For many small businesses, the accounts payable process is a necessary evil. Most small businesses don’t keep dedicated accounting professionals on staff, so AP often falls into the lap of someone who could be using their time to build up the business.
The good news is that there are many automated solutions to manage accounting processes for small businesses. Bill.com is one such solution: it can automate your payables, corporate card spending, employee expenses, and receivables.
Automate the AP Process Using Bill.com
When your clients need to bill you, they can do it quickly and easily through your Bill.com portal. Clients log in and upload their bills to the solution’s secure document portal. From here, you can retrieve the bills and process them for payment, releasing payment based on due dates, cash flow, and other accounting considerations. The solution allows you to view a full PDF image of the original invoice and other important details such as accounting codes, classes, and memos. At this time, you can use the platform’s “notes” feature to ask questions of the client or request edits to the bill. You can bring other employees into the loop if they have feedback about the bill.
From here, you can choose the bills you wish to approve for payment. You can also deny a bill if you think that it’s erroneous and needs to be altered. Once you click on “approve,” the bill will be timestamped, and a virtual signature will be created. From this point, the bill cannot be edited or deleted, so you can have confidence that the process will not be corrupted. Payments that are approved will be processed through a Bill.com clearing account, which keeps confidential banking information private. Bills can be paid in a variety of ways, including ACH, check international wire transfer, or by vendor direct (a single-use virtual card payment). If your vendor doesn’t allow digital banking methods, the solution can create a check to be mailed.
Once the payment is made, the transaction is automatically synced into your accounting system and posted to your general ledger. In this way, a clear accounting trail is created for every expense. The process reduces time-consuming data entry and reduces the chance of errors.
Other Benefits of Using Bill.com for AP
In addition to taking the time and headache out of paying bills, Bill.com also allows you to provide read-only access to your books, which is helpful in the case of tax preparation, internal financial review, or financial audit by a third party. Bill.com can integrate with your primary accounting solution, including QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage, or Microsoft. The cloud-based nature of Bill.com means that employees can view, investigate and pay bills from anywhere.
Consult with an Accounting Professional
If you need help consolidating your accounts payable process, consult with a professional accounting firm. DOAAR is a small business tax, bookkeeping, and consulting services firm, with an additional focus on its client’s personal finances. Specializing in bookkeeping, controller, and CFO services, DOAAR’s offering spans daily accounting, month-end close, complex financial modeling, and oversight. From execution to analysis and strategy, DOAAR provides clients with a powerful and fully integrated back-office accounting solution. We have locations throughout California and the rest of the U.S. Visit our website for more information or to contact us.