Easier Invoicing

Automate for increased efficiency

By Jeffrey Steele on Feb 20, 2014 in Technology

Invoice processing services also help property managers monitor costs in several ways, says Brad Chandler, industry principal with Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Tech Choice Award winner Yardi Procure to Pay.

Since invoices are digital, Chandler says, property managers can view them at any time without needing to search across various desks to assess property budget impact. This is key to financial decision-making throughout the month, and it also saves money, as there are no invoices to consume scarce office space.

“The workflows that guide each invoice to the correct approvers eliminate the need to mail invoices to regional managers or headquarters for eventual payment,” he adds.
According to Chandler, “Property managers are also able to view budgetary impacts prior to payable creation, to support future purchase decisions and also track service contract invoices against defined budgets as they are processed. “[This] provides insight of actuals against contract terms to ensure the budget continues to support the execution,” says Chandler.

In addition, invoice processing can identify potential problems before they become actual problems, Chandler reports. Linking invoices to service contracts provides insight into execution actuals versus planned budgets, with each invoice eliminating reactionary steps when the budget is exhausted and the contract is not completed. Invoice processing systems can also identify duplicate invoices to prevent potential duplicate payments, which can impact cash availability.

“Further, invoice workflows can be reported on when delays occur that could impact timely payment and payment discounts,” adds Chandler. “Property managers can assess the timing of payments to available cash and avoid insufficient funds and/or late fees. With electronic invoices, property managers can easily research vendor or client questions, no matter what workflow status the invoice is in.” According to Chandler, they can also expediently provide an invoice image and data, approval information and payment data to any party electronically.

Chandler believes invoice processing will continue to evolve to become more efficient, driving costs down and eliminating need for properties to touch invoices.

“Systems will become smarter in processing invoices, only providing the exceptions to appropriate users for review,” he predicts. “Vendors will also become more agile and efficient in leveraging technology to deliver invoices and obtain payment, eliminating costs on their end,” adds Chandler. “The overall AP process will continue to move to an electronic state with increased automation.”

Excerpted from Tech Report: Promise and Potential, which appeared in Multi-Housing News magazine.

Learn how ECI uses Yardi Procure to Pay in this video: