Accounts payable automation: Streamline vendor payouts
An accounts payable software helps you manage and pay all your vendors, suppliers, and creditors. The system can create payment automation to save time and make business operations more efficient. Volopay is an AP automation software that can transform the way your business carries out financial operations.
What is accounts payable?
Accounts payable refers to all the money that is owed by your business to other individuals or businesses. It is the responsibility of the finance department in a company to keep track of all transactions related to the accounts payable process and other tasks associated with it such as vendor invoice management.
A finance department manages the transactions from different vendors, suppliers, creditors, investors, etc. by creating subsidiary AP ledgers for them. Modern businesses use a vendor management system like Volopay to keep track of vendors, all their invoices, and ensure timely payment processing for each one of them.
What is the difference between accounts payable and accounts receivable?
While accounts payable deals with money going out of a business accounts receivable deals with money coming inside a business. Both are managed by the finance team in a company. Accounts receivable also entails creating invoices to be sent out to clients and following up with payment reminders.
To do this, finance professionals can use invoice processing software to send out invoices to their clients. Creating and maintaining both accounts payable and accounts receivable is important as it helps the accounting team to generate accurate financial statements and close the book of accounts on time.
Features of AP process
Finance teams are tired of scrolling through their emails to find invoices attached in endless threads. An invoice management system like Volopay gives you a simple interface to view all invoices through a single dashboard and make all the payments directly for smoother and faster payments to your suppliers.
With the ability to create separate vendor accounts, you can be sure that you never miss out on any payments and maintain a healthy business relationship with all your vendors. Once a vendor account is created, you do not have to enter all their information each time you want to make a payment.
Any expense that is made through the Volopay platform is recorded in real-time. Be it a money transfer, a physical card payment, a virtual card payment, and/or a reimbursement. Each transaction is recorded in a separate transactions ledger to help the financial controllers keep track of how budgets are being utilized.
Volopay is the only vendor management software that you will need to make your accounts payable process more efficient. Using our software, you can create individual vendor accounts for individuals and corporates. So, instead of maintaining vendor information in an excel sheet and constantly relying on it, you now have a vendor database directly through your payment platform.
With Volopay’s custom multi-level approval workflows, you can enforce approval systems on payments being made from the platform. This way, no money goes out of the company budget without first being approved by all the approvers. Through this, you control how budgets are spent while still giving employees the flexibility to make purchase decisions.
A huge advantage of using accounts payable software like Volopay is the ability to wire transfer money internationally at the lowest possible FX charges. We can do this for clients due to our robust infrastructure which is more efficient and involves fewer mediators than the traditional banking structure.
How does AP automation work?
Many activities involved in the accounts payable process are important but take a lot of time. Certain tasks are extremely repetitive and eat up most of the hours spent by a finance team. In order to increase the department’s productivity, such tasks should be automated.
Using accounts payable automation software like Volopay can reduce the time spent on laborious tasks by half and allow more time for financial analysis and planning. Some examples of AP automation would include automatic invoice sourcing, payment scheduling, matching and reconciliation, and much more that can make managing expenses extremely efficient.
How Volopay’s AP automation helps your business
Bill pay for automated invoice to bill generation
Every time your business receives an invoice from a supplier or vendor, using the OCR(optical character recognition) technology, our invoice management software scans and reads the invoice to automatically generate a bill within the system. This saves your finance team a lot of time spent on manual data entry when the invoices need to be paid.
Alerts & payment history for managing unnecessary expenses
A smart accounts payable software will be able to tell the difference between an unpaid invoice and a duplicate invoice. Volopay’s alert function notifies you when you are close to the due date of an invoice. The payment history feature will reduce incidents of late payments and help you avoid duplicate payments by letting you see your payment history.
Invoice management with 3-way invoice sourcing
A major reason why companies face late payment fees is that their invoice sourcing is not organized in one place. They are scattered making it tough to keep track of every invoice. With Volopay’s 3-way invoice sourcing, invoices are automatically synced from your email, accounting software, and can directly be uploaded to the platform. This way you won’t miss out on any payments.
Two-way sync of bills from accounting software
We know that the details of any expense are important for accounting and auditing purposes. This is why Volopay has enabled two-way sync of bills between our platform and the accounting software that you use. Minute details like a vendor’s name, invoice date, due date, item description, quantity, amount, tax code, are all automatically scanned and synced to your accounting tool.
Different payment methods
The Volopay platform provides you with two major payment methods to choose from for domestic and international payments. You can send money via SWIFT, which is a vast messaging network used by banks and other financial institutions to keep track of exactly where your payment is. You can also send money to 40+ countries in their local currencies through a Non-SWIFT method which is more economic, faster, and money received by the receiver is in full.
Schedule payments as per convenience
Accounts payable automation software also gives you the ability to schedule payments. Using Volopay, you get to schedule invoice payments in three ways. Firstly, you can select a custom date and schedule the payment for that day. Secondly, you can schedule a payment as soon as the approver on the platform approves it. And lastly, you can also schedule invoice payments right before the due date so you get to hold money for as long as possible in your account and earn interest on it.
