Tips for AP Managers:
Overcoming the most common challenges

Insufficient level of AP automation

A common challenge that AP managers face is the lack of sufficient automation in their AP systems. While some companies may have some level of automation in their ERP, it might not make enough of a difference. Manual processes are time-consuming, prone to errors, and the cause of inefficiencies.

As an example, Rillion’s feature for AI-coding constantly learns how to code your invoices and makes suggestions to speed up the AP process.

Duplicate payments

Often AP managers don’t have a comprehensive view of outbound payments. Duplicate payments can lead to financial losses for the company and are time-consuming to rectify. A significant investment of time is required for AP managers working with vendors to identify and resolve duplicate payments.

An efficient AP automation system solves this challenge. Invoices that have already been paid are flagged. This reduces the risk of error and improves financial control.

Payment delays

AP managers track payments to be made on time to avoid late fees, interest charges, or damage to vendor relationships. Additionally, invoices shouldn’t be paid too early as it may result in the unnecessary use of company funds before the actual payment due date, potentially impacting cash flow and other financial planning.

AP automation solutions can help improve payment processing times by automating the payment approval and processing workflow. This reduces the time required for manual processing and ensures that payments are made on time.

AP Managers lack of time

Most modern AP systems are filled with clever functionality to help automate the vendor invoice workflow. However, these functions are often not used to their full potential, largely because the AP managers just don’t have the time to get familiar with these features and set them up.

This challenge can be addressed by AP solution vendors providing dedicated consultants who work closely with customers. These consultants play an important role in guiding AP managers and their teams to make the most of the system and its new features.

AP managers receive personalized assistance tailored to their specific needs and requirements. Consultants have an in-depth understanding of the AP system’s capabilities and are well-versed in the latest updates and enhancements.

Current customer service doesn’t meet expectations

Sometimes AP managers face challenges related to customer service provided by their existing AP solution vendor. This can occur when the support team is outsourced abroad, which means customers can’t communicate on their native language and on the same time zone.

It’s important for companies to select an AP solution provider that offers high quality local support. Companies benefit from having support representatives who speak the same language and are conveniently located in the same time zone. That ensures smooth and efficient communication, allowing AP managers to articulate their concerns and receive assistance without language barriers or time zone constraints.

Click here to see Rillion’s satisfaction ratings for both user experience and support. Local support is important to you, and to us!

Keeping track of AP department’s success

A common challenge for management is the ability to measure the success of the AP department. There’s lot of data available but how can you easily interpret data to measure and improve AP processes?

To address this challenge, AP managers leverage ready built dashboards to measure KPIs that are most important to their AP department. Dashboards visualize the data and make it easy to utilize.

Rillion’s AP automation system comes with extensive dashboards, where AP managers can keep track of all the most important KPIs.

To learn more about most relevant KPIs for AP managers, check out our blog post Top 7 Accounts Payable KPIs for Measuring Success.