Invoices are slips that tell you who is to be paid and when they expect that payment. Invoices that you issue make sure that you are paid within the given time. However, if you feel that your buyers don’t pay you on time or you need the payments to be done sooner, here are a few ways you can do so.
This article will compare the problems associated with invoice payment and how you can solve them or expect your clients to solve them.
Miscommunication and Errors
Most of the invoices are prepared manually. Sometimes, there can be problems associated with the invoice due to a lack of time and care. The vendor later has to face difficulties in the process. This increases the price and involves a lot of time too. This can also have a lot of errors in the invoice when prepared manually.
There is an easy solution to all this. If the errors are happening manually, you can digitize the entire system. This can be a bit hard with pre-established companies, so another way can be to clear out the terms and conditions so that your clients can understand them easily. Digitization won’t just help clarify the invoice and speed up the process but will also save you a lot of time and money. It will be like killing two birds with one stone.
The Time Taken to Create the Invoice
The sooner you prepare the invoice, the sooner you will get the payment. However, even after a certain invoice is created, a huge margin of errors can occur in the creation of the invoice. This time taken to rectify all the errors is called the reviewing period, and you need to cut down on it to create a better invoice. So the question is, how can you cut down on the reviewing time of your company? Here’s how.
The very first solution that comes to mind is digitization. Digitization will make sure that the errors in the invoice are minimal and hence need a low or no reviewing period. This ensures that you can invoice immediately and get the payment quicker. The second way is to make simple invoices: the simpler the invoices, the fewer errors, and the lesser the review period.
The Mode of Payment
Not every buyer you have will be able to pay you the way you tell them to without taking some time. If you want to eliminate this constraint of not paying via their preferred mode of payment, the solution is quite simple. You can accept all payment methods, whether it is through cash, DD, cheque, or online bank transfer. This will increase the number of ways to receive your payment (which can be a hassle to check) and increase the number of customers you will retain.
You can also allow automatic payments. This means that you will specify the date and time you require the buyer to pay you, and they can do so without even lifting a finger. Their software can easily make the payment without them even remembering that they have an invoice to be paid out. This is a blessing for all buyers who have automated their AP workflow process.
Lack of Incentives
One big reason you might not be getting paid earlier than you expect is the severe lack of incentives. You might be thinking to yourself why you need to provide incentives to get the money. The reason is simple; your clients might feel more motivated if they see a slight discount (not much, just 1 or 2%) if they pay the invoice before a certain number of days. This is called dynamic discounting, and it is the best incentive you can give your buyers.
You can also go the other direction and impose a late fee if the invoice is paid late. You might already have such an imposition, but you can also increase the late payments to ensure that your clients pay on time. You also need to follow up on late fees, though. There can be some trouble on the client’s side that you might need to clarify to make the payment. It is the money you need to receive, so you might need to work a bit for it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you want your money to be paid on time, there are a lot of steps that can be taken to ensure the same. First, of course, you need to take action and choose whether you want to get paid early or let things rest easy as they are, but if you are reading this article, you probably want the former. Hopefully, you gained something from this article to apply to your company.
In the market of today, money and trust are everything. The world runs on money, and people run on trust. Large companies have a lot of cash to influence the market, but what about medium-sized and small corporations? Are they supposed to sit back while other companies enjoy discounts in bulk?
There’s a way to leverage your supply chain to get dynamic discounts which such companies can go for to make the most of their money. Read this article to know more about leveraging dynamic discounts with your vendors.
What does leveraging supply chain mean?
Leveraging means using something to your advantage. In terms of the supply chain, it means using economies of scale (how cheap or costly an item is when it is bought in bulk) to your advantage. This may include increasing the number of items you order at a time, ensuring that all sales the supplier makes to you are final, converting all (or most) of your supplies to orders, and making timely payments.
Making sure you do so makes sure that both parties (you and your vendor) make the most of the supplies that are being provided to you. If you earn more money, you’ll be able to buy more supplies or invest in better supplies. Economies of scale are significant in a supply chain; understanding them is the key to success in your business. There are various advantages to leveraging your supply chain; for one, you’ll be able to get better discounts. Let’s look at these advantages in detail now.
How is it advantageous?
