When you AP is behind the 8-ball you need some simple steps to free up time:

  1. close off accounts payable on the last working day of the month
  2. limit budget holders’ accruals to material amounts only e.g. no accrual JV for less than $____, no one item on the accrual for less than $____
  3. cease receiving paper based invoices – insist that all invoices that need to be paid be emailed to accountspayable @_________ from the supplier.
  4. stop reconciling supplier statements and trust you own system.
  5. have all invoices below a certain amount paid by a purchase card – it costs too much to pay one off small invoices
  6. ring up your top ten suppliers and ask them to send you an electronic  file, each week containing all invoices that week, with references to delivery date, order number , services /products delivered etc.  This is the start of an electronic interchange.
  7. perform frequent direct credit payment runs, better practice is to do these daily (this does not mean you are paying earlier as you still stipulate the future payment date).
  8. Stop multiple stationery invoices – arrange for one supplier invoice per month per site and have stationery consignment stock on ebvery floor
  9. for all utility invoices (power, telecommunications) ask for a consolidated invoices from suppliers especially invoiced on a new cycle, e.g. invoice cycle including transactions from 26th May to 25th June and being received by the 28th of the month.
  10. With the free time undertake more investigation work into accounts payable fraud

 

To understand more look at 50+ Ways To Improve Accounts Payable – Toolkit (70 page Whitepaper + e-templates)