How Self-Service Portals Streamline Supplier Payments

ARTICLE - Accounts payable (AP) professionals have a lot resting on their shoulders these days.

They are adapting to new ways of working, managing new operational challenges and risks, and fulfilling new reporting demands from senior managers trying to navigate the recession.

And most AP professionals are trying to do all this while balancing their work and home life.

The last thing AP professionals need is to be bogged down with more repetitive, manual tasks. But that’s exactly what happens businesses set up a supplier for electronic payments. AP professionals are burdened with collecting and entering the information required to pay suppliers electronically at most companies. When updates to this information are necessary, AP professionals handle those, too.

The process is time-consuming, error-prone, and takes AP professionals away from the things they should be focused on – data analysis, stakeholder collaboration, and supplier management.

Suppliers also don’t think much of how most buyers go about setting them up for electronic payments. Back-and-forth requests for information and inevitable keying errors frustrate suppliers.

Many suppliers also are uneasy with providing their banking details to buyers.

What is an online self-service portal

These are the primary reasons that more AP departments are deploying online self-service portals as part of their electronic payment initiatives. Built inside NetSuite, self-service portals ease the burden on AP professionals by automating the collection and validation of supplier payment information.

It all starts with an electronic link to the portal automatically sent to suppliers who need to provide data.

Suppliers can self-manage their password. After logging into the portal, suppliers can manage their contact information, banking details, and login information and upload necessary documents such as a W-9 form.

The portal is accessible by suppliers 24/7/365. Information submitted by suppliers is instantly updated into the buyer’s NetSuite ERP. Internal AP staff are notified of updates to the supplier’s information in the NetSuite ERP, and the supplier receives a confirmation.

All documents and data submitted through the portal are securely stored in the NetSuite ERP. Any financial records are electronically attached to the supplier’s record in NetSuite.

AP staff also are notified when suppliers modify their information over time.

The benefits of an online self-service portal

A self-service supplier portal can have a big impact on the efficiency of an AP department.

Many businesses have achieved a 200 percent increase in efficiency by deploying a supplier portal.

Empowering suppliers to manage their own information frees AP staff from the time-consuming task of tracking down the appropriate contact, gathering the information, and keying the data into multiple systems. AP departments also don’t have to worry about keeping up with inevitable updates to supplier information. AP managers can instantly see where things stand in the process using real-time graphical dashboards.

And an online self-service portal puts the onus on suppliers to provide accurate information. When keying errors or other mistakes occur, it’s up to the supplier to resolve it. Having better-quality supplier information reduces the possibility of payment exceptions. And a self-service portal means suppliers won’t have to provide their sensitive information to buyers.

Reduce your AP staff’s workload

A self-service supplier portal reduces the amount of time it takes AP departments to pay suppliers.

And improving staff productivity is vital in turbulent times.

To learn more about self-service portals, contact an iCloudAuthority representative today to schedule a free consultation..