Tag: AP Process

Managing Your Finances: A Guide to Bills Payable and Simplifying Your Life with Bill Pay

Post author By Surbhi Mehtani
Post date May 18, 2023
1 Comment on Managing Your Finances: A Guide to Bills Payable and Simplifying Your Life with Bill Pay

Do you ever feel like you’re drowning in a sea of bills? Between rent, utilities, credit cards, and other expenses, it can be overwhelming to keep track of all the payments you need to make each month. But managing your finances doesn’t have to be a headache. With a little organization and the help of bills payable services, you can simplify your life and make sure all your bills are paid on time.

The importance of managing your finances

Before we dive into the world of bills payable, let’s first talk about why managing your finances is so important. For one, it can help you avoid late fees, interest charges, and other penalties that can add up quickly if you fall behind on your payments. It can also help you save money by keeping track of your expenses and finding ways to cut back on unnecessary spending.

But perhaps most importantly, managing your finances can reduce stress and give you peace of mind. When you know exactly where your money is going and have a plan for paying your bills, you don’t have to worry about unexpected expenses or missed payments.

Understanding bills payable: what you need to know

Now, let’s talk about bills payable. This refers to any bills or invoices that you owe to someone else. This can include things like rent, utilities, credit card payments, and more. Each bill will have its own due date and payment amount, which can vary from month to month.

To keep track of all your bills payable, it’s important to create a budget and a payment schedule. Depending on your preference, there are various modes of payments, such as paper or digital. Make a list of all your bills and their due dates, and then determine when you will have enough money to pay each one. Be sure to factor in any other expenses you may have, like groceries, gas, or entertainment.

The benefits of bill pay systems

One way to simplify your bills payable is to use bill pay systems. These services allow you to pay your bills online or through an app, saving time and reducing the risk of late payments. Here are some of the benefits of using a bill pay service:

Convenience: With bill pay systems, you can pay all your bills from one place without having to write checks or visit multiple websites
Security: Most bill pay systems use encryption and other security measures to protect your personal and financial information
Automatic payments: You can set up automatic payments for recurring bills, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting to pay them each month
Mobile access: Many bill pay services have mobile apps, which allow you to pay your bills on-the-go, wherever you are

Tips for using bill pay services effectively

While bill pay services can be a great tool for managing your finances, there are some things to keep in mind to use them effectively. Here are some tips:

Check your accounts regularly: Even if you have automatic payments set up, it’s important to check your accounts regularly to make sure everything is going smoothly
Keep track of due dates: Make sure you know when each bill is due, so you can avoid late fees or other penalties
Have a backup plan: In case of any technical issues or errors, it’s always a good idea to have a backup plan for paying your bills, like keeping a check book on hand or having another bill pay service as a backup
Be aware of fees: Some bill pay services may charge fees for certain types of payments or transactions. Make sure you understand the fees associated with your bill pay service and factor them into your budget
Review your statements: Make sure to review your monthly statements to ensure that all payments were processed correctly and that there are no unauthorized charges or errors
Keep your information up-to-date: If you change banks, addresses, or phone numbers, be sure to update your information with your bill pay service to avoid any disruptions in service
Use reminders: Set up reminders to notify you of upcoming due dates or when a bill has been paid. This can help you stay on top of your bills and avoid late fees

Conclusion

Managing your finances can seem daunting, but with a little organization and the help of bill pay services, it can be much easier to keep track of your bills payable and simplify your life. With EnKash, your very own spend management platform, remember to create a budget and payment schedule, use a bill pay service to save time and reduce the risk of late payments.

Follow the tips above to use bill pay services effectively. By doing so, you can take control of your finances and enjoy greater peace of mind with EnKash

Tags AP Process, AP automation software, Accounts payable workflow, Payable and Expenses

Payables

Leverage Accounts Payable Insights to Make Smart Business Decisions

Post author By Surbhi Mehtani
Post date February 17, 2023

If you ask a business leader what the main currency of their business is, the answer is most likely to be data. Yes, updated and accurate data is the currency that oils the business decision-making machine and keeps it running. Any smart business leader will vouch for the importance of updated data to make informed decisions.

While data comes from numerous sources, a business leader aims to focus on those aspects that affect customers, which is why finance data is vital. Finance, especially, cash flow-related data need to be updated, accurate, and action-oriented. Data related to cash flow can be related to accounts payable (payments to vendors and suppliers) and accounts receivable (collections from customers or buyers).

