Centralizing Your Automated Payments Program discusses the benefits of automating payments processes through a centralized system. It outlines challenges companies face with manual payments like inefficiencies and high costs. The document recommends best practices for centralizing an automated payments program, such as securing executive support, involving stakeholders, and automating payables before receivables. Case studies show how two companies improved controls and reduced costs by using American Express' buyer initiated payment programs.
Automation of business-to-business (B2B) payments continues to remain elusive. While checks are stubbornly pervasive, there is promising news in the vision for processing data and dollars among business partners. This session will detail NACHA and other industry organizations’ initiatives leading the way in facilitating the move from paper instruments to electronic payments by mid-sized and smaller businesses. Learn about opportunities for electronic disruption and where financial institutions might begin to gain traction in B2B ACH payments.
It has been 34 years since the first online B2B transaction was completed – and much has changed since then. In a time when payment companies are under tremendous pressure to produce more with fewer resources, many are jumping the traditional payments ship and switching over to electronic payments. This slideshare will take you on a journey from paper checks to automation in the B2B space, and unveil the power of AvidXchange's solutions on a company’s bottom line.
With the unpredictable economic environment and the importance of cash and liquidity on the corporate agenda, finance executives are evaluating the effectiveness of current operations across payables and receivables. Many companies are turning to payment factories to deliver value across the entire organization.
Automation of business-to-business (B2B) payments continues to remain elusive. While checks are stubbornly pervasive, there is promising news in the vision for processing data and dollars among business partners. This session will detail NACHA and other industry organizations’ initiatives leading the way in facilitating the move from paper instruments to electronic payments by mid-sized and smaller businesses. Learn about opportunities for electronic disruption and where financial institutions might begin to gain traction in B2B ACH payments.
It has been 34 years since the first online B2B transaction was completed – and much has changed since then. In a time when payment companies are under tremendous pressure to produce more with fewer resources, many are jumping the traditional payments ship and switching over to electronic payments. This slideshare will take you on a journey from paper checks to automation in the B2B space, and unveil the power of AvidXchange's solutions on a company’s bottom line.
With the unpredictable economic environment and the importance of cash and liquidity on the corporate agenda, finance executives are evaluating the effectiveness of current operations across payables and receivables. Many companies are turning to payment factories to deliver value across the entire organization.
Leveraging Analytics to Combat Digital Fraud in Financial OrganizationsRicardo Ponce
Digitization creates major opportunities for financial services – automating operations, expanding channels, delivering engaging customer experiences. There are corresponding
challenges – unprecedented data and transaction volumes, channel control in electronic marketplaces, and preventing fraud when the fraudsters are technologically adept. To discuss the opportunities, challenges, and solutions around financial fraud in the digital age, IIA spoke with David Stewart, Director, Security Intelligence Practice-Banking at SAS Institute Inc.
The UK Payments Barometer, is based on a survey of over 400 financial decision makers, including business owners, CFOs, CEOs, CTOs and COOs, on areas including cash management, fraud and payments. A broad range of UK businesses were included, from small businesses to enterprises organisations. It aims to track the health of UK businesses from a financial decision making and risk management perspective. The 2016 report cites payment fraud and errors as the biggest challenge currently faced by financial decision makers.
5 AI Solutions Every Chief Risk Officer NeedsAlisa Karybina
For the risk manager, AI means greater efficiency, lower costs, and less risk. There are many potential applications of AI when it comes to managing risk in banking, but this report will focus on five key solutions with huge potential ROI that every chief risk officer (CRO) can begin building immediately. Representing foundational capabilities for risk management, these five solutions have the potential to substantially impact a bank’s financial results, and an automated machine learning platform represents the most efficient and effective method of delivering on the promise of these AI use cases.
66% of IT decision makers, including C-suite executives, believe that Chip and Signature does not offer credit card holders sufficient security and that Chip and PIN should be required, according to a new survey on EMV readiness from Randstad Technologies, a leading technology talent and solutions provider. By October 15, 2015, the majority of U.S. businesses must transition to EMV-capable technologies or become liable for any costs incurred from fraud using old magnetic strip technologies.
There are three major companies that collect business information and publish it. Dun & Bradstreet is the biggest with over 210 million records on file. Experian is the second biggest with over 27 million records on file. Equifax is the smallest business CRA.
Bill paying habits among accounting and accounts payable professionals are far more advanced at home, where they use a number of electronic payment methods, than at work, where they overwhelmingly rely on paper checks.
[Whitepaper] From Profit Recovery To Retention Anybill
Many companies today rely on “post-transaction recovery” to audit, reconcile and recover mistaken vendor payments. However, this blunt-force, after-the-fact approach to invoice reconciliation is extraordinarily costly and wasteful.
Due to process inadequacies in their accounts payable (AP) departments, they are cutting checks that are not owed, paying phantom bills and contributing to various forms of “profit leakage.”
Best-in-class companies, however, have discovered that these operational mistakes are preventable. Leveraging Intelligent Invoice Reconciliation (IIR) solutions, they are engaging in the “pre-transaction retention” of mishandled payables—taking action before dollars erroneously fly out the door. By analyzing their transaction data in real-time and reconciling invoices with payables, they are pre-empting AP leakage, enhancing operational processes and protecting their profits.
This position paper explains how these advanced companies are rethinking their approaches to invoice reconciliation and establishing a stronger foundation for accounts payable.
Working Capital Management: The Missing Link in Payables and P2PSarah Fane
While automation is widely adopted across the Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process, many companies are not leveraging technology to the full extent, and therefore not capturing the full range of benefits.
