Once upon a nightmare, my accounts payable team spent countless hours chasing missing invoices. Angry vendors were constantly at our door, and we often feared being placed on credit hold—not because we lacked the funds, but because our invoice approval process relied too heavily on manual entry from the operations team.
Our operators were focused on serving the customer, as they should be. But they didn’t always see the critical connection between timely vendor payments and the ability to negotiate rates, secure services, or avoid penalties. This led to major issues—vendors refusing service or, worse, placing us on national credit hold, which disrupted ALL operations.
Maintaining positive vendor relationships is key because without them, you’ll face higher costs, denied services, or premium charges to cover their risk. Many view payables as just a cost center, and the solution they turn to is cutting headcount. But there’s a limit to how much you can cut before the work simply can’t get done.
So, what’s the better solution? Reducing manual entry and automating your invoice processing. It might sound like a fairy tale—where invoices magically process themselves, and finance pays vendors on time—but it’s not magic. It’s AI and Machine Learning (ML), the next evolution in finance.
With automation, we transformed our process. Our operations team would enter vendor names and estimated costs into their system. As long as the invoice matched the estimate, it was automatically processed and queued for payment in our finance system. No more chasing. No more vendor stress.
The result? My accounts payable team shifted from constantly putting out fires to working on high-value tasks like analyzing spend, improving data accuracy, and reconciling vendor accounts faster—all while reducing errors.
Automation reduces the cost per invoice and frees up hours across finance, operations, and procurement—time that can be spent on more productive and impactful work.
Automation is moving fast, and it’s not something to fear—it’s something to embrace. My team’s satisfaction soared—they were no longer weighed down by angry vendor calls or last-minute payment requests. Instead, they focused on value-added work, making a real difference.
Ready to automate your payables process and transform your finance department? Contact ALL2S Consulting LLC today. We’ll help you streamline your processes, reduce manual work, and turn your nightmare into a payables dream!
ALL2S CONSULTING LLC 