More often than not, accounts payable falls near the bottom of the list when it comes to business priorities. This department is typically overlooked – until something goes wrong.

In today’s enterprise landscape, however, decision-makers at large and even small organizations should take a closer look at their AP processes. Certain AP activities and legacy strategies could hold the business back, and now is the perfect opportunity to optimize.

AP: What’s the problem?

Because accounts payable activities impact internal operations as well as external partner and vendor relationships, any hang-ups or recurring challenges here could present a bigger problem than many company leaders realize.

As Deloitte pointed out, there are several common risks that come up in accounts payable:

• Extending payment cycles past the preferred period: Some organizations adopt this approach to help maximize free cash flow, but it can considerably hamper trust and relationships with vendors while causing the business to miss out on early payment discounts.
• Inability to accurately confirm deliveries against contractual obligations: This can lead to problems in resource management and heavily impact supplier relationships.
• Lack of process to prevent payment issues: Late, missed or duplicate payments can quickly become an accountant’s biggest headache. The ability to support scheduled, accurate payments is critical.
• Use of manual processes: Time-consuming, paper-based processes are still in place within many businesses, and can contribute to long approval times, inaccurate data entry and payment issues.

Automating accounts payable provides necessary transparency.

Optimizing AP: Digitize paperwork and eliminate manual

One of the first and best steps a company can take to improve its accounts payable department is adopting an automated solution that reduces or completely does away with paper-based manual processes and instead leverages a digital system.

This doesn’t just provide additional, valuable time for employees who no longer have to carry out manual data entry and other related processes – automating accounts payable also significantly reduces the chances for inaccuracies and helps shorten the approval process. Suppliers, vendors and partners receive the correct payment right on schedule, every time.

Supporting visibility

AP automation should also be coupled with robust visibility for both the internal AP team and those receiving payment. Utilizing an accessible and secure online portal is a major advantage.

“Making this data available to a number of individuals in an organization can help ensure that the accounts payable department has proper oversight, and it can help speed up the time it takes to approve invoices,” The Balance contributor Dennis Najjar wrote. “Letting suppliers access the portal enables these businesses to submit invoices and track payments as well as be made aware of any issues with supplies received or invoicing issues.”

Preventing errors and fraud

Automating AP and boosting visibility for management can also benefit efforts to eliminate fraud and mistakes that can impact payment and resources.

“Automation tools and engagement management can monitor your company’s accounts payable closely for fraud,” Due contributor William Lipovsky wrote. “They can also catch accounting errors as well.”

Optimizing AP with automation should be a top priority for today’s businesses, offering substantial value for internal staff and external partnerships.

Online payments have changed drastically in recent years. Retailers must now balance consumer preferences for support for a range of different payment options with robust security to safeguard sensitive data.

At the same time, however, a long-winded or confusing payment system can turn customers off, and even push them toward the competition.

Clearly, retailers have their work cut out for them as they seek out a payment portal that’s seamless, protected and PCI compliant.

Expanding digital and mobile payments: Supporting consumer preferences

A 2017 report from Capital Performance Group and American Bankers Association showed significant growth in electronic and mobile payments in recent years. In addition to preferring electronic payment portals, consumers now utilize credit cards more than debit cards, and require quick payment processing on these transactions in particular:

• Card payments saw the fastest growth recently, with credit cards supporting 60 percent of all non-cash transactions and non-prepaid debit cards accounting for 40 percent.
• ACH transfers saw growth as well, comprising 80 percent of dollar transactions.
• Estimates place the overall transaction value from mobile payments at $62.5 billion in 2017, and forecast a value of more than $314 billion by 2020.

While mobile payments are gaining steam, the report found that there is still some hesitation here, especially when it comes to data protection concerns.

Digital and mobile payments are on the rise.

In order to achieve success in this landscape, retailers must securely support card payments as well as mobile payments, and should show the security safeguards in place to quell any hesitation or worry.

Selecting a payment solution that enables consumers to utilize their preferred payment method within a simple and PCI-compliant portal will allow retailers to align payment processing to shoppers’ demands, as well as their own industry needs.

What does streamlined mean? Implementing the right technology

In addition to supporting customer needs for digital and mobile payments, a streamlined payment solution also comes with these critical features:

• A simple, branded portal: As KISSmetrics contributor Kostas Papageorgiou pointed out, any redirection from the website to the payment portal represents a major disadvantage for retailers – after working to build up website traffic, it doesn’t make much sense to redirect users at the final step. Instead, a best-in-class payment portal will directly integrate with retailers’ existing website, and support a branded window through which consumers can complete their transactions.
• Support for unique payment processing needs: In addition to traditional, individual web transactions, a streamlined payment solution will support other requirements as well, including a subscription model, recurring billing, installment plans and automatic payments.
• Customer engagement: It’s important that the payment processing solution can support engagement throughout the process, particularly when a business has options for automatic and recurring payments. Selecting a solution that displays invoices within the secure payment portal and also provides customer notifications for billing and payment processing is a clear advantage for today’s retailers, keeping customers in the loop as payments are sent and processed.

