CFO Efficiency Management Checklist

The CFO makes sure contracts are regularly reviewed and updated as needed. Solid controls, appropriate processes and procedures, checklists, and periodic audits are crucial for effective AP management. An AI-enabled accounts payable automation solution is the key to foster strong vendor relationships, monitor key financial metrics and continuously improve invoice approval processes

To know more, access this checklist by completing the form and clicking “Download Now.”

Simplifying Invoice Audits and Reviews with AI-enabled Solutions

Despite following rigorous processes to streamline invoice receipt, scan and match them with POs and follow approval processes, you may not be ‘audit-safe.’ Auditors identify potential financial fraud, scam attempts, and compliance discrepancies against contracts. Accounts payable audits (AP audits, i.e., invoice audits and reviews) share the moment of truth of improper information and accuracy against contracts that can cost companies millions of dollars.

A study by the Aberdeen Group found that a company's average cost of overpayments can be over $100,000 per year. A manual invoice audit can cost anywhere from $50 to $200 per invoice. Post-audit follow-ups also incur additional costs, such as time spent on resolving discrepancies, supplier negotiation, and legal fees.

Disconnected Source-To-Pay processes and manual invoice processing can lead to:

Overcharged or incorrect billing against contracts
Unattended requests against financial compliance or tax forms
Missed or duplicate payments due to unresolved contract obligations
Hours lost in manual invoice verification

At Aavenir, we understand the need to implement a comprehensive invoice audit and review process that aligns with multiple functions across the enterprise.

Watch our exclusive webinar to see how Aavenir’s AI-driven Invoiceflow solution connects across Source-To-Pay processes and boosts efficiency, financial control, vendor relationships, and compliance, reducing the risk of fraud.

The session is designed for CFOs, VP Finance, AP managers, Legal, Contract Management, and Procurement teams interested in

Achieving greater financial stability and control with AI-driven insights
Reducing fraud risk and preventing payment leakage using a seamlessly connected Source-To-Pay solution
Maximizing outcomes through AI-driven invoice processing and streamlining vendor collaboration

American Seafoods Group (ASG) dynamically improved its invoice processing and automated manual tasks to nullify errors with visibility into workflows

About Company

American Seafoods Group (ASG) is the world’s largest at-sea processor of Wild Alaska Pollock, with its high-quality products distributed globally since 1988. It also holds the largest Wild Pacific Hake (Whiting) allocation. . They were one of the pioneers who helped revolutionize how fisheries are managed in the United States. Today it produces up to 150 MT of seafood daily.

Client’s Invoice Management Challenges

Until now, American Seafood Group, as an organization, used to manage 24000 invoices manually over the year. The invoices received through emails were scanned, printed, signed, and approved. The invoice process was cumbersome and involved much paperwork. In addition, numerous manual interventions resulted in issues such as invoice matching errors, discrepancies, more extended approval, and delayed payment cycles, leading to strained supplier relationships.

Moreover, the process involved multiple departments (individual companies of ASG) and members without much visibility of timely approvals and supplier payments. The invoices were sent manually to various departments and people involved in the processing cycle. With the involvement of multiple stakeholders, the probability of duplicate invoices was always high. Also, there was a waste of time in the absence of defined workflows.

Key Challenges include:

Manage and monitor 20,000+ invoices manually
Tedious paperwork leading to delayed processes and room for errors
Absence of defined approval workflows
Lack of visibility & more leakages
Different treatments for operations and IT invoices workflow
Too many manual comments managed on invoices and status updated on manual invoices
With a completely manual process, much time is invested in collaboration and communication between functions and suppliers

“Aavenir Invoiceflow has improved our efficiency with seamless vendor collaboration, zeroing duplicate invoices, and manual invoice management. Integrating the SAP accounting system has further enhanced accrual reporting and timely payments, giving way to supplier discounts. - Accounts Payable Team”.

The Solution: Aavenir AI-enabled Invoice Management Solution for Seafood Processing Company

Aavenir streamlined the invoicing and AP processes on ServiceNow for ASG by tapping into their ERPs, i.e., SAP & operational software AMOS.