Multi-currency wallet
Volopay allows you to create multi-currency wallets and store money in different currencies. This lets you pay international vendors or suppliers in their local currency, and save on FX charges. Additionally, the receiver gets the money in full without you having to pay extra in the first place to ensure that vendors receive the amount that they’re supposed to.
Recurring payments
Paying invoices is a task that your finance team will do every month. There will be vendors you will have to pay every month. With Volopay you can create recurring payments to these suppliers. Set a particular date and payments for an invoice will go out every month without the need for manual interference.
International payments
Sending international payments with Volopay is a breeze. Our platform allows you to transfer money to 100+ countries in 65+ currencies. This is possible through our integration with Rapyd, which is the world’s largest local payments network.
What is vendor invoice processing?
Vendor invoice processing is the complete process of receiving an invoice for a vendor, approving it, paying the invoice, and then recording it in accounting books. Every cycle starting from an invoice being paid to generating a receipt for it is known as a bill. Traditionally, this entire process was done manually and took a lot of time to complete.
Using accounts payable software, your finance team gets the ability to automate this tedious task and save time spent on repetitive work. It also reduces human error which helps in negating discrepancies while syncing transactions to your accounting software.
Want to get started with AP automation?
Features of invoice processing system
Process and approve invoices in one place
A system like Volopay helps you collect and organize all invoices in one place to reduce the chances of missing out on a payment and facing late payment fees. Our software allows you to create approvers for each invoice payment within the platform itself reducing the task of communicating with a manager externally before paying an invoice.
Sync all transactions with accounting software
Volopay being an automated invoice processing system gives you the ability to directly sync all your invoice payments to your accounting software. You can even filter and sort the expenses in the way you have arranged the line items for each expense in your accounting tool so that when you sync the transactions, they match and fit automatically.
Match and pay with a single click
It is very important to know whether the amount being requested on an invoice from a vendor is legitimate or not. For this, our OCR feature matches the data on the invoice with that of another relevant document like a bank statement or purchase order to verify whether it is correct. Once the matching is done and the invoice is verified, you can pay with a single click.
Invoice discounting
A great benefit of using an accounts payable solution like Volopay is the perks we give you. For instance, we allow you to create discounting systems on invoices wherein you agree with your vendor to receive a discount if invoices are paid well before time based on a certain range or limit. This invoice discounting system not only saves your money but also maintains a positive business relationship with your vendors.
Purchase order management
Whenever you receive goods from vendors, keeping your purchase orders organized can come in handy for many reasons. Not only does it help you check the inventory ordered with the inventory received, but also aids in the reconciliation of invoices when it is time to pay your vendors.
What is the efficient way to manage the vendors?
Establishing the right business goals will aid you in making the right decisions with regard to choosing vendors or suppliers. If the success of your business relies on delivering goods faster to the end-user, then it would be ideal to partner with vendors who can support you in this process.
There might be vendors or suppliers who provide goods at a cheaper rate than others, but there are quality issues in the materials they deliver. With the long-term goal of serving your customer and building their trust, you can make the decision of choosing vendors that meet your standards even if they cost slightly higher.
Before you start dealing with any supplier, it is of utmost importance to set all the terms and conditions of your partnership on paper. A vendor management software like Volopay can help you keep all things transparent by letting both parties see all the conditions laid out clearly in the vendor contract.
Onboarding a new vendor on Volopay is extremely easy. All you have to do is add important vendor information including their payment details to our platform. Once you create a new vendor account, you don’t need to add their information every time that a payment has to be made.
Vendor risk management is a process through which your business ensures the safety and security of dealing with a particular supplier. The process involves checking their past reputation and work history in order to gauge reliability for your company. This is done to mitigate the potential risk of loss of business in the future.
Once you start your dealings with a vendor, it is also crucial for you to track the progress. Are there any hindrances in the process? Is everything going smoothly? Has the vendor delayed in delivery or provided sub-par goods? Has your company sent late payments? All these aspects must be monitored and reported for creating an efficient vendor management process.
As much as business is about numbers, it is also about building relationships. Partnering with a few vendors and working with them for a long time is always beneficial for both parties. You both trust each other and end up growing together. Always look for vendors with whom you can build a long-term relationship.
Streamline your vendor payouts process now
Cross border B2B payment
If you are dealing with businesses in another country, it is often a hassle to send payments due to cross-border complications. Different countries having different financial regulations and hefty FX charges can be really troublesome. Volopay solves this problem by letting you maintain multi-currency wallets and giving you diverse payment modes to help you choose the most ideal way to transfer money internationally.
Set and manage vendor payouts
You can easily streamline your vendor payouts through Volopay by scheduling them or creating recurring payments. Our platform gives you the flexibility to pay invoices on their due date, set a custom date for each payment, or pay them as soon as the approver approves the transaction through the dashboard.
Early payment discounts
A great feature that is incorporated into our system is the ability for you to negotiate with your vendors and receive discounts if invoices are paid well before their due date. Not only does this save your money, but it also creates a better relationship between your business and the vendor.