In this article, we will explore how accounts payable data can help with smart business decision-making.

What is accounts payable?

Accounts payable is the amount a business owes a supplier or vendor when they purchase goods or avail services on credit. In most cases, the credit period is short and the payments have to be made within the stipulated time to avoid penalties and ensure a continued supply of goods or services.

Depending on the nature of the purchase, the cycle continues as per the agreement’s terms and conditions.

Steps involved in accounts payable

Procurement stage data: This data is critical to ensure that the quality requirements of raw materials or services are detailed. Doing this ensures that the quality of output that your business provides to customers is maintained.

Request for quotes: Data from this stage is directly used in the costing of your products or services. In a competitive market, you must price your products or services right. The pricing should cover all the costs that you incur and have a profit margin but also be attractive enough for customers to continue buying from your business.

Vendor or supplier evaluation: The criteria you set for vendor or supplier evaluation is vital as it evaluate the vendor’s quality as well as the price. Many businesses also consider the reputation of the vendor and other factors like ESG to evaluate a vendor or supplier. Data from this stage helps you establish your business as a quality-conscious entity from every angle.

Negotiation and finalization: Data from this stage of the AP cycle establishes that you are a confident business that believes in getting the best at a reasonable price. Also, price negotiations are important to the cost of your products and services.

Contract-related information: You need to keep tabs on the contract and related information to ensure the continuity of your business. Contract information ensures that you renew the contract on time so that you can continue to provide quality services or products to your customers without interruption.

Delivery and invoice: The data at this stage helps you understand the quality, quantity, and timing aspects. This, in turn, helps you determine your ability to meet customer demands and business continuity.

Payment request and completion: The information at this stage is crucial to determine how much cash flow has to be arranged to meet payments. Paying vendors and suppliers on time helps you with continuity, negotiation power, and fund planning. Your team can negotiate terms to ensure that you get better rates, improved credit periods, and even add-ons if applicable.

As you can see, data from every stage of the accounts payable process can be leveraged to ensure the success of your business. Automation of this process along with real-time sync with your existing finance system will help you mine this data quickly and accurately.

At EnKash, we offer our customers fintech solutions that will enable them to optimize their financial processes. As Asia’s 1st and smartest spend management platform, EnKash helps you leverage technology to make smart, timely, and data-driven decisions.

Tags Accounts payable automation, Payable and Expenses, Account payable process, AP Process, AP Automation, Account Payable Software

Receivables Payables

Why SMBs Need to Automate Accounts Payables and Receivables

Post author By Surbhi Mehtani
Post date September 26, 2022
2 Comments on Why SMBs Need to Automate Accounts Payables and Receivables

Businesses- big or small, need a steady account receivable and payable flow to function. A business’ bottom line may be green at the end of the quarter, but if the cash flow is not maintained meticulously, a lot of decisions might get affected. Sooner or later, these will trickle down to the revenue statements of the company.

Maintaining an efficient cash flow is no piece of cake. It requires a strong strategy, planned accounts payable, and collections decisions. And most importantly, a robust commercial expenses platform that can provide visibility into the financial structure. These kinds of business accounting requirements cannot be met by traditional banks or legacy financial management systems.

To save the day, FinTech emerged from the digitization wave. FinTech enables payment gateways to work in tandem with banks to provide more sophisticated and intuitive account receivable and payable solutions.

With FinTech, the digitization and finance industry came together to completely revolutionize the face of the business accounting and payments industry in India. Now even start-ups, small and medium-sized businesses, vendors, and small brick-and-mortar retail establishments have embraced FinTech in some form.

What’s The Key Innovation Of Fintech Towards Balancing Of Accounts?

One helpful product of the FinTech revolution is automation in payment processing. From B2C to B2B and even P2P payments, people are now getting comfortable with online payments.

Automation has truly leveled up the commercial finances industry. Businesses earlier used to make payments in cash or cheques, although now they are almost obsolete.

Most of the businesses have turned to one of the following digital payment methods:

Bank Transfers (NEFT/IMPS/RTGS)
Payment Gateways
Corporate Cards

These payment methods increase transaction throughput in multitudes. While bank transfers have been around for quite some time, payment gateways are relatively new in the market. Payment gateway providers partner with business accounting and payment aggregators to allow B2B and B2C payments.