As a result, we kicked off the systematic approach for ASG, where all invoices will hit the mailbox and get automatically mapped according to the information.

Defined mailbox for each company

Aavenir created mailboxes based on the company and vendor/department mapping. The invoices received are routed automatically to the AP Team and department heads. The AP team will check the coding and cost allocation on Invoices before sending them out. The double-check system assures everything that goes to the supplier is discrepancy-proof with quicker approvals.

Leverage the usage of AI - Extraction & Mapping

The Aavenir's intelligent AI engine simplified processes by capturing information on a particular invoice. It allowed automatic extraction and update of multiple line items and fields to map them as relevant. Further, assigning the invoice to a specific user group reduces manual entries and human errors. In addition, the touchless processing and data extraction streamline the invoice approval process for ASG.

Transparency in invoice processing

Aavenir Invoiceflow has powered ASG with clear and complete visibility of invoices, their status, and lifecycle for each department and every approver involved. It ensures that the correct invoice payment goes to each supplier without over or underpayment—the automated invoice processing solution checks for duplicate or delayed payments. Further, the automated 2-way matching identifies disparities.

Task automation

Aavenir Invoiceflow automates the monotonous task of reviewing, mapping, and approving invoices. There is a minimum human intervention with the three implemented workflows, which revolve around PO/NON-PO based and one customized workflow, mainly covering the invoices for operational services/purchases.

Key Results

The quick implementation of Aavenir Invoiceflow built on ServiceNow enabled American Seafoods Group with remarkable results in a short period.

50% increase in operational effectiveness within the AP department
100% reduction in the use of paper invoice
2000+ Invoices processed within a months’ time of go-live with 50% payment already completed
50% reduction in the cost of processing per invoice
100% Automated Approval workflow to avoid leakage
360-degree view of overall AP team members processing using Aavenir Invoiceflow Dashboard
Integration with ERP system, which reduces the risk of errors

Is your organization experiencing similar challenges? We can help you simulate how AI-enabled, automated invoice processing can make your invoicing process seamless & error-free. BOOK A DEMO>>

A Leading Investment Venture Amplified its Strategic Advisory and Augmented its Productivity with AP Automation and Real-Time Invoice Visibility

About Company

A 30-year-old Strategic Advisory organization, that has capitalized on the inefficiencies and opportunities within the market since its inception, amplified its strategic advisory, and augmented its productivity with automation and real-time visibility of the Accounts Payable Processes. The client organization helps maximize the business value of global portfolio managers keen on devising strategies with extended support and autonomy. In addition, the company has diversified investments in infrastructure, risk analytics, proprietary technology, and, more significantly, in America, Europe, and Asia.

Client’s Invoice Management Challenges

The company had to manage around 15000 invoices manually across the year. Until now, the organization would carry out accounting and payable processes by adding all the data manually. The IT or SNOW team would create the Purchase Requisition (PR) in the system and send it to the concerned team for further processing. No dedicated individual was assigned to perform invoice matching, including coding or approval. In short, the entire process was a little cumbersome.

Further, with the advent of multiple global investors, managing invoices and the AP processes got chaotic for the organization.

“There was a predominance of manual work in the purchasing department, from filling OCR sheets to assigning GL codes for every product to verification of hardcopies that accompany invoices,” said Procurement Manager. She also added, “Mundane tasks created monotony, resulting in a time crunch and enhanced scope of error - impacting productivity”.

A purchase request (PR) was generated on the basis of which an invoice was generated. They had only a 2-way check wherein they matched with the invoice and purchase requisition, not the purchase order.

The staff had to undergo a manual process that required creating a PR in ServiceNow. Once created, the SNOW Team would send it to the AP mailbox of the concerned team, which underwent manual monitoring for matching to checking the SNOW requisition number. It made the management of multiple invoices a little too complex.

All invoice types, including PR, non-PR consulting, and non-consulting, had different workflows for approval. The invoices were sent manually to various departments and people for support. In the absence of defined workflows, it killed time and transparency.

THE AAVENIR APPROACH & SOLUTION

Aavenir AI-enabled Invoice Management Solution for Investment Management

Aavenir streamlined the invoicing and AP processes on ServiceNow for the client organization by eliminating the manual processes and moving towards greater visibility and significant optimization of PR in SNOW for matching purposes. As a result, we kicked off the systematic approach for them, where all invoices will hit the mailbox and get automatically mapped according to the information.