There is one area in particular where organizations are missing important opportunities. When it comes to working capital management, many still follow traditional approaches that don’t leverage digital innovation for business advantage.
This report will examine where companies are falling short and how to make the most of your investment in your P2P process.
Do you know the likelihood that your business will be impacted by check fraud? Do you know the measures that can safeguard your organization from becoming a victim of check fraud? Positive pay is your No. 1 defense against check fraud. Learn why and how you should implement positive pay. Start today protecting every check you issue from payments fraud.
The third edition of the BoardMatters Quarterly explores how big data and analytics emerge as game-changers for business. This edition also explores how we can tackle corruption, boosting internal control mechanisms.
Automation and Analytics: Two Levers to Revitalize Retail Debt RecoveryCognizant
As retail banks strive to revive, they can deploy predictive analytics and other process automation tools to add efficiency and effectiveness to the debt recovery process, thereby increasing recovery rates, reducing costs and enhancing debt salability.
The fourth industrial revolution which is characterized by highly digitalized system, has
changed the way we do almost everything. That includes the financial system that has exerted pressure
to go on-line as in the case of electronic money. One of the variants of e-money is the use of Card
Loading System. In card loading system, the accountholder opens an account and given the card that
stores the value loaded into it.
Payments Pulse Survey: Small Business EditionPayments Canada
Of the over one million employer businesses in Canada, 99.7 per cent represent small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), leaving 0.3 per cent representing large businesses. As a key economic driver, Payments Canada decided to focus a survey specifically on the payment interests of Canadian SMEs, Payments Pulse Survey: Small Business Edition.
Building on our E&Y report How can payments modernization benefit Canadian businesses? released earlier this year, we dug deeper to find out how payments systems meet SMEs’ business needs, how inefficiencies in current payments processing impact SMEs and how SMEs anticipate benefiting from a new payments system.
The introduction of new systems, rules and standards as part of Payments Canada’s Modernization program will foster a faster, safer and more data-rich payments environment. The top anticipated enhancements will come from new real-time payments, giving small businesses more choice in how they make their payments, and the adoption of the ISO 20022 data standard, which has the potential to improve automation and efficiency by increasing the data that travels with a payment.
What we heard loud and clear is that Canadian SMEs are ready for more payment options. They want more choice for their customers at point-of-sale and more options for their back-office payments to suppliers and vendors, such as e-transfers, e-wallets and the digital currencies. And of course, they want their payments to be safe and secure.
Finally, the survey found that overwhelmingly the majority of SMEs are willing to integrate new technologies into their operations to meet future payment needs.
Leveraging Analytics to Combat Digital Fraud in Financial OrganizationsRicardo Ponce
Digitization creates major opportunities for financial services – automating operations, expanding channels, delivering engaging customer experiences. There are corresponding
challenges – unprecedented data and transaction volumes, channel control in electronic marketplaces, and preventing fraud when the fraudsters are technologically adept. To discuss the opportunities, challenges, and solutions around financial fraud in the digital age, IIA spoke with David Stewart, Director, Security Intelligence Practice-Banking at SAS Institute Inc.
The UK Payments Barometer, is based on a survey of over 400 financial decision makers, including business owners, CFOs, CEOs, CTOs and COOs, on areas including cash management, fraud and payments. A broad range of UK businesses were included, from small businesses to enterprises organisations. It aims to track the health of UK businesses from a financial decision making and risk management perspective. The 2016 report cites payment fraud and errors as the biggest challenge currently faced by financial decision makers.
5 AI Solutions Every Chief Risk Officer NeedsAlisa Karybina
For the risk manager, AI means greater efficiency, lower costs, and less risk. There are many potential applications of AI when it comes to managing risk in banking, but this report will focus on five key solutions with huge potential ROI that every chief risk officer (CRO) can begin building immediately. Representing foundational capabilities for risk management, these five solutions have the potential to substantially impact a bank’s financial results, and an automated machine learning platform represents the most efficient and effective method of delivering on the promise of these AI use cases.
66% of IT decision makers, including C-suite executives, believe that Chip and Signature does not offer credit card holders sufficient security and that Chip and PIN should be required, according to a new survey on EMV readiness from Randstad Technologies, a leading technology talent and solutions provider. By October 15, 2015, the majority of U.S. businesses must transition to EMV-capable technologies or become liable for any costs incurred from fraud using old magnetic strip technologies.
There are three major companies that collect business information and publish it. Dun & Bradstreet is the biggest with over 210 million records on file. Experian is the second biggest with over 27 million records on file. Equifax is the smallest business CRA.
Bill paying habits among accounting and accounts payable professionals are far more advanced at home, where they use a number of electronic payment methods, than at work, where they overwhelmingly rely on paper checks.
[Whitepaper] From Profit Recovery To Retention Anybill
Many companies today rely on “post-transaction recovery” to audit, reconcile and recover mistaken vendor payments. However, this blunt-force, after-the-fact approach to invoice reconciliation is extraordinarily costly and wasteful.
Due to process inadequacies in their accounts payable (AP) departments, they are cutting checks that are not owed, paying phantom bills and contributing to various forms of “profit leakage.”
Best-in-class companies, however, have discovered that these operational mistakes are preventable. Leveraging Intelligent Invoice Reconciliation (IIR) solutions, they are engaging in the “pre-transaction retention” of mishandled payables—taking action before dollars erroneously fly out the door. By analyzing their transaction data in real-time and reconciling invoices with payables, they are pre-empting AP leakage, enhancing operational processes and protecting their profits.
This position paper explains how these advanced companies are rethinking their approaches to invoice reconciliation and establishing a stronger foundation for accounts payable.
