If you manage a business, you know that purchasing goods and services from vendors and suppliers is often a key part of running a business successfully.
Simply put, invoice processing is the entire series of phases and steps that must be completed to verify, validate, pay, and record invoices.
As the payment process isnβt always as simple as putting in your credit card information, there are generally whole teams that will handle this process from start to finish.
In larger companies, a dedicated accounting department often manages invoice processing. Smaller businesses donβt always have the means to pay for an entire team, so, accounting managers, office leads, or occasionally even the business owner will deal with invoices themselves.
No matter the size of your organization, invoice processing must be done at some point or another. But, what are the main aspects that youβll need to follow before really jumping into the specific steps?
π₯ Receiving the invoice
This is essential to the entire process. Youβll first need to obtain your supplierβs invoice and ensure that youβve actually received the goods or services requested.
If there are any potential issues at this stage, itβs a good idea to contact your supplier early in the process, to ensure that you receive the expected products/services as soon as possible.
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Business approval
Approval by your accounting team, or whoever handles the invoices, is a time-consuming but necessary part of invoice payment. Before invoices can continue to be processed, they should be validated by at least one or two dedicated individuals.
πΈ Invoice Payment
Usually, payment is the easiest part of the process. Of course, your business must follow the previous payment terms that were negotiated with the vendor. Make sure that your company is capable of paying in the allotted time.
By following a pre-determined processing workflow, such as the one youβll see below, youβll speed up invoice payment and ensure that your business has what it needs and that your supplier stays happy.