Vendor invoice management
No more searching for lost paper invoices or scrolling through your endless lists of emails. Volopay collates all invoices under a single tab in the software by sourcing them from your emails, accounting software, and also gives you the ability to directly scan and upload an invoice to the system.
Set multi-level approvals
As an admin on the Volopay platform, you get to create multi-level approval workflows wherein if an employee is trying to pay a vendor, it will notify certain stakeholders/approvers as appointed by you. With this, you can be sure that no vendor payments are sent out before first being reviewed by the relevant managers and team leads.
What is bill pay and how can businesses use it?
Bill Pay is a product offering on Volopay that essentially lets businesses wire transfer money online domestically and internationally. It includes a host of services such as vendor management, invoice processing, integrations with commonly used accounting software, scheduling payments, multi-currency wallets, 3-way invoice sourcing, and much more!
The Bill Pay feature in Volopay is a really diverse tool that can be used to transfer money in many ways. One amazing use case is being able to carry out salary disbursements for all your employees. This is an especially useful feature for businesses operating remotely with employees working from all over the world.
Instead of relying on a bank where you will be charged different amounts to send money in different countries, you can use the Bill Pay feature and transfer money to all your employees at the lowest rates.
Suppliers or vendors that you source raw materials or other goods from are crucial in the success of your business. So paying them on time and ensuring a smooth flow of business operations is important. With Volopay, you get to easily create vendor accounts and pay them directly through the system. Managing and paying suppliers is both done through the software for more transparency and visibility of business dealings.
SWIFT is an established and internationally used messaging network that is used by banks and financial institutions to transfer and track money. It is a secure network that allows you to wire money internationally without worrying about its safety.
Bill Pay also gives you the option to carry out non-SWIFT transactions which are more economic and faster than the SWIFT network. This is ideal for local or domestic payments.
When creating vendor accounts through Bill Pay, you also get the option to create individual consultant or freelancer accounts. The details needed to establish their vendor accounts are slightly different, but paying them is as simple as any other vendor entity.
Domestic payments are usually not too much of a hassle. But when it comes to international payments, bank charges, FX charges, and network fees can really cut a huge chunk of the money being transferred. To reduce this, Bill Pay runs on a more efficient infrastructure as compared to the traditional banking structure. You get the lowest forex rates and you completely avoid any bank transfer charges.
When your business is acquiring an asset and needs to transfer the money for it, such type of a capital transfer can also be made using the Bill Pay tab.
Invoice vs receipt vs purchase order vs bill: what’s the difference?
Accounts payable is filled with certain documents that are needed to carry out payments and certain documents that are generated after the completion of payments. These include invoices, receipts, purchase orders, and bills. While many people use a few of these terms synonymously, there is a significant difference between them.
Invoice
An invoice is a statement sent by a vendor to their client to receive payment. It outlines the amount to be paid for each particular good that was delivered along with the due date.
Receipt
A receipt is a statement that is generated after an invoice is paid. It is proof that a transaction has been successfully executed.
Purchase Order
A purchase order is a document that is an agreement between a business and a vendor that an order will be made under mutually agreed terms and conditions.
Bill
A bill is the process of a payment being executed from the invoice to the receipt stage. A bill is created after an invoice is uploaded into the payment system.
Benefits of automating accounts payable for your business
When transferring money through an accounts payable software like Volopay, you can be sure that your money is being wired online securely. By following strict safety protocols and secure networks like SWIFT, you will always be able to track where your money is for the transactions you made using the SWIFT payment mode.
When you use accounts payable automation software you increase the security of your payments by enabling multi-level approval workflows so that there is no chance of money from the company budget being spent without it first going through an approval process from the financial controllers. This reduces the chances of fraudulent behavior.
One thing that no business likes is receiving late payments. The Volopay software automatically scans the due dates on each invoice and sends you payment reminders so that you can make all vendor payments on time and avoid any late fees. This will help you build and maintain strong vendor relationships.
When you automate payments through a single platform, each transaction can be viewed and tracked through it by all the admins. This keeps every transaction with any vendor completely transparent and visible to the finance team.
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FAQs
A great way to prevent duplicate invoices is to use an invoice management system like Volopay which is equipped with an OCR feature. The optical character recognition technology scans invoices and matches them against relevant documents such as bank statements or purchase orders to verify whether such payment has already been made or not. Extremely identical invoices will be flagged and you will manually be able to check and verify whether the invoice is new or just a duplicate.
By automating the accounts payable process, you’re essentially speeding up payments to your vendors, suppliers, etc. It also reduces the number of unplanned expenses which in turn helps to maintain a balance of cash flow from one month to the next.
Multi-currency wallets on Volopay let you maintain separate wallets on the platform with a currency of your choice from the ones that are available. You can use these to send payments to a country without having to bear any FX charges.
Once an invoice is sourced onto the Volopay platform, it is scanned and a bill is generated for it. The bill is then notified to the approver to check and verify whether the payment is good to be made. Once the approver approves the request, the payment will be made with money being transferred from your bill pay balance. In case you had scheduled the payment, it will be executed accordingly - as per the due date/once the approver approves the request/ a custom date set by you.