Working Capital Management: The Missing Link in Payables and P2PSarah Fane
While automation is widely adopted across the Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process, many companies are not leveraging technology to the full extent, and therefore not capturing the full range of benefits.
There is one area in particular where organizations are missing important opportunities. When it comes to working capital management, many still follow traditional approaches that don’t leverage digital innovation for business advantage.
This report will examine where companies are falling short and how to make the most of your investment in your P2P process.
Do you know the likelihood that your business will be impacted by check fraud? Do you know the measures that can safeguard your organization from becoming a victim of check fraud? Positive pay is your No. 1 defense against check fraud. Learn why and how you should implement positive pay. Start today protecting every check you issue from payments fraud.
The third edition of the BoardMatters Quarterly explores how big data and analytics emerge as game-changers for business. This edition also explores how we can tackle corruption, boosting internal control mechanisms.
Automation and Analytics: Two Levers to Revitalize Retail Debt RecoveryCognizant
As retail banks strive to revive, they can deploy predictive analytics and other process automation tools to add efficiency and effectiveness to the debt recovery process, thereby increasing recovery rates, reducing costs and enhancing debt salability.
The fourth industrial revolution which is characterized by highly digitalized system, has
changed the way we do almost everything. That includes the financial system that has exerted pressure
to go on-line as in the case of electronic money. One of the variants of e-money is the use of Card
Loading System. In card loading system, the accountholder opens an account and given the card that
stores the value loaded into it.
Payments Pulse Survey: Small Business EditionPayments Canada
Of the over one million employer businesses in Canada, 99.7 per cent represent small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), leaving 0.3 per cent representing large businesses. As a key economic driver, Payments Canada decided to focus a survey specifically on the payment interests of Canadian SMEs, Payments Pulse Survey: Small Business Edition.
Building on our E&Y report How can payments modernization benefit Canadian businesses? released earlier this year, we dug deeper to find out how payments systems meet SMEs’ business needs, how inefficiencies in current payments processing impact SMEs and how SMEs anticipate benefiting from a new payments system.
The introduction of new systems, rules and standards as part of Payments Canada’s Modernization program will foster a faster, safer and more data-rich payments environment. The top anticipated enhancements will come from new real-time payments, giving small businesses more choice in how they make their payments, and the adoption of the ISO 20022 data standard, which has the potential to improve automation and efficiency by increasing the data that travels with a payment.
What we heard loud and clear is that Canadian SMEs are ready for more payment options. They want more choice for their customers at point-of-sale and more options for their back-office payments to suppliers and vendors, such as e-transfers, e-wallets and the digital currencies. And of course, they want their payments to be safe and secure.
Finally, the survey found that overwhelmingly the majority of SMEs are willing to integrate new technologies into their operations to meet future payment needs.
یکی از انتخاب های شغلی پردارآمد برای مهندسین مکانیک و شیمی و دیگر مهندسین کار در زمینه های مختلف مربوط به Piping می باشد این گرایش شغلی در ایران و کشورهای دارای نفت و گاز مانند کانادا و استرالیا بسیار مورد نیاز و توجه می باشد که این امر باعث می شود که علاوه برامکان کسب دارآمد بالا فرصت شغلی زیادی را پیش روی مهندسین قراردهد.
Structureflex has a long and successful history of supplying engineered premium fabric Sails, Structures and services to the professional building and Shade supplier markets aroud the world.
Everything You Need to Know About Virtual Credit CardsRon Griswold
Once seen as a banking commodity, e-payables continues leaning toward tech-minded companies for stronger results.
One provider in particular continues to out-pace all others by focusing on integrating with any software and enrolling 3x more vendors than the rest of the market.
Automating Payables for the SME Market: Diving Head First into AP AutomationAnybill
This Technology Insight report is for small and mid-sized enterprises with an interest in payables automation. The report includes the latest adoption statistics, current thinking, best practices, strategies, and key performance indicators for evaluating and selecting the solution that meets your needs.
5 Compelling Reasons To Switch From Manual To.pdfInvoicera
Have you ever been overwhelmed by stacks of paperwork, especially when sorting through invoices? We have
a simpler way to handle all that.
Picture this: reducing your time on invoicing, eliminating manual/human errors, and getting your payments
quicker.
Doesn’t it sound like a game-changer?
We can help improve the efficiency and visibility of your entire payments process from a single platform.
70% of businesses consider that the use of scanning and capture technology improves the speed of response by three times or more!
In the case of , most businesses don’t handle high-value invoices differently than routine payables—mainly because they don’t recognize what invoices are high-value or don’t have a process to treat them with priority.
The conventional thinking in accounts payable processing is that an invoice is just an invoice, regardless of its possible impact on the bottom line. Many companies don’t focus on invoices that matter most, and handle all AP the same—creating a cascading effect that leads to inadequate operational control, inefficient business processes, and excessive transaction costs.
There is a better way. Accounts Payable Segmentation is an approach that involves separating and prioritizing invoices based on their type, characteristics and level of importance. AP Segmentation is also the process by which companies consistently identify “Critical AP”—the 20 percent of payables that are most strategic or problematic to the operation of the business.
This paper explores how organizations that focus available resources on the most troublesome and essential segments of accounts payable stand the most to gain from automation and overall process improvement.
Budgeting is a constant in any business environment. How do you ensure you're purchasing goods and services of sufficient quality to keep your manufacturing and internal operations growing while keeping costs in check? We're all accustomed to making purchase decisions in our daily lives, but the way businesses do it is a whole field.
