3 bill pay workflows that are slowing down your finance team
Ask any finance leader about bill pay, and they’ll tell you it rarely goes as smoothly as it should. The process is supposed to be simple: receive an invoice, approve it and send payment. But the reality is far messier.
Picture a controller starting her day with a string of vendor emails. One supplier wants to know why their invoice hasn’t been approved; another is chasing a payment that hasn’t cleared. She opens her accounting system to find invoices still waiting for signatures, some kicked back for missing details and others stuck in inbox limbo. Before she’s even finished her first coffee, she’s already in firefighting mode.
And she’s not alone. On average, it costs nearly $10 and takes more than 10 days to process a single invoice. Almost half of AP teams cite delays or exceptions as constant hurdles (49% and 47%), and 32% of U.S. businesses say slow payments are one of their biggest pain points.
All of this points to a simple truth. Bill pay isn’t just an administrative task; it’s a productivity drain. Let’s look at the common workflow breakdowns that are holding finance teams back.
Why your current bill pay process is holding you back
Even when finance teams know their bill pay process could be better, the biggest slowdowns often hide in everyday routines. These three workflows in particular waste time and energy while adding unnecessary risk.
- Manual data entry
Every invoice that arrives has to be keyed in: vendor details, amounts, GL codes and due dates. It’s repetitive and leaves plenty of room for human error. One small typo can throw off reconciliation or delay payment, creating hours of extra work to track down and fix mistakes. The bigger the vendor list, the more this tedious process becomes.
- Paper check payments
Despite digital alternatives, many organizations still cut paper checks. That means printing, signing and mailing payments. Each step adds days (if not weeks) to the cycle. Checks can get lost and vendors may experience lengthy payment delays. And even worse: companies open themselves up to check fraud, which 63% of organizations reported facing in 2024.
- Fragmented approvals
Approvals are scattered across emails, Slack threads or even paper forms. Finance teams spend hours chasing signatures or waiting for managers to weigh in. When an approver is on vacation or unclear about their role, invoices stall in limbo. The lack of a central, visible process makes it hard to keep payments on schedule.
None of these workflows are new, but that’s exactly the problem: they’ve been slowing finance teams down for years. The good news is that today, automation and AI make it possible to streamline bill pay without sacrificing accuracy or control.
How can finance teams streamline the bill pay process?
Bill pay automation doesn’t require reinventing finance. It means replacing the slowest steps with smarter systems.
- Automated data capture and coding
Manual entry doesn’t just slow things down, it creates opportunities for costly mistakes. Modern tools use automation and AI to extract key invoice details like vendor, amount and due date, and even match those invoices to purchase orders. This reduces human error and shortens the time it takes to move an invoice from submission to approval. It also frees finance teams from repetitive tasks so they can focus on analysis and forecasting.
- Pre-programmed approval workflows
Approvals don’t have to get lost in email chains or Slack threads. Finance teams can set up structured workflows that route invoices to the right people automatically, enforce policy checks and keep a time-stamped audit trail. That means invoices move forward quickly, even when managers are out of the office. And leaders gain the peace of mind that every approval is documented and ready for audit at any time.
- Virtual payment methods with built-in spend controls
Paper checks and shared cards create more risk than value. Virtual cards and secure digital payment options allow teams to issue payments instantly while setting clear rules around spending limits, purchasing windows and approved vendors. Payments are faster, trackable and harder to misuse. They also give finance leaders more control by setting limits in advance, reducing surprises and ensuring every payment stays within policy.
Together, these changes don’t just fix individual workflows. They create a foundation for AP automation that’s built to last. With automated data capture, standardized approvals and digital payments, invoices move through the system with less friction. That means fewer surprises at month-end and a faster, more predictable close.
Laying the groundwork for smarter bill pay
Let’s face it: manual data entry, paper checks and scattered approvals won’t disappear overnight. But by putting the right systems in place now, finance leaders can lay the groundwork for bill pay processes that are faster, safer and easier to scale.
Whether it’s reducing data entry with AI, automating approvals or replacing checks with digital payments, each step chips away at the inefficiencies holding finance teams back. These aren’t just technology upgrades; they’re building blocks for a more resilient, compliant and future-ready finance function.
PEX customer Artisan Capital saw the impact firsthand: with automation and AI, they cut reimbursement and reconciliation cycles by 90% and unlocked nearly $150,000 in working capital. Explore how PEX can help you build systems today that will make bill pay faster and safer tomorrow. Contact us today for a demo.
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