Leveraging your supply chain has various advantages in the long run for your company. Especially if you are dealing with many supplies, your supply chain is the main area of your business. Here are a few of them listed out:
It standardizes the discount rates. If you are ordering from the same supplier multiple times, it is possible to get the rates at which you buy your supplies constant. This way, you can decide your inventory efficiently and do not need to haggle too much with your vendor.
You can divide your working capital between large suppliers (which provide most of your supplies) and niche ones (which are not as big but provide you with products you can’t procure from elsewhere). This balance is reasonably necessary if you are looking to do successful business.
You can get more value for less money. If you order in bulk, the cost of the goods goes down. For example, if you are ordering 50 samples of a product, you might be getting them at Rs. 10 per sample, but if you are ordering 100 samples, you might be getting them at Rs. 8 per sample. When this slight difference in the price of one product exemplifies over huge sample space, the discount rate is enormous.
What is dynamic discounting?
Dynamic discounting is a way of leveraging the supply chain by making early payments and getting the vendor to give you a discount on what they are selling. This has a lot of advantages in the current market as it allows small and medium businesses a fighting chance against the big fish. This is why dynamic discounts are gaining popularity nowadays; they are gaining traction in this age of startups and growing industries.
This is a risk-free return for the cash the buyers save, helping them invest the money in their business or investing it in another part of the business. This allows the community to grow and the businesses to flourish, so dynamic discounting is one of the most well-accepted cultures in today’s market. If you are a budding startup, you too can leverage your supply chain in such a fashion that your supplier gives you discounts, and you can use that budget elsewhere or in research and development.
The future of dynamic discounting
Dynamic discounting and leveraging the supply chain have a bright future. With startups emerging left and right, there has been a massive boom in all industries, where there is an appropriate market to sell anything, but not the right conditions to acquire the raw materials or make the products. To cross this hurdle, a proper supply chain is required that lets the company overhaul any troubles it is facing and move towards success.
Leveraging the supply chain does precisely that; it provides the right opportunity to people who need it the most. It gives all the small and medium businesses a chance to thrive in this competitive market which is dominated by large corporations with all the money. Dynamic discounting is a much more flexible way to do deals; once it catches on, it is sure to become the next best way to make any deal.
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An early bird gets all the worms. In this case, an early buyer gets all the discounts. Discounts are a ray of hope to the small and medium businesses, which let them compete with the large companies in the market. Early payment or dynamic discounting is an excellent way to ensure that the relations between you and your supplier are not strained, and it is beneficial for you.
This article highlights the importance of paying early in a business deal and how you can claim the advantages of early payments.
Dynamic discounting
Dynamic discounting is a way by which you can get discounts by paying early. This is a way to leverage your supply chain so that it is beneficial for both parties, the supplier and the business. It is a flexible way to make payments on your terms; you can choose when to pay and how soon to pay. While traditional methods are more straightforward, like ordering in bulk or bargaining, dynamic discounting is much more efficient to go about doing your business.
Dynamic discounting is denoted in such a way: “5/15 net 45”. This means that a discount of 5% can be availed by the buyer if they pay the money in 15 days. The net 45 part means that the payment can be made in 45 days; however, the discount can only be availed in the specified period. You need to be very careful when you make payments, or you can automate your AP workflow for the same.
How important is an early payment?
Early payments are the key to your business’ success. If you pay a vendor early, it helps accelerate the cash flow in both the companies (yours and your vendor’s) and lets them reinvest the money sooner. It also generates a sense of trust between you and your supplier, and it completely negates the risk of bad debts (payments you cannot make). Making early payments can also expand your repertoire of suppliers you can approach, like the companies that work on a cash basis rather than an accrual accounting basis.
Early payments are an excellent marketing scheme. They go well with startups and medium businesses; early payments are more feasible than traditional ways of making payments. This is because they are in a growing stage, and they don’t have a customer base large enough to make use of the entire stock they buy (if they buy in bulk).
How Can You Get Them?
The best way to avail of discounts in this market is to automate your AP workflow. This is really advantageous for new businesses, as they can start off with an automated workflow, unlike large companies which have a pre-established workflow. What does AP workflow automation mean? It means that you are leaving the manual tasks like filing, storing, and paying invoices to the software, which helps you automate the workflow. This makes sure that your work becomes more precise and efficient.
The best way to see if your vendor offers early payment is to ask them. It is as simple as that. If they provide early payment discounts, all you need to do is enter a date into your system by when you need it done, and that’s all. You will save a lot of money this way; it is a godsend for small and medium businesses.
