How To Use Invoice Automation to Make Better Financial Decisions In The Retail Industry

How To Use Invoice Automation to Make Better Financial Decisions In The Retail Industry

Retail managers need to handle hundreds?of different vendors that generate large?volumes of invoices. Processing these invoices manually is extremely tedious and time-consuming. Your staff has to review each invoice individually and then match it against purchase orders line by line to verify each transaction.

At the same time, handling retail invoices manually carries the risk of losing important invoices or failing to make payments on time. All of these problems can kill the productivity of your retail business and sour your relationship with suppliers.

Invoice automation grants retail business managers complete control of the accounts payable process. An efficient invoice automation solution can automate as much as 90% of accounts payable invoices. It can help retail businesses ensure an optimal workflow for their company and survive in a fiercely competitive market.

Streamlining Direct Spend

For processes as complex as direct spend matching, using a manual or semi-automated system is inefficient, to say the least. Managers have to process invoices with several line items, match them line-by-line, and understand deviations.?Doing all these tasks simultaneously requires several resources and eats a considerable amount of time.

Invoice automation can allow retail businesses to implement touchless direct spend processing. These solutions utilize dynamic header and line-level matching from the purchase order to the corresponding invoice, giving your employees more time for other tasks. At the same time, purchasers have to spend less time approving invoices and are only involved when a deviation comes up.

Improving Relationship with Suppliers

For a retail business, developing a strong relationship with its suppliers is critical for success. By using invoice automation, retail business managers can guarantee fast and accurate invoice approvals. At the same time, the solution can alert you about upcoming due dates and streamline payment delivery.

The Opportunity for Intelligent Invoice Processing

While retail businesses have only started automating complex and tedious procedures, other industries are already making the most of intelligent solutions.?To some Artificial Intelligence may seem like something out of a science-fiction movie, but leading automation solutions already leverage AI functionality in their products.

Invoice automation can enable retail business owners to incorporate automated intelligence in their accounts payable processes. An?intelligent invoice processing solution ?can combine machine learning techniques and powerful invoice automation to reduce manual processing completely. At the same time, it can replicate what your staff has to do in their normal routine.

Handling Non-Merchandise Invoices

Businesses operating multiple brick-and-mortar establishments have to calculate a vast amount of spend – something that can catch any accounts payable department off-guard. Invoice automation provides modern retailers with a digital workflow and advanced invoice capture features.

With the help of invoice automation, it is easier route invoices to the right approvers without manual intervention. As a result, retail managers no longer have to worry about invoices being lost.

Faster Invoice Processing at Fewer Costs

According to Forbes, around?80% of business leaders ?believe automation saves three hours of work every day – something that translates to 780 hours a year. One of the greatest hurdles to business growth for retail businesses is delayed invoice processing, which ultimately causes a higher cost per invoice. Invoice automation can significantly reduce the time it takes to process invoices.

Real-Time Invoice-Processing Visibility

Using manual techniques for invoice reporting is extremely fragmented, prone to errors, inefficient and time-consuming.

However, with the help of automated AP solutions such as invoice automation, retail managers can review highly detailed analytic reports in real-time. This allows them to identify and analyze key elements in their businesses such as invoice statuses, volumes, as well as bottlenecks in invoice processing.

As a result, retail managers can enjoy increased control over invoice processing. Managers no longer need to make decisions regarding payment reminder notices or keep an eye for follow-ups in the system.

Ultimately, invoice automation can help retail managers eliminate manual, time-consuming, tedious tasks. These solutions are necessary for expediting the growth of your business and staying relevant in a fiercely competitive market.

Kelly Lewis

Cloud Solutions Consultant | Enabling business automation | Passionate about innovation

2 年

Great article!

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