7 Ways to Reduce AP Processing Costs

Automate Invoice Capture and Extraction

Manual data entry is the largest cost driver in AP. Each invoice requires 15-30 minutes of staff time: opening attachments, reading fields, typing data into systems, and verifying accuracy.

Modern OCR combined with AI extracts data from any invoice format in seconds. The technology handles header data, line items, and tables without templates. Accuracy rates exceed 95% on first pass, with human-in-the-loop for low-confidence fields.

Implementation: Start with high-volume vendors. Route their invoices to automated capture first, then expand as accuracy improves.

Eliminate Paper Invoices

Paper invoices cost 3-4x more to process than electronic. They require mailroom handling, scanning, physical routing, and storage. Worse, they slow down the entire workflow since nothing happens until the paper arrives.

Tactics to reduce paper:

• Require vendors to submit invoices via email or portal (include in vendor agreements)
• Offer incentives for e-invoicing (faster payment, priority processing)
• For holdouts, implement scan-to-email at receiving locations
• