5 Important Benefits of Accounts Payable Outsourcing
Historically, accounts payable management has been a business process that often remained in-house. Paper mail would be distributed by mailrooms, invoices would be reviewed and approved by project managers, and cheques would be issued by the company’s accountant. However, as online payments and electronic invoices have become routine practice, outsourcing accounts payable tasks and data entry has become a popular, and sometimes necessary, option in maintaining an organized and balanced book.
Below are five important benefits of AP outsourcing:
1. Guaranteed Skill & Ability
If done successfully, AP outsourcing means utilizing a professional organization that specializes in business accounts payable. Using a reputable outsource provider will provide you with confidence in the reliability of the services and quality of the data provided. Whether you are a smaller company that does not have the budget for a similar level of expertise in-house or you want to have a team of skilled individuals at your disposal without the corresponding HR cost and risk, AP outsourcing is a great option.
2. Cost-Effective Regardless of Business Size
Depending on the size of your business, outsourcing AP tasks is almost always more cost-effective than paying full-time employees in-house. Effective outsource providers leverage the latest technology and economies of scale to perform the same tasks for a lower per-invoice fee. As well, by outsourcing and automating accounts payable processes, business can realize further cost savings by reducing manual data entry errors.
3. Offload Non-Critical AP Functions
Most accounts payable tasks are simple and straightforward. Invoice receipts, document imaging, data extraction, content management, approval workflow and reporting are all aspects of AP functionality that do not need to be handled within the specific context of your business, and are thus very appropriate for outsourcing. This allows the business to instead redirect team members to higher value-add tasks related to core services.
4. Faster Reaction Time and Knowledge Expertise
A benefit of having your accounts payable outsourced is that you will have faster reaction time and access to knowledge expertise regarding best practices for efficiency and any changes that may affect your business’ AP tasks.
5. Minimize Your Risk and Responsibility
When you outsource your accounts payable tasks, you do not need to worry about installing and maintaining software in-house, or resolve any issues or problems that may result due to software malfunction or user error. You can rest assured that data security and human resources management are no longer issues to take up valuable time. You have your AP tasks handled without the headache!
Octacom is a SOC 2, Type II Audited enterprise software and services company focused on document and data automation solutions, including automated data capture. Founded in 1976, Octacom specializes in accounts payable automation and automated invoice processing, among other digital / automated business process outsourcing services.
If your organization is looking to learn more about our solutions and services, please contact us and we would be glad to help.