Corporate cards are the newest kids on the block with their flashy new functionalities that have made them the most popular choice. With their convenience, ease of use, and accessibility, corporate cards have been climbing the charts for being the most favoured tool for commercial expenses.

The shift in B2B payments towards accounts receivable process and automated payment facilities is due to a variety of benefits. Let’s take a closer look at these benefits that make business owners seriously consider switching to an automated corporate payments platform.

Have a look at the future of EnKash account receivable and payable tools for your business.

5 Quick Benefits Of Corporate Cards And An Automated Business Accounting Tool

Collect Payments Faster

With an automated payment platform, you can generate purchase orders and invoices with a touch of a button. Automated payment platforms have easy-to-use templates for POs and invoices, thus making it quicker to generate them. The faster you invoice your clients, the more your chances of receiving payments.

Traditional methods of invoicing took days to generate and send to the clients, who took their own sweet time to process these invoices. With an automated platform, you can also send timely reminders to clear payments. Faster payments mean an increased cash flow and accounts receivable process, which in turn can be used to purchase supplies for business.

Extend Payment Credit

With the EnKash automated payment system, you can have a higher level of visibility of your accounts payable. Many times, it happens that businesses make their payments much before the due date. While this is a good practice, it can harm your balancing of accounts.

Making payments well in advance can reduce your business’ cash flow without it being necessary. This cash could’ve been used for some emergency purpose or to buy some other office supplies on the fly. When payments are made before the due date, the credit period available for payments is not used wisely to increase the revenue.

This scenario is handled well by an automated payment platform to monitor business accounting. EnKash has an in-built functionality of generating payment reminders a day or two before the due date.

This way, you do not miss any payment nor do you pay before the deadline; in turn, increasing your cash flow movement towards revenue-generating streams.

Convenience For Customers

When you provide your consumers with an automated platform, you are not only providing them with a tool but also with a bonus of convenience.

Digital payment platforms offer ease of payment by providing a bird’s eye view of the entire biosphere of your business’s finances. You can send e-invoices to your consumers with a digital payment link that directs to a digital payment method to pay the bills. This streamlined way of accounts receivable process can boost your consumers’ faith in you while also making you look like a futuristic business that’s here to stay.

Increased Security

Automation prevents expense fraud in the best manner possible. Employees need to be empowered to make decisions related to balancing of accounts and purchases so that they can make expenses on the fly but do not have to spend from their own pockets.

Corporate expense cards come to your rescue in this scenario as they provide flexibility and efficiency in corporate purchases. Corporate cards can be controlled centrally by pre-deciding their parameters. They can be customized as per authorized vendors, types of purchases, and the maximum number of swipes.

Businesses can also generate virtual cards on the fly, which can be only used for digital payments. These cards are usually employed for one-off purchases with a maximum cap of expense. Thus, corporate expense cards are one of the most powerful tools in your account receivable and payable process, along with the business finance arsenal.

Enhanced Visibility

With a digital B2B payments platform, you can have centralized control yet decentralized spending ability. The platform offers a clear picture of your business finances- your Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Cashflow, Working Capital, and many more business payment features.

This bird’s eye view of your business finances can help you make informed decisions regarding upcoming purchases and payments.

The kind of advantages that a digital automated platform offers for SMBs are massive. Especially, a platform like EnKash can truly enrich your B2B payments experience with its host of functionalities. EnKash also offers a huge variety of corporate cards that can empower you to make purchases on the go so that you never think twice before making payments. Experience true financial freedom with EnKash!

Tags Account Payable Software, Accounts payable automation, Payable and Expenses, Account payable process, AP Process, AP Automation

Receivables

Optimize Your Accounts Payable and Receivable with Automation

Post author By Surbhi Mehtani
Post date September 23, 2022
2 Comments on Optimize Your Accounts Payable and Receivable with Automation

A successful business is dependent on a variety of factors. While most of those factors can be controlled from within the company itself, cash-flow remains the most pivotal yet the most unpredictable of them all. For any business to continue running smoothly and get accounts receivable automation benefits, it is vital that cash-flow efficiency is optimized. Cash-flow of any business is made up of its Accounts Receivable (AR) and Accounts Payable (AP).

The money you owe and the money that you are owed needs to function smoothly in and out of your company’s ledger to keep your business afloat. However, it is not that simple. Ideally, ARs + APs should be equal to the cash-flow. But one important variable in this equation is time. The amount of time that is wasted in processing invoices and managing collections is monumental.

