Over the last few years there’s been a shift towards creating a centralised P2P function, connecting AR, AP and Procurement in a way which would have been unthinkable until relatively recently. It’s a journey which has had mixed results along the way.
If there’s one thing which finance departments agree on at the moment – it’s a need for greater corporate liquidity. The ways in which individual organisations attempt to achieve this is as varied as it is resourceful. As the banks’ squeeze on lending continues, and yields on business accounts remain dismally low, organisations need to be creative when exploring avenues for cash creation.
Andrew Jesse, VP Basware UK, shows how taking control of the purchase-to-pay (P2P) cycle can help reduce cash loss
There are many ways in which businesses of all sizes can lose money in the accounts payable process. This normally stems from a document or project’s disjointed journey through the purchase-to-pay lifecycle when they hit undefined areas of responsibility. The net impact is that capital leaks out of the organisation in a number of ways.
Whether late payments happen by accident or design, they may soon be attracting penalties for businesses. So how should organisations get control of their accounts payable and build better relationships with suppliers?
No matter what payment terms are agreed between businesses, it’s increasingly common for the actual payment to be late. This point was underlined by a recent UK survey by BACS (Bankers' Automated Clearing Services). It found that the average UK small company is now owed £39,000 at any one time, and that businesses are owed on average 10% more than last year. Critically, those hit by late payment are waiting on average 28 days above their payment terms to have invoices settled.
Avalara helps businesses of all sizes get tax compliance right. In partnership with leading ERP, accounting, eCommerce and other financial management system providers, Avalara delivers cloudbased compliance solutions for various transactional taxes, including sales and use, VAT, GST, excise, communications, lodging, and other indirect tax types. Headquartered in Seattle, Avalara has offices across the U.S. and around the world in Canada, the U.K., Belgium, Brazil, and India.