New Ideas for Your Accounts Payable Department

As fall approaches, employees come back from vacations and it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate finance procedures. You can have more efficient processes in place and have time to work out any bugs before the end of year close. Revitalize your AP department by trying some of these tips from Accounts Payable 360, a finance news and analysis site.

1. Set Up Regular Meetings
Read through this article to find 101 ideas on improving your AP department. Some are small changes, while some are more significant. All of the tips can save you time and money. A good idea here is to set up regular finance team meetings to discuss any potential issues. It can also be the perfect place to discuss how to implement other ideas.

2. Get Feedback
If you don’t know what the issues are, you can’t fix them. Ask vendors how it is to work with your AP department. If the vendor is unhappy, see where the process can be improved. If the vendor is happy, use the opportunity to ask for any preferred customer discounts. There are pointers in this article that can help you draw up an AP report card.

3. Reject Duplicate Invoices
This article has a number of tips about handling invoices and is well worth a read. One take-away is that if you don’t have your system set up to reject duplicate invoice numbers, you should take the time to add that functionality now. Invoice numbers are unique and this is an easy way to cut down on potential confusion.

Now you have the tools necessary to update and streamline your department. For more information, as well as a bit of fun, check out the AP IQ Quiz and test your knowledge of accounts payable facts and best practices.

Leave a comment and let everyone know what new ideas you plan to implement.