Not only that, finance teams also spend a lot of time doing redundant manual tasks which leads to misuse of resources which could otherwise be involved in revenue-driven tasks. To achieve an almost-ideal state of improved and enhanced cash-flow, and to get accounts receivable automation benefits, businesses should steer their boat towards the magical land of Automation!

Automation in Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable can enormously increase revenue growth and employee morale. It considerably reduces the turnaround time, decreases errors and allows employees to focus on better utilizing their talents.

Let’s take a look at the benefits of Automation in Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable to understand in depth why it is the way forward for futuristic businesses.

Benefits of Automation in Accounts Receivable

Faster Payments

With automation comes speed. Generating invoices takes a lot of time in reviewing the price sheets, calculating the total amount and then adding any specific customer-based requirements and its cost. This when done manually, is a time-consuming job that is highly prone to human errors. Automating payments can save time in doing repetitive work and reduce chances of mistakes in invoices which can lead to distrust in business relations with the clients in the longer run.

Boosts Customer Relations

An automated platform for payments allows scope for building better relations with clients. Customer Service is key to maintain a lifelong relation and an automated ARs portal acts as a bridge between a client and a company. From tracking service requests and complaints to incorporating customer feedback, automation can act as a wonderful tool to boost consumer faith as it provides a platform for faster resolution.

Enhanced Security

When it comes to matters of money, security should be stringent. Traditional methods of payments are susceptible to high risk as the data can fall into wrong hands and money can end up being laundered out of the company. With a centralized automated payments system, multiple security checks can be put in place to access the database, thus rendering critical attacks useless.

Reduced Carbon Footprint

To be a futuristic business in this day and age, businesses should aim to minimize its carbon footprint. Non-digitized payment methods leave behind a huge paper trail. Automation helps in turning your business into a sustainable business by sending invoices digitally, collecting payments through digital modes, sending payment reminders through the portal and maintaining records digitally for future use.

Benefits of Automation in Accounts Payable

Reduction in Errors

When processing payments manually, the liability of making silly mistakes is high. Making the switch from paper to digital documents decreases the chance of calculation errors, filing errors and processing errors. AP automation boosts productivity by nullifying redundant manual tasks and enhances employee morale by engaging them in meaningful work.

Spend Visibility

Automation gives a centralized view of a business’s spend trends. Finance teams can keep a track on all the incoming and outgoing cash flow from one single touch point that updates in real-time. Higher management can also keep an eye on the business funds by ensuring that they are being spent in a proper manner as per company’s policy. This also gives an added bonus to finance teams to map out future transactions to set an expenditure limit or release payments after a specified time to optimize cash-flow.

Remote Operations

Technology has revolutionized the way of life. Since the pandemic hit us all, the premise of remote working has seen a meteoric rise. With teams and individuals working remotely, it is necessary for everyone to be on the same page and access the latest data. An automated platform makes it easily possible to share files and access a company’s database from the comfort of your homes. Finance teams can log in from anywhere in the world and process payments. Thus, automation boosts efficiency and does wonders for a business to ensure that they never fail to make a payment on time.

Early Payments Discounts

Early bird catches the worm! In business sense, we can relate to it with catching vendor offers and discounts that are offered on early payments. Keeping track of such multiple offers is not easy manually. But an automation platform can be customized to remind you of early payments. Payments can also be debited digitally through various payment modes inbuilt in the system and hence, a discount is never missed nor is a deadline!

Apart from these aforementioned benefits, there are many little things that make automation the best investment. With a one-time cost of subscribing to an automated ARs and APs platform, you can save up on many hidden costs and recurring costs that accumulate over a period of time. These automated systems streamline workflows efficiently, provide enhanced centralized control, regulate purchase-to-payments cycles and increase accuracy in the payments process. This added boost in cash-flow can help in utilizing the working capital for future expansion plans of the business. Another major advantage of automated accounts payable and accounts receivable is that the platform ensures round the clock compliance to updated legislature and government rules, thus avoiding any heavy non-compliance fines that can be imposed on the company during regular audits.

Still unsure whether automation works for you? Set up a free demo with EnKash and we would be happy to help! Our powerful platform can elevate your business to the next level and help you to become a true digital player in the business ecosphere!

Tags Receivables, Account payable process, AP Process, AP Automation, Account Payable Software, Accounts payable automation

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