White Paper: From Accounts Receivable to Smarter ReceivablesMoretonSmith
This paper sets-out MoretonSmith’s Smarter Receivables concept and describes how it can be pursued to implement the optimum balance of people, process and technology, in order to achieve transformational insights, efficiency and effectiveness in accounts receivable.
Developing a Preventative and Sustainable P-card ProgramCaseWare IDEA
Andrew Simpson from CaseWare Analytics talks about how educational institutions can implement a continuous monitoring program for their p-cards (purchase card) and the benefits.
SLIDESHARE: www.slideshare.net/CaseWare_Analytics
WEBSITE: www.casewareanalytics.com
BLOG: www.casewareanalytics.com/blog
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/CW_Analytic
Build vs. Buy: The business-critical checklistRecurly
There are innumerable things to consider before building your own subscription management and billing platform. We've compiled a comprehensive checklist for your company to understand all the features and capabilities you'll need in a recurring billing solution.
Divided into five distinct areas, this guide includes guidance for every team, including Product & Development, IT & Security, and Finance & Accounting.
The Essence of Automation in the Loan Origination Process.pptxKissht reviews
All these players have strong business relationships with trusted and reliable NBFC partners; hence, Kissht Fosun is a baseless term, as Kissht and Fosun are unrelated. All these players follow RBI-issued guidelines to ensure regulatory compliance.
In our recent survey of people in more than 100 mid-sized companies, we explored the frustrations of people responsible for processing financial data and also tried to understand the needs of those outside the finance department who rely on financial information. This survey was supported by interviews with consultants working for mid-sized companies, and the input of managers at mid-sized companies via a roundtable discussion.
What became clear is that all is not as it should be. For example, more than 60% of people within finance functions recognise that they need to improve their financial processes and nearly 30% of end users believe that the data they receive is inaccurate, making it difficult to use financial information effectively in their roles. Yet, in many midsized companies, these issues remain unaddressed, either because of a perceived lack of time (63% of finance respondents) and/or a sense that the business is unlikely to act even if better options are identified (29%). That’s set against the small minority (17%) of people within finance departments who believe that a more frequent review of finance processes and technology simply isn’t necessary in the first place.
Our research suggests that the vast majority are right: things could be better. Much better, in fact. The potential benefits of better financial systems range from lower headcount within finance and the avoidance of revenue leakage and improved cash flow, through to better management of all aspects of an organisation.
To find out more about the latest technology can help improve your financial accounting and promote growth within your organisation, please call us on 01582 714810.
AP & Working Capital – Increasing Revenues from Early PaymentsTradeshift
If you're not capturing supplier discounts because you can't pay your invoices fast enough, this report is just right for you.
PayStream Advisors recently surveyed about 300 AP and finance professionals, analyzed the results, and put together great ideas on how to make early payment programs work for you. This free report will show you how to:
- Utilize the right accounts payable practices to make perfectly timed payments
- Earn annual returns as high as 36% on available cash
- Select the right dynamic discounting solution
Kickstart your early payment program and download the report now.
As physicians struggle with the need for medical billing reports, a small PPT on what medical billing reports every practice must pull up, in order to fix revenue leaks.
3. Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 3 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
Table of Contents
Introduction 4
Payment Challenges at Mid-sized and Large Companies 5
Benefits of Using an Automated Payments Program 6
Best Practices for Centralizing an Automated Payments Program 8
Conclusion 10
American Express Corporate Payment Programs 11
Case Study: Transplace Uses BIP for Payment Reconciliation 13
A Texas logistics provider see better control over vendor payments and daily cash flow.
Case Study: Knox Community Hospital Uses BIP to Minimize Costs 14
A 115-bed not-for-profit institution in Ohio turns to buyer initiated payments to
automate the accounts payable process.
4. Introduction
Companies today pay vendors using a number of
processes and payment methods across multiple financial
institutions. Many companies have yet to consolidate
payments through a single platform or with a single
provider to increase control, efficiency and transparency
of their payables.
By default, paper remains the medium of choice for 50
percent of outgoing payments and 77 percent of incom-
ing invoices (see Fig. 1)1, according to a 2011 report on
e-payables by Aberdeen Group2, the Boston technology
researcher. Given the many advantages of automating,
that’s a mistake. “It’s about 30 percent cheaper to process
an electronic payment than a paper-based check, and
about 25 percent faster,” says Scott Pezza, an Aberdeen
Group analyst.
Sticking with paper when electronic options abound is
“foolish,” says Jonathan Casher, a senior consultant with
the Institute of Management & Administration3, the
business management researcher. Automation doesn’t
just save companies money, says Casher, president of
Casher Associates, Inc.4, a Newton, Massachusetts,
consulting firm. “It improves control,” he says. “It elimi-
nates finance and late charges, and it improves a com-
pany’s credit rating and score. And you can usually
negotiate better deals with suppliers when they know
you have a good reputation for paying on time.”
Savvy organizations can reap substantial rewards
from automating payments. An overwhelming majority
of 116 mid-sized and larger companies in the 2011
Aberdeen e-payables study cited automation as their
top strategy for improving accounts payable processes.
In fact, 41 percent of companies polled said they had
Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 4 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
Continued on next page
Incoming invoices that are paper-based
Outgoing payments made by traditional paper check
Fig.1– The AP Paper Chase
Paper remains prevalent in accounts payable departments of small, mid-sized and large businesses,
according to a 2011 Aberdeen Group survey.
77%
50%
PercentageDocument
Source: E-Payables 2011: Efficiency, Visibility and Collaboration in the Financial Supply Chain, Aberdeen Group, September 2011
It’s about 30 percent cheaper to process an
electronic payment than a paper-based check,
and about 25 percent faster.