Retailers seeking a payment portal that hits all of these marks need look no further than ePay Advantage from SK Global Software. This streamlined portal is a user-friendly processing solution that is completely PCI compliant and secure. Best of all, it aligns with the needs of retailers as well as their customers.

Delve deeper into ePay Advantage features here, and connect with us to schedule a demo today.

• We are fully extended ahead of time
• Release in January supporting Dynamics 365 7.3 (Fall Release)
• Product enhancements with latest release

Fully extended on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Version 7.3

With our most recent product update, released in January 2018 the Banking and Treasury Automation Suite is now fully compatible with the Microsoft Dynamics 365 for finance and Operations 7.3 update, also known as the “Fall Release”.

In addition to that, our solution is also now fully extended – ahead of schedule!

With the 7.3 update, Microsoft will allow overlayered code which will produce warnings, but is still allowed. Also known as a soft seal.

But with the next 7.4 update, also known as the “Spring Release”, the general Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP solution will be hard-sealed meaning that ISV solution can no longer leverage overlayering.

We are very pleased that we are ahead of the curve. With this, SK Global Software continues to be at the very front of staying completely current with Microsoft Dynamics 365 releases.

Enhancements to the Banking and Treasury Automation Suite

As with all public releases from SK Global Software, we keep improving the solution. The January public release, TAS 9.3.1 is available to Certified Resellers via our Partner Portal and includes enhancements to several of our Banking and Treasury Automation Suite modules, with examples such as:

• Bank Statement Automation (BankRec)

→ Enhancements to filtering of unmatched transactions, for processing bank statements

• Vendor Payment Automation (AP EFT)

→ Enhancements to the Reversal of posted payments functionality

• Direct Debit Automation (AR EFT)

→ Enhancement to the Reversal of posted payments functionality

• Advanced Cash Application (AR eSettlement/Lockbox)

→ Improvement of the navigation from the Payments Workbench

• Credit Card Advantage (CCA)

→ Updated support to PayFabric v. 3 for Gateway/Credit Card processor communication

For a full list of enhancements, we kindly refer to our Product Manual and Installation Documentation, also available via our Partner Portal.

Digital transformation’s impact can be felt across virtually every department, from IT and human resources to asset management and finance. One area which is occasionally overlooked in this discussion, but which is prime for improvement via automation, is the accounts payable department. To see these gains, though, organizations must first understand how AP automation can deliver powerful time savings.

Expensive, inefficient and resource-intensive

As Spend Matters pointed out, the accounts payable department represents one of the top consumers of time and resources in many organizations, and much of this has to do with manual processes for invoices.

According to a 2016 study, two-thirds of companies are still using manual strategies to receive, process and make payment on their invoices. This includes receiving paper or faxed invoices, processing them by hand according to the company’s own rules for matching, validation and approval, and completing payment via check, wire transfer, or another payment network.

Research from the Aberdeen Group discovered that these efforts aren’t just time-consuming, but costly as well – in 2015, it took nearly 10 days for the average organization to process a single invoice manually, coupled with a cost of more than $15. And that’s just for one invoice – most businesses today see anywhere from 500 to 5,000 invoices in need of processing every month.

This type of AP landscape doesn’t just create risks for companies to fall behind in comparison to their competitors, but can cause internal struggles, as well.

“The outdated paper process and lack of well-designed AP technology is costing companies dearly,” Spend Matters noted. “In order for the accounts payable function to keep up with the other silos of business that have been automated or digitized by technology, CIOs and decision makers need to work to implement paperless processes and automated software into the day-to-day application of AP.”

Time-saving benefits of AP automation

Bringing automation into accounts payable processes offeres considerable advantages for enterprises, particularly in terms of time-savings. An automated solution eliminates the previous manual work that was required from AP employees, ensuring that invoices are correctly matched with work orders, validated and approved in record time.

This translates to quicker payments to vendors and customers, thereby supporting the best partnerships and experiences possible.

In addition, best-in-class automated solutions also take into account the most current regulations. Invoices are processed and paid according to overarching industry rules, ensuring security as well as compliance.

But the advantages don’t end here. One study found that automating accounts payable can also reduce the cost of invoice processes by as much as 50 percent.

“For an enterprise, the potential saving is substantial, and that’s without mentioning the number of resources that are freed up in the finance department,” SignUp Software’s Henrik Garvner for The Record.

To find out more about the time and resource savings your organization could realize with accounts payable automation, contact us at SK Global Software today.