Leverage the Usage of AI - Smart Invoice Capture

The Aavenir AI engine simplified processes for multiple invoices flow by allowing automatic extraction and updation of multiple line items and fields, mapping them to the right accounting code, thereby reducing manual entries and human errors.

"I have a quality of life now. Handling the procure-to-pay alone has never been this effortless. I can imagine everything that I was doing manually is now happening automatically with the Aavenir AI engine. Delighted and relieved that team Aavenir could understand the typical industry needs and supported me throughout. I am spellbound to witness how the Aavenir navigated through and tried to gauge everyones’ needs from the quick conversations,” said Procurement Manager.

Aavenir AI-driven Invoiceflow with data extraction and touchless processing worked as a catalyst in the invoice approval process for the client organization.

Benefits:

The invoices get automatically identified according to the category (PR, Non-PR Consulting, and Non-consulting) and routed to the respective workflow for approval and processing.
The accounts team is no longer caught up in follow-up with groups.
Notifications and alerts have further eased the collaboration among teams.

Simplified Processes for Multiple Invoice Flow

Aavenir InvoiceFlow solution powered the client organization with complete visibility of Invoices with their status and overall invoice lifecycle, thereby ensuring efficiency and transparency.

Cost center allocations and multiple line items mapping to respective General Ledger(GL) codes has been implemented to simplify invoice processing. We have utilized all the multiple invoice categories in their accounting system to fit into our unified product.

Benefits:

This automation offers complete transparency for invoice possibilities.
In addition, the system has an automated 2-way matching of PR Invoice validation in place that compares invoices and captures any exceptions for faster and more accurate approvals.

Task Automation

Aavenir Invoiceflow automates the humdrum task of reviewing, mapping, and disbursing invoices. With the seamless integration, all invoices are ready for at the disposal of accounts that need just a glance and hit submit.

Benefits:

The necessary payments can be done with Nav and sent back to accounts, terminating the time spent on disbursing and mapping invoices weekly.
The accounts team can check the status in real time and update the supplier on the payment.

Key Results

The quick implementation of Aavenir Invoiceflow built on ServiceNow enabled the client organization with remarkable results in a short period.

85% Zero-touch review directed to auto-mapped approval flow saving hours on the job
85% improvement in first-time-right invoice processing: Aavenir solution empowered the team to take off 15000+ invoices approved in a jiffy. Highly transparent workflows eliminate manual tasks to a greater extent
Zeroing probability of human errors: AI-enabled Aavenir Invoiceflow automates major tasks, nullifying manual glitches
80% increase in employee productivity: Discarding manual reviews and mapping exercises between Servicenow and NAV
75% stability and intelligence build for GL allocation for relevant cost centers
Reliable auto-push to ERP with scheduled batch set for payment disbursement

Eliminate Invoice Review Headaches with AI-enabled Automated Solutions

The struggle of invoice review and approval is not new for AP, Procurement, and Legal teams. Manual and outdated automation of invoice and claims processing and verification results in less breathing space and greater errors, leading to prolonged review and payment cycles, spend leakage, and compliance risk.

Did you know that around 3.6% of manually entered invoices include an error caused by data entry? On an average, AP automation can reduce your invoice processing times by 75%.

Compromised automation and invoice processing introduce

Bottlenecks due to lack of visibility into pending approved, and paid invoices
Spend leakage due to overpayments, missed discount opportunities, and incorrect coding
Invoice fraud and financial audit risk
Strained supplier relationships due to delayed payments, discrepancy resolution, and lack of sophisticated collaboration tools

At Aavenir, we understand the need for faster and more accurate invoice processing and simplified invoice collaboration with vendors.

Join our exclusive webinar on 19th October 2022, and find out how Aavenir’s AI-driven Invoiceflow solution can help you overcome invoice processing and review headaches, and streamline vendor communication with collaboration portals.