Scott Pezza, analyst
Aberdeen Group
“
”
1 http://bit.ly/I5QweO
2 http://www.aberdeen.com
3 http://www.ioma.com
4 http://www.casherassociates.com
5. Introduction (cont.)
decreased use of checks in the previous two years, and
71 percent anticipated cutting check use even further
through 2013.
Companies can further accelerate payment automation
by consolidating payments through a single platform or
with a single provider. By reducing the number of inter-
mediaries and leveraging a web-based portal to improve
visibility of their payments, companies can formulate a
plan to reduce paper checks and invoices, while increas-
ing the use of electronic payment methods.
Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 5 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
5 http://bit.ly/IzHs4q
Payment Challenges at Mid-sized
and Large Companies
Companies of all sizes are frustrated by manual pay-
ment procedures and cumbersome workflows. Some
of the top obstacles accounting departments face are:
■ Inefficiencies. Processing invoices involves much
more than cutting checks. It also means matching
invoices with purchase orders, entering data into
accounting programs, storing invoices, obtaining
payment approvals and fielding payment inquiries
from suppliers. Paying by check takes two to three
days more than paying by corporate card and auto-
mated clearing house (ACH) payments, according to
Aberdeen5. Time isn’t the only issue. e more man-
ual steps in the payment process and the more per-
sonnel involved, the more room for error or fraud.
■ Bloated costs. Processing a check costs $7 compared
with $4.78 to pay by ACH and $3.91 by corporate card,
according to Aberdeen. Checking and postage fees
aren’t solely to blame for the higher cost of manual
processing. Considerable man hours are required. Mis-
placed invoices, incorrectly keyed data and other mis-
takes eat up valuable time, further increasing processing
costs. Moreover, delays in the processing cycle can re-
sult in late fees and forfeited early-payment discounts.
■ Lack of controls. Earlier this year, when Aberdeen
surveyed 60 single- and multi-region companies about
their treasury management concerns, 79 percent
said they wanted to improve their ability to accurately
This report looks at:
■ Payment challenges at mid-sized and large companies
■ Benefits of using an automated payments program
■ Best practices for centralizing an automated
payments program
■ An explanation of American Express Corporate
Payment Programs
■ How one organization benefits from American Express
P-Cards and vPayment
When Aberdeen surveyed 60 single- and multi-region companies about their
treasury management concerns, 79 percent said they wanted to improve
their ability to accurately forecast cash flow.
Continued on next page
6. Payment Challenges at Mid-sized
and Large Companies (cont.)
forecast cash flow6. “A lot of companies don’t have
that degree of control,” Pezza says. Handling payables
by paper makes tracking daily cash flow particularly
difficult. “Once the PO is matched to the invoice, it
just gets paid when it gets paid,” regardless of the op-
timum payment date, he says. “If you have a discount
that’s possible to capture but the next check run isn’t
for a week and that puts you past the window, you
miss out.”
Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 6 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
6 http://bit.ly/J4n3j8
7 http://bit.ly/Jq8Duo
Continued on next page
Benefits of Using an Automated
Payments Program
Automated payment systems help organizations kick
the paper habit, streamline procure-to-pay processes
and spend money more strategically.
Corporate cards and corporate purchasing cards, or
P-Cards, help organizations automate payments by
using one card account to pay multiple vendors. e or-
ganization pays a single monthly bill to the card issuer,
eliminating the need to cut and mail multiple monthly
checks. In many cases, it eliminates the need for pur-
chase orders altogether.
Electronic payment methods such as American
Express’ BIP and vPayment offer larger companies with
higher volume expenditures additional control over
how they make those payments. Web-based buyer initi-
ated payment (BIP) programs let organizations deposit
payments on the date of their choosing directly into
suppliers’ bank accounts. Organizations can integrate
vPayment systems with AP or procurement tools, as-
signing a unique account number to each payment and
limiting its value and date.
Automated payments programs also can help mid-sized
and large companies:
■ Increase efficiency. Automating accounts payable
more than doubles productivity, according to IOMA’s
2012 AP Automation Report7. Even if accounts
payable is paying promptly, there’s a 30- to 40-day
cycle from the day an invoice is received by a com-
pany until it is posted by accounts payable, IOMA’s
Casher says. “In an automated world, if an invoice
goes to accounts payable electronically, that time
frame can be close to zero,” he says. Astute companies
In an automated world, if an invoice goes to
accounts payable electronically, that time
frame (for payment) can be close to zero.
Jonathan Casher, senior consultant
Institute of Management & Administration
“
”
Automated payment systems help organizations kick the paper habit,
streamline procure-to-pay processes and spend money more strategically.
7. Benefits of Using an Automated
Payments Program (cont.)
are taking note. In Aberdeen’s 2011 study of business
attitudes toward e-payables, 62 percent of respon-
dents said demand for greater operational efficiency
was driving their focus on e-payables (see Fig. 2).
■ Drive savings. In that same Aberdeen report, 61 per-
cent of companies surveyed said they were switching
to automated payments to cut transaction costs.
Besides slashing check and postage costs and reduc-
ing manpower and errors, paying electronically helps
ensure invoices are paid on time, which reduces late
payment and financing fees. For example, using a
P-Card to pay suppliers reduces the average transac-
tion cost by as much as 60 percent, according to a
separate Aberdeen report8.
■ Improve cash management. Lack of predictable cash
flow was named by nearly one in five respondents in
Aberdeen’s e-payables survey as a leading reason to
automate. No longer bound by weekly or biweekly
check runs, companies using electronic payments can
hold onto working capital longer, take advantage of
early-payment discounts or pay early simply to im-
prove supplier relationships. “Some people might still
choose to batch payments,” Aberdeen’s Pezza says.
