Challenge

The Hidden Costs of Supplier Inquiries

When Accounts Payable (AP) departments deal with a high volume of vendor queries, manually handling them can lead to operational inefficiencies or, worse, payment delays.

39%

of invoices regularly contain incorrect or incomplete information.1

These errors are often minor, such as wrong addresses or missing information; by granting suppliers the visibility to correct such mistakes, AP teams can save time and resources.

1Institute of Finance and Management: 2023 AP Benchmarking Report

2 hours

average amount of time AP spends handling inquiries in an 8-hour day.2

The average AP department spends almost a quarter of their time handling supplier inquiries to resolve invoice issues, track payment statuses and find missing information.

3Ardent Partners 2022 Metrics that Matter Report

32%

of AP departments are currently providing self-service supplier engagement tools.3

Managing a help desk full-time is not an efficient use of time. Self-service tools save time and reduce delays, empowering suppliers to address their issues instead of relying on a phone call or email.

3Ardent Partners 2023 Metrics that Matter Report

Solution

Help Yourself

Our self-service portal gives vendors access to invoice status and detailed transactional data throughout the invoice lifecycle from point of submission to payment and reconciliation. Providing suppliers the information they need – when they need it – without intervention from your team.

 

 

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Offer 24/7 Access to Payment Data

Don't limit suppliers to your business office hours or call center schedule. Provide around-the-clock visibility to their invoices and payment status 365 days a year and in their preferred language. And if issues arise, they'll have all the information and online collaboration tools they need to resolve them.

Boost Operational Efficiency

Adopting automated supplier inquiry tools can profoundly impact your business's productivity— helping reduce costs or freeing up staff for more important tasks. Your team can also use the portal to access relevant information or generate the reports they need to support strategic decisions.

Unlock a Rapid Return on Investment

We have helped companies eliminate 80 percent of their AP help desk calls by making invoice and payment status information available online through apexportal. The ROI is also impressive: Our clients typically experience a total return on their self-service investment within the first six months.

Fraud Prevention

Your suppliers are another line of defense against fraud.

Suppliers who have visibility into their invoice activity can act as an additional line of defense against fraud by reporting any suspicious activities they observe. If suppliers notice irregularities, such as duplicate invoices, unusual payment requests, or changes in payment instructions, they can promptly notify you through our secure portal.

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Features

"When will I get paid?" - Your Vendors

Eliminate 80% of help desk tickets with a self-service portal that serves as a single point for suppliers to view frequently asked questions, raise inquiries and collaborate on exceptions.

Online

24/7 Online Access

Rather than spending time on the phone when they have questions about their invoice and payment status, suppliers can have secure, online access to that information 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Global Market

Global Support Network

Support your suppliers and internal users in each global market where you do business. Our portal supports over 98% of languages covering world trade and in multiple currencies.

Error

Supplier-led Collaboration

Suppliers can see when errors or discrepancies are preventing their invoices from being approved and what they can do to resolve them. They can raise questions online and quickly provide additional information to help alleviate the problem.

Value Reporting

Value-Add Reporting

Suppliers benefit from robust, built-in analytics that can generate a variety of useful reports, including an analysis of past and future cash flow. They can also export their information as a Microsoft Excel file.

Integration 02

Seamless P2P Integrations

Extract and consolidate invoice information across your global operations with apexportal's Secure Open Adapter. We integrate with ERPs, e-invoicing solutions and other P2P systems. It's a single repository for all invoices, whether paper or electronic, providing suppliers with one compact view.

Help Desk

Elevate your Customer Service

We integrate with help desk ticketing systems like ServiceNow, Zendesk, Freshdesk, and more. By supporting existing internal workflows, we create a seamless experience for your internal operations and suppliers.

Related Products

Leverage a Ecosystem of Supplier Management Solutions

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Supplier Management

Early Payment Programs

Extend early payment offers to 100% of your suppliers– segmented for maximum adoption using our predictive analytics technology.

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Supply Chain Financing

Need the capital to support your suppliers while taking advantage of early payment programs? We can help.

Resources

View Our Content Library

Hundreds of product overviews, reports, customer-led webinars and on-demand product demos.

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News

COVID-19 Highlights Need for Accounts Payable Automation

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Product Briefs

E-Invoicing and AP Automation

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Product Briefs

Dynamic Discounting & Supply Chain Financing Brochure

Ready to Roar?

Fill out our contact form and we will be in touch shortly to discuss how the apex platform can increase your accounts payable department's efficiency with self-service tools.

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