The session is designed for CFOs, VP Finance, AP managers, Legal and Procurement teams focused on

Extracting information from submitted invoices and claim documents
Identifying errors and duplicates, tracking invoice status and approvals
Conducting 2 & 3-way match of invoices and invoice audit against contracts
Building AP dashboards with performance metrics & KPIs
Managing vendor communication, performance, and relationships

Get started with your Invoice Processing transformation journey. Watch Now!

Invoice Analytics Features Checklist

AP managers have gone from spreadsheet-based “automation” to a full-service solution that automatically processes and schedules invoice payments, sends notifications to the vendors, routes and processes invoices, prepares reports and measures invoices metrics, and much more. Invoice Dashboard provides the AP team with critical statistics about invoice workflow in the solution through various drill-down reports.

But with so many solutions available, how do you find the right solution dashboard to fit your business needs?

Use the checklist as a reference guide to help you with features in your Invoice Dashboard.

Aavenir Expedites Non-PO Invoice Approvals and Payments with Aavenir Invoiceflow on ServiceNow

About Company

Based in Texas, US, and Ahmedabad, India, Aavenir delivers the future of work with its industry-agnostic AI-driven Source-to-Pay solutions, built on the NOW platform. With a vision to solve the complex Source-to-Pay challenges across various industries, Aavenir’s next-gen Source-to-Pay suite revolutionizes age-old procurement processes by using the latest Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing technologies to reduce cycle time while offering insightful best practices suggestions based on historical data. Aavenir's customer base is spread across the globe; to name a few, The State-of-Utah, Express Professionals, T.D.Williamson.

Why Aavenir Invoiceflow for Aavenir?

It’s all about putting ourselves in our customer’s shoes to use and experience our own solutions and workflows. With the active usage of Invoiceflow in our day-to-day operations, we can see exactly what it’s like to harness the power of ServiceNow workflows and Invoiceflow features the way our users do. We are able to realize the value it brings to the table.

At Aavenir, we believe that Invoicelfow is the only and one of the most unique AP automation solutions built on the NOW platform. It can have a lot of potential users and use cases. For example, Invoiceflow can solve day-to-day challenges for AP Managers, CFOs, Vendor Managers, Contract Managers, and many others. Whether one is responsible for creating invoices, approving invoices, matching with PO, or processing the payment on time with zero errors, Invoiceflow has the capability to do so.

Invoice Management Use Cases

Multiple Vendor Invoices Processing

At Aavenir, the team is globally distributed and works remotely. As the Aavenir has grown so has the number of PDF and paper invoices it receives. There are invoices coming from consultants, vendors, contractors, and others. Top of it, most of the invoices are non-PO-based.

Deciding how to route non-PO invoices can be extremely challenging, especially since these invoices frequently fail to include information vital to routing. They typically undergo a tedious review and approval process - which is almost manual and lengthy.

This all called for a dire need to automate invoice approval workflows. Aavenir Invoiceflow lets teams collaborate and quickly resolve exceptions and approvals while gaining greater transparency into how invoicing processes are executed.

Multi-Currency Approvals and Payments

Aavenir’s team is globally distributed. The payments are done in USD as well as INR. Multi-currency processing involves a complex setup of different billing currencies.

For real-time invoice tracking and visibility, there was a need for a system that lets the enterprise transact business in any number of global currencies while maintaining core financial records in a single, functional currency.

“We have been providing best-in-class accounting & finance outsourcing services to more than 100 companies worldwide. However, using Aavenir Invoiceflow for Aavenir to process payments has literally made our AP team’s life easier than ever. The ease of use, accurate AI extraction, and multi-currency processing has definitely saved more than it costs to us.”

- Tushar Shah, CA, Co-Founder & Partner, Khandar Mehta & Shah.

The Solution: Aavenir Accounts Payable Automation Solution for SaaS Industry

Aavenir Invoiceflow is already solving complex invoice management challenges for the organizations like The State of Utah, Schonfeld, Panasonic, T.D. Williamson and many others. In its own case too, Aavenir decided to use its own robust AP automation solution as its ‘first choice’ to automate and streamline invoice processing on ServiceNow.

