How do you streamline your accounts payable process? When your Accounts Payable (AP) department reaches its peak season and you’re in the middle of receiving hundreds of online invoices, it can seem like an impossible task to get through them all quickly enough and make sure everything’s paid on time. Use these four tips to streamline your AR and AP management processes so that no invoice falls through the cracks.

Tip 1 - Ditch the Spreadsheet
Instead of collecting invoices and managing payments in a spreadsheet, consider using online invoicing software. These services take care of everything for you, from issuing invoices and tracking payment statuses to automating late fees and generating dunning letters. They can also export your data in a number of different formats, so they’re easy to integrate with your existing accounting system.

Tip 2 - Organize Your Receipts
In order to get a handle on your AP processes, it’s essential that you make sure you can find all your receipts. Do not rely on your employees to remember where they put their receipts for business expenses. Organize them with cloud-based software, such as FreshBooks, so that everything is easily accessible and searchable whenever you need it.

Tip 3 - Use Online Invoicing Software
Online invoice software makes it easier than ever for you to submit invoices directly from your computer, eliminating some of that manual effort and ensuring you can submit invoices at a time that’s convenient for you. When your employees are able to submit their own timesheets and invoices, it becomes easier for them to take accountability for their work.

Tip 4 - Automate Your Invoicing
Invoicing is a big part of Accounts Payable management. With online invoicing software, it’s easy to streamline your accounts payable processes and make sure that your team has everything they need to get paid fast! In just a few clicks, you can send out invoices directly from your AP system and even track payments online. This keeps employees informed and ensures you never have to wonder if payroll has been distributed on time. How much time do you spend chasing down invoices for clients?

Conclusion
If you spend your days managing accounts payable, you’re probably familiar with how cumbersome and tedious processing payments can be. After all, there are countless invoices and expenses to pay—and it can take a long time for these expenses and charges to get entered into your accounting system. But there are ways that you can streamline your AR and AP processes, so that you don’t need to dread reconciling accounts every month.

SOURCE: AR and AP Management Doesn’t Have To Be Hard: 4 Tips