Accounts Payable Outsourcing: Pros, Cons, & Best Practices

Request real-time dashboards or reports that provide transparency into the AP process. Ask potential providers about their data privacy and security policies and any certifications or audits they may have undergone to demonstrate their commitment to safeguarding your financial information. But by considering factors such as cost, scalability, and the level of control desired, you can make an informed decision about the best approach for your business. Know how Invensis provides accurate accounting & bookkeeping services for a restaurant which helps effective cost monitoring and growth. Invensis’ auditing and taxation services assisted us in effecting significant changes in the business’s focus and nature.

Accenture is a global professional services firm renowned for its expertise in providing a wide range of outsourcing solutions, including accounts payable outsourcing. With its extensive experience and a strong presence in the US, Accenture offers valuable support to businesses seeking to optimize their accounts payable processes. They provide a range of services, such as invoice receipt and processing, vendor management, and payment processing, ensuring timely and accurate payments for their clients. When considering accounts payable outsourcing, it’s essential to understand the services provided by accounts payable outsourcing companies. They offer a range of technology, personnel, and value-added consulting services to help manage your accounts payable processes more efficiently.

Saves money and time

Clear lines of communication and accountability are established to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. Our Accounts Payable workflow has generated daily volumes of invoices retained earnings definition to be processed, and Outsourced Bookkeeping handles the volume precisely. Outsourcing your accounts payable functions can give you the flexibility to quickly scale up or down, depending on changes in business needs. Accounts payable outsourcing is a handy solution for companies to make their AP processes efficient & cost-effective.

Focus on Growth

Efficient payment processing is another key service provided by accounts payable outsourcing companies. By ensuring timely and accurate payments to your vendors, your organization can benefit from improved cash flow management and reduced invoice processing costs. Prompt payment also helps to strengthen vendor relationships, leading to better terms and increased discounts.

Should Your Business Outsource AP?

By outsourcing the tasks above, your organization can focus on more strategic activities and let the outsourcing provider handle the time-consuming and tedious aspects of AP functions. When considering a major change to your processes, it helps to explore all your options. AP automation (discussed later in this sunk cost examples article) may provide the efficiency and visibility of outsourcing while allowing your company to maintain control of its processes. Accounts payable outsourcing refers to contracting with a third-party team to manage your accounts payable process. In AP outsourcing, activities such as managing short-term debts and creditors are conducted by qualified third-party AP teams. AP processes, if interrupted due to employee absence, can multiply and burden the business.

1. But without the right efficiencies and reporting tools, the risk of payments fraud and vendor non-compliance escalates as businesses grow.
2. Review the provider’s service level agreements (SLAs) and performance metrics to ensure they align with your expectations.
3. Outsourcing accounts payable helps businesses avoid these costs while using the best document management and business intelligence tools available.

Although some of the differences related to these costs are based on the organizations’ industries, organizations that had adopted accounts payable automation tended to see reduced costs. According to one study, 78% of best-in-class businesses had adopted e-invoice processing technology compared to just 38% of their struggling competitors. The study also revealed that best-in-class AP departments who relied on procure-to-pay (P2P) automation derived the most strategic value.

How To Outsource Your Accounts Payable for Long-Term Success: Step-By-Step Guide

Our professionals have deep knowledge of business functions and can also be trained to take on greater responsibilities. You can, what is the matching principle therefore, confidently do away with this task and focus exclusively on growth. The move to outsourcing requires internal stakeholders to champion the project and take it to completion.