“But it gives you the control to make those decisions
on your own rather than having them made for you.”
■ Keep vendors and suppliers happy. Smart compa-
nies know the value of keeping business partners sat-
isfied. Nearly 200 AP departments that Aberdeen
Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 7 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
8 http://bit.ly/IS2TOa
Continued on next page
Stakeholder demand for improved operational efficiency
Corporate mandate to reduce overall payment transaction costs
Lack of predictability of cash flow
Growing risk of payments fraud
Compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulatory requirements
High invoice payment error rate
Fig. 2 – Pressures Driving Companies to Adopt E-Payables
Businesses of all sizes cited stakeholder demands, erratic cash flow and other reasons for switching
to automated payments, according to a 2011 Aberdeen Group survey.
Source: E-Payables 2011: Efficiency, Visibility and Collaboration in the Financial Supply Chain, Aberdeen Group, September 2011
19%
15%
11%
10%
Percentage of RespondentsPressure
62%
61%
8. Benefits of Using an Automated
Payments Program (cont.)
surveyed earlier this year said maintaining and im-
proving supplier relationships was a top priority, ri-
valed only by paying on time and avoiding late
payment penalties. “If you have control, you can make
the decision that, for a certain supplier critical in your
supply chain, it’s much more important to get the
funds to them” right away, Pezza says.
■ Improve payment visibility. Pinpointing how far
along an outgoing or incoming payment is in the pro-
cure-to-pay cycle is as easy as checking the online
dashboard of an automated system. Buyer initiated
payment (BIP) systems, for example, allow non-
accounting personnel, vendors or suppliers to go
online to check the status of a payment. In addition,
analytical tools give buyers a more detailed view of
where and when they’re spending, offering valuable
information they can use to negotiate better terms
with vendors and suppliers.
■ Earn financial rewards or rebates. Some automated
payment programs offer financial incentives that can
boost a company’s bottom line. Companies that sign
up for corporate card programs, for example, can
earn reward points and cash incentives on every dol-
lar spent. Corporate card users often can redeem
points for travel, entertainment and retail items, or
apply them to their card balance. P-Cards and BIP
yield financial rebates based on purchase volumes.
Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 8 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
Continued on next page
Best Practices for Centralizing an
Automated Payments Program
Depending on a company’s starting point, switching
to electronic payments can take weeks, months or
longer. “It’s important to focus on the process first,”
Pezza says. e more efficient and better documented
a company’s accounting processes, the easier the move
to automation will be.
To ensure a smooth transition, industry experts offer
these tips:
■ Secure an executive sponsor. Initiatives to automate
payments that are driven by a company’s CFO or
other financial executive have the best chance of suc-
ceeding. e project sponsor has to make a business
case for going paperless and quell concerns about
the transition brought up by other business units,
vendors, suppliers and consultants.
■ Involve stakeholders early. Include key players in the
transition process at the research and planning stage,
including the company controller, accounts payable
manager, purchasing and IT. Besides offering valuable
input, their understanding of the benefits of automa-
tion will help minimize any resistance to change.
Tapping outside resources early on, such as the IT
vendor managing the company’s ERP system, also
helps identify and resolve project hiccups before they
become roadblocks.
9. Best Practices for Centralizing an
Automated Payments Program (cont.)
■ Assess current metrics. Nearly one in five organiza-
tions surveyed by Aberdeen Group said they didn’t
know how much it costs them to process an invoice 9.
But without that kind of accurate benchmark, a com-
pany can’t make a convincing business case for au-
tomation or measure the return on investment later.
To get started, solicit stakeholders to measure manual
processing costs. ese metrics, which vary by com-
pany, include bank fees and postage, as well as time
spent entering data, receiving invoices, matching
purchase orders, approving payments, correcting
mistakes, fielding supplier calls and following up on
late receivables.
■ Understand competing priorities. Choose when to
implement an e-payment initiative wisely. To avoid
competing for funding and stakeholder attention,
investigate whether other companywide changes are
in the works. If, for example, the company is due to
upgrade its ERP system in the next six months—
a project that’s bound to monopolize the IT depart-
ment’s time—an automated payments program would
have to take a back seat until the other work is done.
■ Automate payables first. Automating payments
in stages is more affordable than going paperless
overnight. Because the largest financial return lies
with paying vendors and suppliers electronically, it
makes sense to start there. Not only does writing
fewer checks reduce bank fees, it reduces the man-
power needed to issue payments. Companies can
then invest money saved in automating receivables.
Most vendors and suppliers appreciate the speed and
convenience of receiving e-payments. “en you
can say to them, ‘Now that I’ve made life easier for
you, what can we do to make life easier for me?’”
Casher says. is puts companies in a better position
to negotiate early-payment discounts, high-volume
purchasing discounts or automated receivables.
■ Approach top-tier vendors and suppliers first. Be
strategic about which vendors and suppliers you ap-
proach to accept automated payments and when.
Start with top-tier vendors and suppliers integral to
daily operations, such as a raw materials provider
that’s critical to your manufacturing process, or sup-
pliers with whom you spend the most money or have
the highest volume of transactions. Work with an au-
tomated payments provider to identify top vendors
and suppliers that already accept automated pay-
ments. An automated payments provider also can
help convince vendors and suppliers to accept e-pay-
ments and coach them through the setup process.
■ Get business partners to buy in. Inform suppliers
and vendors of your upcoming switch. List advan-
tages they’d gain by accepting electronic payments
and create a communications strategy to promote
those benefits. Set and measure vendor enrollment
goals. If needed, enlist your payment platform
provider’s staff to supply outreach materials and other
support to help convince reluctant vendors to make
the switch. Some platform providers also can collect
Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 9 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
Continued on next page
Initiatives to automate payments that are driven by a company’s CFO or
other financial executive have the best chance of succeeding.
