A Practical Guide To Understanding Source-To-Pay Solutions
Einvoicing
As organizations become more lean, efficient and accurate on their operations, they tend to look for solutions to help them improve their source-to-pay processes. Source-to-Pay solutions offer comprehensive suite of solutions that can significantly reduce the costs associated with manual invoicing while also streamlining operations and accelerating workflows. In this comprehensive guide, we aim to provide an executive audience with essential information on what Source-to-Pay solutions are and the features of Source-to-Pay solutions that can make them worthwhile investment for the modern workplace.
Definition and Overview
Source-to-pay solutions are end-to-end solutions used to manage critical aspects of the procure-to-pay cycle. These solutions cover the critical phases of the purchasing process, from requisitioning and sourcing through to invoice approval, payment processing, and reporting. At the core, Source-to-Pay solutions provide organizations with centralized software to streamline their purchasing and invoicing process. In addition, they come with functionality to automate key elements of the process such as vendor qualification, onboarding, and automation of the approval chain.
Benefits of Source-to-Pay Solutions
The primary benefit of Source-to-Pay solutions is that they enable organizations to realize significant cost savings when compared to manual processes. Research has indicated that invoice processing can be accelerated by up to 60-70% with the use of such solutions. This is due to automated processes such as purchase order creation, invoice processing, and data accuracy increasing efficiency, while simplified workflows lead to fewer errors.
Another point to note is that because of the integrated nature of these solutions, organization information can be readily accessed and shared with multiple parties, including vendors and customers. This integrated nature also facilitates better decision-making due to its streamlined workflow capabilities, making the process more transparent and controlled.
From compliance standpoint, the vast majority of modern Source-to-Pay solutions boast multi-factor authentication, as well as secure encryption and user permission capabilities. This allows organizations to minimize risk and protect their systems from malicious intrusion.
Features of Source-to-Pay Solutions
Source-to-Pay solutions offer features that enable organizations to automate procurement, invoicing, and other associated tasks. Some of the most noteworthy features include:
? Requisitioning: Requisitioning is the process of requesting goods or services needed in order to carry out task. This can range from one-time orders to subscription services. Source-to-Pay solutions provide an automated, streamlined requisitioning process to ensure every request is tracked and approved in order to minimize costs and expedite the ordering process.
? Sourcing: Modern Source-to-Pay solutions come equipped with advanced sourcing capabilities that enable organizations to source the right goods, services, and suppliers. This includes being able to quickly qualify potential suppliers for evaluation. Additionally, there are capabilities for intelligent cost and suite analysis, which includes automating the negotiation process in order to drive cost savings.
? Invoicing: Invoicing is critical component of the Source-to-Pay process. Invoicing is automated and streamlined with modern Source-to-Pay solutions, freeing up valuable time from employee schedules. The solution automatically produces and distributes invoices to customers within time frames and budgets that have been agreed upon. This can help to quickly and accurately reconcile payables, resulting in improved cost management.
? Payment Processing: Automated payment processing is included with most modern Source-to-Pay solutions, providing organizations with comprehensive view of their payments and the status of invoices. This eliminates the need for manual entry, resulting in an improved and streamlined workflow.
? Reporting: Reporting is one of the most valuable benefits of Source-to-Pay solutions. With comprehensive, comprehensive reporting, organizations are able to gain visibility into their spend, contracts, and invoices, enabling them to make informed decisions with precise data.
Conclusion
Source-to-Pay solutions are becoming increasingly sought-after by organizations of all sizes, as they not only help to save costs, but also improve efficiency and accuracy in many areas of the procure-to-pay process. The features of these solutions, such as automated requisitioning, sourcing, invoicing, payment processing, and reporting, offer organizations an invaluable tool to reduce manual labor, while gaining visibility into the process and making more informed decisions. By investing in and utilizing Source-to-Pay solution, organizations now have the opportunity to gain and maintain competitive edge in their respective industries.
