Supplier Payment Automation: Streamlining Your AP Process

Pay PO and non-PO invoices quickly to capture more discounts and improve supplier relationships

Pay PO and non-PO invoices quickly to capture more discounts and improve supplier relationships

Managing supplier payments shouldn’t consume your finance team’s valuable time. With supplier payment automation, you can transform the entire accounts payable process from start to finish, allowing your team to focus on strategic initiatives rather than manual processing tasks.

IntelliChief’s intelligent automation platform helps organizations process both purchase order (PO) and non-PO invoices efficiently, leveraging information already stored in your ERP system to validate invoice details. This ensures you only pay for what you ordered at the agreed-upon prices. More importantly, it enables your organization to capture applicable early payment discounts, potentially saving thousands on routine purchases each month.

Once invoices are verified, vouchers are automatically created and scheduled for payment. This eliminates delayed payments and costly late fees, keeping your accounts payable cycle running smoothly and strengthening vendor relationships.

IntelliChief for automating the procure-to-pay process.

The Power of Straight-Through Processing in Automated Supplier Payments

At the heart of effective supplier payment automation is straight-through processing (STP), which enables touchless handling of invoices from receipt to payment without manual intervention. When IntelliChief captures a new invoice, it automatically locates the corresponding purchase order and receipts, initiating a seamless verification process.

For PO-based transactions, IntelliChief matches the supplier invoice with your company’s supporting documentation at the line-item level. As long as everything aligns with your variance policy, the system creates the voucher automatically. This means your employees don’t have to manually enter invoice data into your ERP system to check for matches, significantly streamlining the supplier payment process.

IntelliChief’s workflow includes duplicate invoice checking to eliminate double payments, adding another layer of financial control. According to recent research, organizations that implement supplier payment automation report higher vendor satisfaction by enabling faster, more accurate payments and improving overall payment efficiency compared to manual processes.

Resolving Supplier Invoice Discrepancies Automatically

When discrepancies arise between purchase orders and supplier invoices, IntelliChief applies intelligent resolution capabilities. For example, if you order 100 units but your supplier invoices for 10 boxes of 10 units each, traditional systems would flag this as a mismatch. IntelliChief recognizes the equivalent quantities and processes the invoice without requiring staff intervention for simple unit and measure conversions.

Similarly, when suppliers use different part numbers than your internal system, IntelliChief can prompt users to save converted part numbers during the first occurrence. The system then remembers these conversions for future transactions, eliminating the need for repeated manual conversions and enhancing straight-through processing rates.

Maximizing Early Payment Discounts

A significant advantage of supplier payment automation is the ability to capture early payment discounts. IntelliChief automatically identifies payment terms on invoices, such as a 2% discount for payment within 10 days, and prioritizes these invoices to ensure they’re processed before discount deadlines.

This capability allows organizations to stack concurrent early payment discounts (like 2/10 net 30 terms), which can result in substantial savings across your supplier base. Research indicates that supplier payment automation significantly improves the capture of early payment discounts by accelerating invoice processing and payment cycles, enabling organizations to realize greater cost savings and optimize cash flow compared to manual payment methods.

Automated Payment Scheduling

As each invoice is verified through automated supplier payment, IntelliChief instructs your ERP or accounting software to initiate the payment process. It automatically creates vouchers and follows the payment schedule in your system, ensuring timely payments without manual oversight.

When payments are issued, the system captures and archives the corresponding transaction details. If you pay a supplier via check, the system automatically documents it, providing authorized users and auditors with a complete history of the transaction for improved visibility and compliance.

Enhanced Visibility Through Real-Time Analytics

Transparency in financial operations is crucial, and supplier payment automation delivers comprehensive visibility. IntelliChief Analytics provides detailed, real-time reports on your outbound payment activity, giving stakeholders throughout your organization access to critical financial data.

With IntelliChief Analytics, you can monitor:

  • Due dates for all pending invoices
  • Straight-through processing rates across your invoice volume
  • Spending patterns with specific suppliers over selected time periods
  • Unprocessed invoices requiring accrual in the following period
  • Payment cycle times and process bottlenecks

This self-service access means anyone from your Financial Controller and CFO to your Accounting Manager or VP of Operations can quickly retrieve the information most relevant to their responsibilities, enabling better decision-making across departments.

Seamless Integration with Enterprise ERP Systems

A key strength of IntelliChief’s supplier payment automation solution is its ability to integrate with major enterprise-class ERP systems, including:

  • SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA
  • Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS)
  • Oracle JD Edwards
  • Infor Global Solutions
  • And many other ERP platforms

This integration ensures that supplier payment automation works within your existing financial ecosystem, leveraging the data already in your systems without requiring extensive reconfiguration. The platform adapts to your established business rules and approval workflows, enhancing efficiency without disrupting operations.

Benefits of Supplier Payments Automation for Different Stakeholders

Supplier payment automation delivers targeted benefits to various enterprise personas involved in purchasing decisions:

For CFOs and Controllers:

  • Improved cash flow management and working capital optimization
  • Reduced processing costs
  • Enhanced financial controls and audit trails
  • Real-time visibility into payment obligations and liquidity

For VPs of Sales and Sales Operations:

  • Strengthened supplier relationships through consistent, timely payments
  • Better negotiating position due to a reliable payment history
  • Reduced supply chain disruptions from payment-related issues

For IT Leaders:

  • Reduced burden on IT resources through self-service capabilities
  • Seamless integration with existing ERP investments
  • Enhanced data security and compliance
  • Scalable solution that grows with business needs

Managing the Automated Supplier Payment Implementation

Implementing supplier payment automation requires careful planning and execution. IntelliChief’s best practice consulting approach ensures a smooth transition from manual processes to automated workflows:

  1. Process Assessment: Analyzing current payment processes to identify improvement opportunities
  2. Solution Design: Configuring the platform to match your specific business requirements
  3. Integration: Connecting IntelliChief with your ERP system for seamless data exchange
  4. Robotic Data Capture Setup: Implementing intelligent capture for various document formats
  5. Testing: Validating automation rules and workflows before full deployment
  6. Training: Ensuring your team can effectively use the new capabilities
  7. Continuous Optimization: Continuously refining processes to maximize straight-through processing rates

This structured approach ensures that supplier payment automation delivers immediate value while establishing a foundation for continuous improvement.

Transform Your Supplier Payment Process with IntelliChief

As your business grows, managing supplier payments efficiently becomes increasingly critical. Manual processes can easily overwhelm your team when dealing with thousands of transactions. IntelliChief’s supplier payment automation provides the solution, enabling streamlined operations, cost savings, and improved supplier relationships.

By implementing supplier payment automation, you’ll free your finance team from repetitive tasks, ensure consistent payment processes, capture valuable early payment discounts, and gain unprecedented visibility into your accounts payable operations. The result is a more strategic finance function that contributes directly to your organization’s bottom line.

IntelliChief is ready to help you transform your supplier payment process whenever you’re ready to take the next step. Our team of experts will guide you through every phase of implementation, ensuring your supplier payment automation delivers maximum value with minimal disruption.