9 http://bit.ly/J9ra1I
10. Best Practices for Centralizing an
Automated Payments Program (cont.)
and update vendors’ banking information for you.
Provide ongoing support to vendors who have joined
and continue reaching out to those who haven’t.
■ Carefully consider payment providers. Look for
a provider who can provide tightly integrated, in-
house supplier enablement teams that can help speed
migrating your vendors and suppliers to electronic
payments.
■ Find easy ways to reduce paper invoices. Convinc-
ing vendors and suppliers to switch from submitting
paper invoices to electronic ones may be a harder sell
than convincing them to accept electronic payments.
But paying partners with corporate cards or a P-Card
helps reduce incoming invoices by consolidating mul-
tiple charges into one monthly bill. For some compa-
nies, electronic reconciliation tools such as vPayment
from American Express system can help eliminate the
need for supplier invoices altogether.
Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 10 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
Conclusion
Automated payment methods such as corporate cards,
purchasing cards, virtual cards and B2B payment plat-
forms such as PAYVE® from American Express make
AP departments more efficient. Not only do electronic
payment methods speed the procure-to-pay cycle, they
reduce processing costs, help companies avoid late
payment and financing fees and keep vendors and
suppliers satisfied.
Centralizing automation on related payment methods
also makes it easier for organizations to schedule and
track payments, giving them greater control over work-
ing capital. Finally, adopting such streamlined payment
methods means key accounting personnel have more
time to spend on higher-value activities.
11. American Express
Corporate Payment Programs
Automating the payment process is a proven way to
increase AP productivity and drive savings. American
Express offers a suite of automated payment systems
that help companies reduce transaction costs, gain
control over spending and hold onto cash longer. is
suite includes the American Express®Corporate Card,
American Express® Corporate Purchasing Card,
American Express® Buyer Initiated Payments (BIP)
and American Express® vPayment.
American Express Corporate Card
Corporate Cards help businesses pay and
manage expenses efficiently. Corporate Cards let
organizations:
■ Reduce the use—and cost—of cutting checks to
vendors and suppliers.
■ Pay expenditures on a 30-day billing cycle while
allowing vendors to be paid by American Express
in their preferred timeframe.
■ Set spending and cash access limits for individual
Cards.
■ Specify company, individual or shared billing and
liability for each Card issued.
■ Use one integrated online tool to view all Card spend-
ing and manage payment reconciliation.
■ Earn one Corporate Membership Rewards® point
for every eligible dollar charged on enrolled
American Express® Corporate Cards. ese points
are redeemable for gift cards, merchandise, air travel,
hotel stays and more10.
American Express
Corporate Purchasing Cards
Corporate Purchasing Cards help companies control
how, when and where employees spend money. Akin
to credit cards, but with enhanced features for busi-
nesses, Corporate P-Cards let organizations:
■ Reduce the use—and cost—of issuing purchase
orders and paper checks.
■ Optimize working capital by paying for purchases on
a 30-day billing cycle while allowing vendors to be
paid by American Express in 14 days.
■ Set spending limits by supplier, industry, commodity,
transaction or employee.
■ Issue Cards to specific individuals or departments for
use with specific suppliers.
■ Use one integrated online tool to view Card spending
and manage payment reconciliation.
■ Earn rebates on purchases charged to their P-Card.
Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 11 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
10 Terms and Conditions for the Membership Rewards® program apply. Visit membershiprewards.com/terms
or call 1-800-AXP-EARN (297-3276) for more information. Participating partners and available rewards are
subject to change without notice.
Continued on next page
American Express offers a suite of automated payment systems that help
companies reduce transaction costs, gain control over spending and hold
onto cash longer.
12. American Express
Corporate Payment Programs (cont.)
vPayment from American Express
vPayment gives companies great control over
payables by letting them limit the dollar amount and
time period for each reconciliation. Built on a com-
pany’s existing Corporate Card infrastructure, this
customizable electronic settlement tool increases pay-
ment security by assigning a unique account
number to each Card transaction. vPayment also:
■ Enhances authorization controls and improves
company compliance.
■ Reduces invoices and reduces the need to manually
key, track or reconcile data.
■ Incorporates detailed buyer data such as PO or pay-
ment numbers into each settlement.
■ Easily integrates with a company’s existing AP or pro-
curement tools.
■ Works with any merchant that accepts American
Express® Cards.
■ Requires no change to a merchant’s processes or
system.
American Express
Buyer Initiated Payment
Buyer Initiated Payments (BIP) allow organizations to
pay many invoices from multiple vendors in a single
electronic transaction. Leveraging their existing ac-
counting or enterprise resource planning (ERP) soft-
ware, organizations periodically send electronic files to
American Express instructing it which vendors to
pay when. American Express then issues electronic
payments to the appropriate vendors, along with
detailed remittance information. (See Case Study:
Transplace Uses BIP for Payment Reconciliation,
on pg.13.) BIP also:
■ Streamlines the payables process.
■ Offers organizations great control over when they
pay suppliers.
■ Optimizes working capital by extending days payable
outstanding.
■ Reduces the hassle and cost of issuing paper checks.
■ Helps increase payment security.
■ Generates annual rebates on payments made through
the BIP program based on charge volume.
PAYVE from American Express
PAYVE from American Express is a digital payment
service that centralizes processing of multiple payment
methods through a single, easy-to-use platform to
help companies streamline payment processes and
improve working capital management. rough PAYVE,
American Express combines insights, people and
technology to help you transform payments into an
opportunity to:
■ Improve working capital and cash flow management.
