent to the correct employees for approval. If the invoice management system you are using is like AvidInvoice, it will offer the opportunity to create custom workflows for various projects and invoices. This means that the invoice will follow the exact same approval process as if it were on paper, but without any of the problems associated with paper. Once the invoice has been approved, the electronic invoice management system would be paired with bill payment software that would allow you to digitally pay the invoice quickly and simply. Fortunately, AvidInvoice is connected to AvidPay as part of the AvidXchange suite of products and offers just that functionality.
Invoice Management System Features
Invoice management system features should be designed to make bill payments faster and easier than paper-based processes. Centralized invoice processing makes it easy to process all invoices in one convenient system, rather than across disparate offices. The core features of an invoice management system like this should include some form of error-checking as well as customizable workflows. These are features that we have already discussed. Other benefits of a system like this include lower costs, thanks to eliminating paper, as well as remote access.
A vendor invoice management system that’s based in the cloud can be accessed anytime and anywhere, meaning 100 percent visibility. What is an invoice management system? An invoice management system enables your team to focus on the high-value tasks that may be getting missed due to overwhelming amounts of paperwork. We have worked with accounts payable teams who had important tasks buried under mountains of paperwork. Once they implemented the AvidXchange system, they were able to get rid of the paperwork and focus on the tasks they had been missing. This is just one example of the many ways in which the features of an invoice management system can be used to improve the processes in your accounts payable team.
What Is Invoice Processing in SAP
One of the great things about an automated bill payment system like AvidPay from AvidXchange is the large number of integrations the company has built. This means that the software and procedure to connect the AvidXchange system to your accounting system have already been prepared, making the entire process quick, affordable, and completely seamless. One example of this is that AvidXchange makes it easy to do invoice processing in SAP Concur. What is invoice processing in SAP?
Accounts payable invoice processing in SAP Concur refers to the ability to digitize invoices and then code them correctly within the SAP Concur system you already have in place. Like the customer invoicing process, bills can be paid using AvidXchange working hand in hand with SAP, meaning that you don’t need to worry about replacing or changing the accounting system you already have. It will still be your main system of record, while the AvidXchange system will automatically collect and send all relevant files directly to your accounting system, without any extra work. SAP invoice management, with the power of a system like AvidXchange, can then be automated, making the whole process more efficient and more affordable. This is also true for vendor invoice processing in SAP.
Standard Operating Procedure for Invoice Processing
Every business has its own standard operating procedure for invoice processing. There are a few characteristics, however, that are the same across the board. In order to properly process an invoice, you need to know how to analyze invoice data. You also need to be able to identify the order of analyzing the invoice. Like in mathematics, there is an order of operations that needs to be followed consistently to ensure that each invoice is correctly processed. Invoicing policy and procedures will vary from company to company, but you will find that things like error-checking are required across the board.
Newer companies may consider looking online for an invoicing procedure template that can help give them a frame of reference for creating their own invoicing procedure template. This can then help them create things like a standard operating procedure for sales invoice documents. Ensuring that your team consistently follows your invoice processing procedure is important. With automation, however, you could just let the software handle all of the details. Instead of looking for a sample vendor invoice procedure, you could just start using AvidXchange to process all your invoices.
P2P Journal Entries
P2P journal entries are another important concept to know in accounts payable. P2P journal entries are one of the ways invoices are tracked and recorded. It’s important to understand what a journal entry for an invoice received from a vendor looks like and that it is created as part of the invoice being processed. If you do not know what an invoice journal entry is, you can download a simple invoice journal entry example. Knowing what an invoice processing journal entry looks like is important. With AvidXchange, however, you could leave all the record-keeping up to the computer, allowing you to focus on the things that really matter to growing your business.