Accelerated Invoice Processing

Invoiceflow accurately processes multi-format invoices received from multiple sources. Consultants, contractors, freelancers, and others raise invoices in the Aavenir Invoiceflow and an automated email is sent directly to the approver. There is no need for an Accounts Executive to get involved at this stage, unlike in the case of manual processes. This Vendor to Department Head mapping availability brings seamless experience in straight-through processing of invoices.

The approver gets an alert in their email to validate the invoice and approve/reject the due payment. Once the invoice (PO based as well as non-PO based) is approved and digitally signed, the accounts department gets notified and they process the payment - the entire process is based on one-click approval, which has accelerated invoice processing by 60%.

Multi-Currency Compliant

Invoices are usually raised by the consultants, partners, and other team members spread across the globe. Aavenir Invoiceflow supports one-off invoicing, respecting specific national and international rules and currencies, and fully automates recurring payment workflows. It supports delivering tax invoices in more than 10 currencies so you can display customers' native currency. Furthermore, AI-powered accuracy and efficiency allow users to raise invoices per their base location's currency and provide you with two primary payment methods to choose from for domestic and international payments.

Tax Compliant

Aavenir AI engine uses its basic tax calculation engine (including IGST, CGST, SGST) or external tax provider and applies the correct tax rate to every invoice item - displays the right tax amount and is fully compliant. It automatically allocates multiple tax rates at the Line Level and seamlessly interacts with 3rd Party Tax engines or ERP updates.

Intuitive Invoice Management Dashboards

Get to see pending, approved, and paid invoices and identify bottlenecks in invoice processing and help stakeholders get real-time insights into their total invoice volume, and prioritize critical invoices with Intuitive and personalized invoice dashboards.

Key Results

After digitizing the AP process with Aavenir, our consolidated end-to-end invoice processing on ServiceNow has resulted in key benefits such as:

60% time savings in invoice approvals
92% STP achieved

We at Aavenir have made our Accounts Payable process seamless with Aavenir Invoiceflow. If you wish to maximize efficiency for your AP team, Book a Demo to know how Aavenir AP Automation Solution can help overcome your business's unique AP challenges.

5 Accounts Payable Anti-Fraud Controls Cheat Sheet

Combating Accounts Payable Fraud with AP automation is about verifying invoice information, and knowing if the order was received and the PO is accurate. It’s about making the team run as efficiently as possible by allowing them to accomplish more in less time and hopefully with fewer errors.

Aavenir’s AI-powered Accounts Payable solution significantly increases visibility and communication about invoices throughout the company. With Aavenir, there is a centralized place for the receipt of invoices. That way, every invoice enters the company through a standard method that makes it easier to spot something that doesn’t quite fit.

To know more, access this E-book by completing the form and clicking “Download Now.”

Global Accounts Payable Automation Worksheet

Financial leaders aim to achieve greater heights by utilizing fewer resources and less time with more efficiency. Strong businesses always plan for higher productivity. You’ve felt the pain of the manual accounts payable (AP) process and are looking for an automated solution to streamline your AP process from start to finish. So, how do you find the right solution to meet your business needs?

There are many ways that global AP automation is defined and many solutions available from which you can choose. For example, when deciding which solution is right for you, it’s essential to understand that taking a holistic approach to automating global accounts payable and investing in a solution that streamlines the end-to-end process will deliver greater efficiency, reduce your payables workload, improve control over cash flow, accelerate cycle time not only as it relates to your payables operations, but also financial close, and enhance protection against AP fraud.

To find out more, access this worksheet by completing the form and clicking “Download Now.”

The Top 3 Finance Resources CFOs Should Bookmark

CFOs today have to be more innovative and dynamic to adopt best practices and skills to create value for the organization. However, most CFOs nowadays are expected to break away from the number-crunching analysis and consider themselves strategic and tactical players.

The Top 3 Finance Resources CFOs Should Bookmark

Are CFOs prepared? Do they have the ability to meet the new requirements of an active job?

The CFO of today and tomorrow should analyze financial data to plan strategies and influence decision-making. They should have many more abilities than simply knowing technical bookkeeping. The CFOs are considered Chief Operating Officers with a primary focus on finance. They help guide and impact decisions involving the financial angle.

To know more, access this E-book by completing the form and clicking “Download Now.”