Automating Accounts Payable operations

Why should you and how can you make you Accounts Payable system automated?

‍

Economic Times' definition of Accounts Payable, also known as Trade Payables, are "when a company purchases goods on credit which needs to be paid back in a short period of time."

Start-up founders can quickly find themselves spending a lot of time on processing these, time that is better spent put towards growing the business. Stop wasting valuable hours and let us show you how to implement AP Automation!

As a FinOps team, we are always looking for ways to improve and automate our processes for our partners. We have been working with a tech start-up that had a lengthy Accounts Payable process that impacted the time it took to review and make payments, eating into the founders' valuable time. We worked with them to improve this process - here's how we did it!

The Challenge... 🤨

‍

The founders faced a number of challenges when it came to managing payments. The payment process was very manual and involved using Silicon Valley Bank, which doesn't allow for an automated payment process through Xero. This meant that the process of manually formatting and uploading the payments was both cumbersome and time-consuming.

Additionally, the approval process was not carried out in a formal and structured way, leaving the founders uncertain about whether they were making effective decisions regarding payments. Ultimately, our aim at Quantico was to seek a solution that would streamline and simplify their payment processes, enabling them to focus on growing their business rather than dealing with tedious administrative tasks.

The FinOps Solution! 🫡

‍

Thankfully, we were able to provide just such a solution:

• The first step was to set up Pleo bills to replace Dext, which made importing bills more efficient and accurate, allowing the founders to easily review and approve invoices for payment, a necessary feature of a payment gateway provider.
• Secondly, we created a process to pay the supplier bills directly from Pleo, eliminating any need for manual logging in and out of accounts.
• Finally, we linked Pleo Bills to Xero so that all payments would be tracked in one central location for easy access.

‍

When it came to setting up Pleo, it was a straightforward process. It only took one day of due diligence to get everything up and running. In fact, the setup itself was almost instantaneous, as there were no significant technical issues or other roadblocks to deal with. Additionally, all that we had to do in terms of accounting was simply forward the partner's invoices over to the Pleo system rather than having to manually review and approve in Dext. We then ran a training session with the partner to get everyone familiarised with the new process ensuring that the process would run smoothly and be suitable for the partner's growth plans.

By implementing this solution, we were able to save time and ensure more accurate billing records. Above all, it means that as they continue to scale their business, the partner can focus on what truly matters: bringing their innovative ideas to market without any unnecessary obstacles or distractions.

Want to improve your AP Process?

‍

Are you a start-up founder or working in one? Is it scaling up and experiencing rapid growth? Finances, payroll, and other organisational processes can quickly start to take over your day, leaving you with less time to focus on your true mission: driving your company forward. If you're looking for a way to streamline these processes and gain back some valuable time, then get in touch.  We would love to hear about your growing business and how we can work together to give you the support you need for sustainable growth!