Finance and accounting outsourcing is only the beginning—RSM has the people, processes and technology to transform your finance department and, by extension, your company. Make sure you hire the best outsourcing provider to match your accounts payable needs and keep your data safe. It’s essential to prepare your in-house employees before outsourcing your accounts payable tasks. When you hire new employees, you don’t just hire anyone — you consider their skillsets to determine if they’d be a good fit for your company. While outsourcing helps a company cut costs and improve its service levels, it can often limit their independence.
- With any change comes some hiccups and there might be some initial challenges when outsourcing the AP process.
- Third-party AP service providers offer professional teams and the latest software to do the job.
- Many accounts payable outsourcing companies work off-site but use modernized technology that can be tracked at every step.
- These concerns can make it very appealing to outsource some (or all) of the accounts payable function, which ironically, becomes another invoice.
- But adopting new technology presents an entirely new challenge in and of itself, especially for small and mid-sized businesses.
- This is essential to judge how well the outsourcing provider’s privacy and data protection measures match up to yours.
Don’t be swayed by the lowest price alone—it’s essential to weigh the overall value of the services provided, taking into account the provider’s expertise, technology, and potential impact on your organization’s bottom line. By carefully considering the cost and value of different accounts payable service providers, you can make an informed decision that will deliver the best return on investment for your business. When assessing the cost and value of outsourcing AP services, it’s important to consider not only the upfront costs but also the long-term benefits. Additionally, consider the provider’s ability to integrate with your existing systems and processes, as seamless integration can help ensure a smooth transition and ongoing success of your accounts payable outsourcing efforts.
The Invensis Advantage for Outsourced AP Services
According to one study by the American Productivity and Quality Center, the bottom 25% of organizations surveyed were paying $10 or more for each invoice they processed. Ask potential providers about their data privacy and security policies and any certifications or audits they may have undergone to demonstrate their commitment to safeguarding your financial information. But by considering factors such as cost, scalability, and the level of control desired, you can make an informed decision about the best approach for your business. Accounts payable outsourcing provides a dedicated point of contact for vendor questions and disputes.
With our solutions, your business will be able to exploit new cost saving avenues, improve working capital management, and build better supplier relationships. This frees your in-house AP department to focus on higher-level tasks and attend to the core business processes that enhance your company’s performance and improve service levels. As vendor relationships grow ever more complicated, more and more businesses will need to rely on outsourced providers to re-architect their accounts payable operations. Apart from streamlining invoices, accounts payable outsourcing companies also reduce the incidence of errors in invoices.
Our FAO services provide access to an enhanced suite of technology-based services tailored to meet your organization’s finance and accounting needs. Before outsourcing AP, review your provider’s privacy policy and data security measures to ensure they meet your standards. If you handle sensitive financial data, rights reserved information, or other proprietary data, be sure your outsourced provider can live up to your privacy needs. Outsourced accounts payable providers have all the resources they need to optimize your process, including automation and reporting tools.
We Support Multiple Accounting Software
By optimizing payment cycles and assuring adherence to payment terms, we help you maintain positive relationships with your vendors and maximize early payment discounts. This includes matching invoices to purchase orders, confirming receipt of products or services, and ensuring proper authorization before processing payments. Account Payable Services aid in meeting legal and regulatory documentation requirements. This includes maintaining accurate documentation, adhering to tax regulations, and facilitating audits or internal evaluations of accounts payable processes. There is never enough time in the day but utilizing a payable outsourcing service that has access to the latest technology and time-saving tools puts some time back on the clock.
Use performance monitoring tools
Conduct a cost analysis to determine if outsourcing your AP processes could improve efficiency and reduce operational costs. Outsourcing allows you to focus on core operations while freeing up resources for other business functions. If your team can create value elsewhere in the business by moving to an outsourced AP model, outsourcing might make sense. While it is easy to supervise an in-house AP team, the same cannot be said for third-party service providers. Monica leads Finance Transformation Projects, including changes to processes, data, systems, roles, and responsibilities. She holds a dual bachelor’s degree in Public Accounting and Business Administration, and a Master of Science in Accounting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Invoice receipt and processing is a crucial aspect of accounts payable outsourcing services. Providers offer services such as receiving hard copy and electronic invoices, matching invoices with purchase orders, processing debit memos, and image and data capture. Companies might outsource their accounts payable functions, including the entire accounts payable department, for various reasons, such as cost savings, improved efficiency, and easier compliance with financial regulations. Outsourced accounts payable services are scalable to meet the requirements of your business.
SOX Compliance
By selecting a reliable provider and implementing additional security measures, businesses can reduce the likelihood of data breaches and financial losses. This increased visibility can enable businesses to monitor their cash flow better, identify potential issues or opportunities, and make more informed decisions related to their financial operations. The outsourcing procedure typically begins with a consultation to assess your unique accounts payable requirements. After defining the scope and requirements, the outsourcing provider will develop a custom solution and transition strategy.
In fact, Deloitte reports that COVID challenges have most organizations focused on “standardization and process efficiency” as their top strategic objective in 2021 – downgrading “reducing costs” to the #2 priority. If you’re outsourcing accounts payable data, you need to share your confidential financial data with the third-party provider. entrepreneur blog As most outsourcing providers charge per invoice, duplication errors can be quite costly. And as these providers could be thousands of miles away, keeping track of these duplicates can be difficult. Companies that don’t use e-invoices and other electronic automation tools are likely to lose out to more productive competitors!
Pros of accounts payable outsourcing
By running proper checks & validations, they can identify errors in invoices and prevent wrong payments. The use of AP experts and sophisticated technology helps them identify risks and reduce the incidence of fraud. Outsourcing your accounts payable processes may be cost-effective for a business.
Use performance tools to make sure your accounts payable outsourcing team measures up
With any change comes some hiccups and there might be some initial challenges when outsourcing the AP process. When a company takes its AP department from in-house to outsourced, there is the possibility that entries will be duplicated. Before any changes take place, it would be wise to hold an internal meeting with staff to discuss the outsource partner, how this will affect workflow, and what employees can do to ensure a seamless transition.