What can go wrong?
There are several steps involved in the accounts payable process, which include writing the names of the vendors along with their details and then waiting for the confirmation, after which the payment process finally comes to an end. This process includes a lot of time and steps, especially if the data is prepared manually. This even increases the risk of payment failures or errors.
There are possible chances of losing your hard-earned money due to duplicate payments. Sometimes, you can end up paying for both original and duplicate invoices. Besides, it also becomes difficult for you to keep track of which business location is paying which vendors if your business is running in multiple centers.
Early payments don’t have too many risks associated with them, but if there is an error in the AP workflow automation, there can be improper payments from your side. It would be best if you were careful of the amount you are sending to your vendors.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the best way to avail of discounts without bargaining or ordering in bulk is to automate your AP workflow and make early payments. It would be best if you asked your vendor whether they provide the services. Small and medium businesses don’t have the option to spend too much money on procuring supplies over research development. So you should make sure that you can avail such discounts to save money.
An AP workflow is the heart and soul of a business. The people who manage it, AP clerks, have a hectic life. An AP workflow involves paying off debts taken from vendors by the business, paying off receipts on time, and deciding when the next batch of inventory should be ordered. It is also closely linked with vendor management and inventory management, so there isn’t a moment of rest in their lives.
This article highlights the responsibilities an AP clerk has to complete in a day. It is a hectic day, but here is all that transpires.
Invoice Duties
Invoices are an essential part of an AP clerk’s duties. They are the proof of a transaction, and maintaining them is a task and a half. They need to ensure that these invoices are not lost, damaged, or duplicated. Verifying that every invoice is unique is necessary; otherwise, the company can incur losses worth millions of dollars. It is a huge responsibility that cannot be taken lightly.
Invoice duties can also involve verifying other items on the receipt. This can include tax ID numbers, the number of products that arrived, the freight charges, calculating the line charge, and availing of all discounts possible. All the invoices need to be paid accurately and on time; if these payments are delayed, the company might face late payment charges. This is just a microcosm of the day; there is a lot more in store.
Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable means making invoices for clients and debtors. These invoices need to be appropriately made, ensuring all details are in place so that you don’t get paid less than you need to be. These invoices are the core of an AP workflow (accounts receivable rather than accounts payable, but the concept is the same). This also means that you are responsible for generating profits for the company by reminding people to pay invoices and sending them out.
You are also supposed to make payment reminder notices, process refunds, check for all the unpaid dues, deal with the outstanding invoices, and so on. Accounts receivable is an essential part of a business; it is one of the ways by which it makes a profit. An AP clerk is assigned to manage this part of the business, which is a great deal of responsibility.
General Accounting
The general accounting part of your business that is handled by an AP clerk involves managing ledgers. You have to take care of all the aspects, the ins and outs of the transactions that occur in your company and make sure that none of them exceeds the company budget. It also involves specifying the budget to accounts and cost centers and the evaluation and the generation of expense reports. Closing reports at the end of the accounting period are also an essential part of this job.
This job is the most important, invoices can be made by software at times, but the accounting part is preferably done by people to ensure that not a single transaction is left out. This is mainly because these reports need to be given to the appropriate government agencies and the necessary higher-ups. These parties then evaluate whether the company has performed well or not.
Internal Relations
Internal relations are a set of responsibilities for AP clerks who work in companies with multiple branches. While it is more responsibility, it also ensures greater pay for you. What do internal relations involve, though? You will need to interact with AP clerks of other branches, accounting personnel, and heads of department of various departments from other branches to make sure that everything is going smoothly and there are no discrepancies.
These discrepancies can be a pain to handle. Suppose a vendor is providing you with a discount he isn’t providing another branch with; you need to take it up with the vendor. There can be invoices that have not been adequately signed or require the sign of higher authorities from other branches too for approval. This aspect of the responsibilities of an AP clerk involves a very high level of communication that they are expected to have.
Team Management and Confidentiality
Two main aspects of an AP clerk are confidentiality and team management. Confidentiality involves not leaking the invoices outside the company, not leaking the information that can harm the company, and not leaking the vendor details. Team management requires a great deal of leadership skills and communication to do appropriately. You need to make sure that your team works appropriately and all the vendors follow the regulations. These two aspects of an AP clerk’s responsibilities go hand-in-hand. The people who are privy to the details should be in your team and those who aren’t should not.
