Introduction to AR Invoice Delivery Automation

Introduction

The failure to embrace digital innovation leads to a loss of competitive edge – a lesson all business leaders have now understood. If your business still relies heavily on manual processes, investing in automation software could be critical to your survival. While manual processing is time-consuming and exposes you to costly errors, automation will make your finance teams more effective and less expensive to run.

One smart way to benefit from automation is by implementing it across the Accounts Receivable (AR) department. By using automation solutions for AR, businesses speed up their customer payment cycles and make their invoicing processes, among others more efficient. Additionally, the automation of invoice delivery, collections, and payment reminders will boost cash flow.

While in previous blog posts we focused on AR Automation and how to choose AR automation solutions, in this piece we zoom in on the invoice delivery process.

What is AR Invoice Delivery Automation?

AR Invoice Delivery Automation is a software solution designed to transform invoicing processes, mitigate errors, and enhance cash flow through the seamless integration of automated procedures. By leveraging this technology, you can eliminate or optimize manual tasks, integrate with payment gateways, and incorporate real-time tracking. 

Efficient invoice delivery is pivotal for Accounts Receivable, and automation within this AR cycle brings many different benefits. Below are some of the functions of the invoice delivery solution offered by Cevinio:

• Touchless invoice delivery. This empowers businesses to automate the entire process, significantly reducing manual tasks. By doing so, businesses not only save time but also minimize the likelihood of errors, promoting a speedier and more cost-effective workflow. 
• Invoice tracking. With real-time tracking capabilities, businesses can monitor the status of their invoices every step of the way. This provides valuable insights into the payment lifecycle and allows for proactive management, ensuring better control over financial operations. 
• Integration with payment gateways.  Our solution enhances the overall invoicing process by allowing for swift and secure transactions. Seamless integration with various payment gateways ensures a cohesive financial ecosystem that accelerates cash flow.
• Configurable invoice templates. This flexibility allows businesses to tailor their invoicing documents to align perfectly with their branding and operational style, enhancing brand consistency across all communications.  
• Invoice format conversion. We facilitate the conversion of invoices into multiple formats, ensuring compatibility with various client systems such as Peppol, Coupa, SAP Ariba, and more. This feature guarantees that your invoices meet the specific requirements of different platforms, enhancing interoperability and efficiency.

How can Invoice Delivery Automation benefit your business?

Embracing the automation of invoice delivery processes yields numerous benefits that significantly enhance the operational efficiency and overall success of your business. Here are some key advantages: 

1. Increased efficiency: The implementation of automated invoice delivery markedly reduces the manual workload for AR teams. This time-saving measure empowers them to redirect their focus towards more value-added tasks, fostering increased productivity and efficiency. 
2. Improved accuracy: Invoice Delivery Automation substantially diminishes the occurrence of errors during the invoicing process. This, in turn, results in a reduction of rejections and disputes initiated by clients, creating a smoother and more reliable invoicing experience.
3. Enhanced compliance: Implementing Invoice Delivery Automation can contribute to improved compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements. By adhering to established protocols, businesses can minimize the risk of non-compliance, ensuring a more secure and trustworthy financial operation.
4. Accelerated payments: Automated invoicing expedites the payment cycle by ensuring that invoices reach recipients in a timely manner. This not only facilitates faster payments but also reduces the likelihood of rejections and disputes, optimizing cash flow for your business.
5. Improved customer satisfaction: Timely and accurately delivered invoices, formatted to meet client expectations, contribute significantly to heightened customer satisfaction. This positive customer experience puts you in a good position to negotiate more favorable terms and strengthen long-term relationships.
6. Auto-notifications for error resolution: Invoice Delivery Automation includes a proactive feature in which the system automatically tracks the delivery process. In the event of an issue preventing successful delivery, the system promptly sends notifications via email. This real-time awareness enables quick resolution of any discrepancies, maintaining a smooth invoicing workflow.

Best practices for implementing AR Invoice Delivery Automation

Once you have shortlisted AR Invoice Delivery Automation software solutions that best fit your needs and goals, the next challenges are to make a final choice and the implementation. Below we list some best practices for choosing and implementing Invoice Delivery software: 

1. Define your AR process. Before implementing any AR automation software, it is imperative to define the end-to-end AR process and identify the pain points of the process such as manual and time-consuming tasks, parts of the process where accuracy is low, and so on. After this, you should decide in which areas improvement is needed.
2. Define the Invoice Delivery process. After analyzing the AR end-to-end process, you should perform a deep analysis of the Invoice Delivery process. For example, AR agents and ERP create the invoices, invoice formats, PDF content, mandatory requirements, country-specific legislations, and much more.  
3. Take all features into consideration. Pick the solution that best fits your requirements. Consider the integration, security, scalability, and support provided by the supplier.
4. Test the automation tool. Before going live, you should test the tool and confirm whether the system is working as expected. Moreover, before you do the testing, the selected supplier should also perform tests on their side.
5. Notify your customers. In case there are any changes that affect your customers, communicate with them to avoid surprises. You can use your customer list to send a bulk email.
6. Monitor progress. When the software is implemented, monitor the results of the tool, and highlight any issues to the provider. Always analyze results to make continuous improvements.

Choosing the right AR Invoice Delivery software and implementing it requires time and effort. However, by following these best practices, you can successfully deploy an automation tool that will significantly improve your AR processes. Moreover, in the longer term, you can benefit from the other benefits mentioned above: cost savings, compliance, and more.

Conclusion  

Technology such as AR Invoice Delivery Automation can yield remarkable benefits. Cevinio’s solution excels in performing critical actions that transform invoicing processes. The advantages of embracing Invoice Delivery Automation extend beyond mere efficiency gains. Businesses that choose to leverage this technology experience heightened accuracy, enhanced compliance, accelerated payments, improved customer satisfaction, and streamlined error resolution processes. 

Would you like to learn more about Cevinio’s AR Invoice Delivery platform? Our team will be pleased to answer your questions.