The Spend Control Series: Tips for managing supplier invoices

Businesses are turning to their finance leaders more and more for insights that help shape decisions. Where to open the next office, where to cut back on spend, how to make cash flow go further, where next to invest... these are questions you’ll need to answer backed by solid evidence. Managing finance processes, like supplier invoices, is the minimum requirement for any finance team today. But ironically, it also holds the key to getting that all important visibility and control, which in turn informs those decisions.

It’s a process that many businesses still appear to be struggling with. Research by Vanson Bourne reveals that 59% of organisations believe their supplier invoice process could definitely be improved. So, is your supplier invoice process fit for purpose? If it’s not, what can you do to wrestle back control?

Let’s explore a few ways you can assert greater control over your supplier invoices in the third blog of our spend series.

1. Centralise invoices for improved visibility

Implementing a centralised place where suppliers can submit their invoices gives you a clearer picture of upcoming spend before invoices are dispersed across the business for approval. A Purchase Order (PO) process can further help increase visibility by allowing you to project spend before it’s committed.

2. Weed out duplicate and fraudulent invoices

Suppliers often send invoices in both print and electronic form, and sometimes they’ll resend invoices to prompt speedy payment. A manual process makes it easier for duplicate invoices to filter through the system, increasing the risk of duplicate payments. In fact, 33% of finance leaders have actually paid a duplicate invoice that they are aware of. An automated system instantly flags when a duplicate invoice is received before it reaches the finance department.

Without proper detection capabilities, you can also find yourself becoming a victim to invoice fraud. Cyber criminals are getting smarter at slipping unscrupulous invoices through the door. They may appear to come from people in the business or charge for services that weren’t ordered in the first place. An automated invoice system can help you spot discrepancies so you have peace of mind against suspicious activity. 

3. Unlock spend data to drive better decision making

If valuable decision-making data is locked in disparate spreadsheets or even on paper, making sense of it – let alone analysing and spotting trends – is almost impossible. By integrating spend data and reporting from across the business and viewing it visually, you can help drive incredibly powerful insight. You can quickly identify areas to cut costs, suppliers with whom you could negotiate better terms and areas where you should be investing based on strong ROI. And as a finance leader, it’s what the business relies on you for.

What about the rest of your spend?

We’ve just focused on 3 ways to assert greater control over your supplier invoices here. If you want to find out more ways you can get greater control over spend, download 5 Ways to Improve Control over Spend. And keep an eye out for the next blog in this series in the weeks to come.