Because any friction within the supply chain can heavily impact customers, it’s imperative that activity and transactions taking place between an organization and its vendors, including invoice payment, runs smoothly. To that end, automation can prove an invaluable boost to vendor payment workflows, while a lack of automation can lead to significant delays and complications.

Studies prove inefficiency results in late payments

One issue that can negatively affect business-vendor partnerships is delayed payment on a contracted invoice. According to recent statistics included in The Friction Index from Tungsten Network and the Institute of Finance and Management, nearly half – 47 percent – of organizations have failed to meet agreed-upon payment terms in 10 percent of all supplier invoices.

Worse still, 16 percent of businesses admitted that their payments are consistently late, and only 5 percent of companies noted that their invoices are always paid on time. Reporting on the study, Business Cloud contributor Muhammad Aldalou noted that one in 12 businesses have no processes in place to monitor their payment practices.

Overall, researchers found that the chief reason behind these late payments are slow, manual processes being leveraged as opposed to more efficient automation.

“Our research shows that when it comes to late payments, clunky internal processes and slow paper-based systems are the predominant causes, leading to friction in the supply chain,” noted Tungsten Network CEO Richard Hurwitz. “Identifying instances of friction within the procure-to-pay work stream is the first step towards removing them and in many cases, technology can do away with these cumbersome and menial tasks taking up precious time and instead boost productivity and efficiency.”

Additional inefficiencies impact invoice payment schedule

According to the study, slow internal processes were identified as the top supplier payment challenge by 64 percent of companies, and 39 percent of businesses pointed to a lack of automation.

Other challenges included:

• Errors on the part of administrators (27 percent).
• Struggles involved with managing the volume of invoices (20 percent).
• Cash flow management issues (16 percent).

Supporting supplier relationships with on-time payments

Businesses that consistently make late payments to vendors put these important relationships in jeopardy, and risk falling behind competitors able to provide better experiences to customers. In order to better support vendor partnerships, businesses should automate their accounts payable invoice payment processes, ensuring that payments are made according to contracted deadlines.

Automation can eliminate the kinds of time-consuming, manual processes that heavily contribute to slow payment processes. In addition, this level of reduced human interaction also decreases the chances for costly errors.

“Late payment impacts working capital and economic production,” Hurwitz noted. “Arranging invoice payments can be a complex task, particularly if it’s cross-border and involves ensuring compliance with local tax laws. Businesses should feel supported, not pressured, in ensuring that their suppliers can be paid on time.”

A best-in-class automated solution can resolve common payment struggles, while streamlining partnerships between businesses and their suppliers. To find out more about the benefits of automated accounts payable processes, contact the experts at SK Global Software today.

Manual accounts payable processes present more than a few hurdles for enterprise accounting managers. Not only are they time-consuming, but any errors or misplaced documents can carry a hefty price tag.

Recent research from Canon found that, on average, more than 3 percent of all invoices contain mistakes. What’s more, finding a lost invoice can cost a company $125, and replacing an invoice costs around $225 on average.

Thankfully, robust automation has provided an ideal solution for common accounts payable issues like these. Automated accounts payable processes help companies push through accurate invoices more quickly, resulting in faster payment to vendors and customers.

But these aren’t the only advantages automation can provide. Security, particularly fraud, is an increasingly critical priority for accounting managers, and represents another arena in which automation can help.

Today’s top invoicing scam

The accounting department is a top target for cyber attackers, as this section is in charge of sensitive payments and other valuable information. Threats aimed at enterprise accounting processes are nothing new, but recent scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

J.P. Morgan recently reported on a popular wire fraud scam which preys upon businesses’ invoices processes. Attackers utilize an email that mirrors a recognized partner’s name and brand in order to make the message appear real, and ask for immediate payment on an invoice, requesting funds to be wired to a specific account. Due to the legitimacy of the initial message, the recipient submits the invoice and completes the payment. However, the victim overlooked a small difference in the name or branding that can point to a well-crafted fake.

“By finding individuals who haven’t enabled privacy features on their social media accounts and then using that publicly-available data to craft believable, fraudulent emails, criminals trick businesses into quickly sending funds by creating fake, urgent situations,” J.P. Morgan explained. “Frequently, victims don’t realize they’ve been duped until they confirm the transfer of funds with a vendor or manager – when the money is already long-gone.”

Manual accounts payable processes create security risks.

Where automation comes in: Validated security

More often than not, successful attacks rely on the fact that businesses utilize manual processes for their accounts payable activity. In this way, the email recipient – a specifically-chosen target in the accounting department – can be tricked into invoice payment.

An automated solution, however, can stop this type of fraud in its tracks. Automated accounts payable technology comes with numerous advantages, including the ability to automatically match payment requests with the company’s internal invoicing information. In other words, before payment can go through, the technology ensures that everything matches according to dates, accounts, payment references, deposit or check numbers, and other data. This is information that even the most advanced phishing message wouldn’t include, adding a extra layer of security before invoices are paid.