■ Streamline payment processes.
■ Accelerate migration from paper to e-payments.
Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 12 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
13. Case Study: Transplace Uses BIP
for Payment Reconciliation
Transplace11, a Dallas, Texas, third-party logistics
provider, has seen multiple improvements to its vendor
payment process since implementing American Express
Buyer Initiated Payments (BIP) in September 2010.
e $1.2 billion company partners with more than 2,000
transportation carriers to help manufacturers and retail-
ers manage freight transportation more efficiently. By
using BIP, Transplace has better control over its vendor
payments and daily cash flow, says Steve Crowther, the
company’s executive vice president and CFO.
Before switching to BIP, Transplace paid all carrier
invoices with checks, ACH payments or cards. To
reconcile charge card accounts, the company emailed
carriers details on the invoices it wanted to pay on a
daily basis. Each carrier would run Transplace’s charge
card through their point-of-sale (POS) terminal, often
two to three days later. For Transplace, the process
usually led to a several-day delay in cash reconciliation.
BIP is changing that. Transplace now makes daily de-
posits directly into the bank accounts of the 20 carriers
in its BIP program, totaling approximately $1 million a
month. “Instead of carriers pulling the money from us,
we’re pushing the money out to them,” Crowther says.
As a result, Transplace has a clearer picture of its daily
cash flow, he says.
e new system also reduces payment errors. Before,
carriers that accepted card payments frequently expe-
rienced invoice discrepancies. Now, thanks to BIP,
“We’re no longer having differences in what they take
versus what we told them to take,” Crowther says. As
a result, Transplace’s accounts payable personnel make
considerably fewer calls to carriers to talk over pay-
ment discrepancies. “We’re probably saving about four
hours a week” in each AP staff member’s workload,
Crowther says.
Transplace’s carriers are also happier. “We probably
have tripled our enrollment from our previous pro-
gram,” Crowther says. American Express has managed
the carrier enrollment program for Transplace, saving
the company time and hassle. “It was nice that we didn’t
have to manage the campaign program,” says Crowther,
who with American Express’ help, expects to enlist
more carriers into the BIP program soon.
Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 13 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
11 http://www.transplace.com
Instead of carriers pulling the money from us,
we’re pushing the money out to them.
Steve Crowther, executive vice president and CFO
Transplace
“ ”
14. Case Study: Knox Community
Hospital Uses BIP to Minimize Costs
As stewards of a community-owned, not-for-profit
organization, executives at Knox Community Hospital12
in Mount Vernon, Ohio, know that any money they
save benefits their community.
at’s why, in 2009, executives at the 115-bed facility
jumped at the chance to use American Express®
Corporate Cards for routine purchases. “ere really
wasn’t any downside,” says Danielle O’Brien, a certified
public accountant and the hospital’s controller.
e Card was an ideal payment method for vendors who
didn't require purchase orders or generate invoices for
payment like office supplies bought online, maintenance
items purchased at local home improvement centers,
and gas purchased for hospital vehicles.
For more strategic purchases that did require purchase
order and/or invoice approval prior to payment, O’Brien
arranged for the hospital to use Buyer Initiated
Payments (BIP) within PAYVE, American Express’
corporate payment service. e electronic payment
method enables organizations automate payments
to suppliers without revamping their existing procure-
ment processes. Instead, they send an electronic file
with payment instruction file to American Express,
which sends payments to each vendor’s bank account
along with detailed remittance information. BIP
reduces manual accounts payable processes, freeing
department personnel to tackle higher-value work and
minimizing opportunities for errors.
“BIP has definitely freed up my staff’s time to concen-
trate on other activities that provide more value to the
hospital,” O’Brien says. “It’s automated a great deal of
what we do.”
Many of the hospital’s vendors have begun accepting
payment through the Corporate Card or BIP. Some ap-
preciate the convenience, and many enjoy getting paid
in 15 days instead of the 30 to 45 days the hospital takes
to pay through traditional accounts payable processes.
In fiscal 2011, Knox spent roughly 10 percent of its $251
million annual revenue on supplies and capital expendi-
tures. In the 12 months ending April 30, 2012, just over
$10 million of that went through the Corporate Card or
BIP program.
Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 14 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
12 http://www.knoxcommhosp.org
Continued on next page
In fiscal 2011, Knox spent roughly 10 percent of its $251 million annual revenue
on supplies and capital expenditures. In the 12 months ending April 30, 2012,
just over $10 million of that went through its Procurement Card or BIP program.
BIP has definitely freed up my staff’s time
so they may concentrate on other activities
that provide more value to the hospital.
It’s automated a great deal of what we do.
Danielle O’Brien, controller
Knox Community Hospital
“
”
15. Case Study: Knox Community
Hospital Uses BIP to Save (cont.)
“e Card is ideal when we’re dealing with vendors that
expect payment at the point of sale,” O’Brien says. “We
really like BIP. We wish all vendors would enroll in that
program. It would allow us to automate more of our
payments.”
For Knox, using American Express electronic payment
plans reduced some of the time and money associated
with traditional, paper-check-based payables, and
earned rebates. at’s a win-win that any not-for-profit
organization would happily take.
Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 15 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
16. Centralizing Your Automated Payments ProgramAMERICAN EXPRESS WHITEPAPERS
Page 16 | Global Corporate Payments | August 2013
Learn how American Express Global Corporate Payments can streamline processes, increase
visibility, leverage data and help generate savings for your company. Additional information can
be found at: http://business.americanexpress.com/us/payment-services