In addition, automation means payment processes are centralized, enabling internal IT teams to have full control over security parameters and the transmission of sensitive data.

These added security measures bring protection and peace of mind for your accounts payable stakeholders, helping them guard against today’s most pervasive threats. To find out more, contact the experts at SK Global Software today.

Increasingly innovative processes and new, consumer-facing capabilities have disrupted the financial services sector in recent years, and these trends aren’t poised to stop anytime soon.

As a banking and treasury organization, you must remain on the cutting edge. Here are a few of the changes coming next year, and the best ways you can make preparations now:

Advanced IT becomes the “new normal”

With so many changes seen in fintech recently, there is simply no room for legacy systems that can’t keep up with enterprise and consumer needs. By next year, financial service providers must ensure that their IT operating model is up to date, as PwC notes that this type of advanced structure will become the “new normal.”

“By 2020, your operating model is probably going to look quite stale, even if it is serving you well today,” PwC stated. “That is because what your financial institution offers to your customers is almost certain to change, in ways both large and small. This will require important changes across, and around, the entire IT stack.”

While it’s likely cost prohibitive to complete every needed update at once, now is the time to take a look at your current infrastructure, paying special attention to legacy systems. If these platforms are causing service delays or don’t align with current customer needs and industry requirements, it’s time to start thinking about creating room in your IT budget for necessary upgrades.

Pairing humans with automation

Automation will also become a bigger part of banking and treasury processes next year, with special focus on the automation of vendor and customer payments, as well as cash management to support streamlined and error-free services.

Advanced automation must also be expertly paired with customer support that includes the human touch. PwC found that 60 percent of great client experiences center around the work done by internal staff. Financial service providers should balance their automated technologies with the skills and capabilities of their employees to provide the the best support for customers.

Automation should be paired with human interactions for the best possible customer service.

Faster payment reconciliation

One of the biggest changes coming to the banking and treasury sector next year is the increasing transition toward real-time payments. The Clearing House’s Senior Vice President Steve Ledford noted that by the middle of next year, the goal is to have a substantial number of financial service providers supporting RTP technology.

Eventually, all service providers should have the ability to process RTPs, so the earlier your organization prepares, the better. RTPs can help close gaps that exist in current payment systems, while enabling anytime payments for consumers. As RTPs will become the global standard, it’s imperative to examine your existing infrastructure and update where necessary now.

To find out more about the technologies and processes your banking or treasury organization needs to support emerging needs, contact the experts at SK Global Software today.

“Finding a global player was very important to us, as we are a global player as well,” 

– Camilla Tornø, MCI.

Maersk Container Industry (“MCI”) develops, manufactures and provides an array of different container types and sizes for Maersk and is active in business on a global scale, including within the U.S., China, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa and beyond.

When it came time for the container producer to select a new enterprise resource management system, it
had several critical requirements that needed to be addressed.

SK Global Software is one of the first and only banking service providers to offer cloud-based Banking Automation services for Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Challenge

“SK Global made everything easy,” 

“We look forward
to a direct relationship. 

– Camilla Tornø, MCI.

Before partnering with SK Global Software, MCI used a legacy ERP system that hadn’t been updated for seven years. The company didn’t have the option to upgrade the older software and instead needed to find a beneficial replacement.

 MCI executives had to make the decision between using the basic features provided by the out-of-the-box Microsoft Dynamics software or work with SK Global Software to ensure that the ERP could integrate and function with the global banks MCI had partnerships with.

The company’s legacy software had never been fully implemented within the organization, and employees had to leverage manual workarounds using paper spreadsheets alongside the digital system.

Solution

Because the solution is cloud-based, MCI now enjoys consistently fast performance at all of its locations.

In order to address these needs, MCI turned to SK Global Software and its Banking Automation Suite for Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Initially, MCI rolled out SK Global’s Microsoft Dynamics 365 Banking Automation Suite at two of its
production locations in China, with subsequent deployments taking place in Chile and at the company headquarters in Denmark.

Currently, Vendor Payment automation capabilities are live at two of MCI’s China sites, as well as in Denmark.

Results

“ They no longer have to worry about what bank they work with locally – all they have to do is point out the bank, and SK Global Software will take care of establishing the integration,”

-Jonas Andersen, SKG 

As a worldwide organization, finding a solution provider that could offer the required ERP features and help facilitate streamlined integrations with local and global banks was a challenge.

Thankfully, MCI found everything it needed in its partnership with SK Global Software.

Download and Read the full Case Study

Feel free to download the full PDF version of the Case Study via the link below.

PDF: CASE STUDY -Maersk Container Industry – SK Global Software – 2017

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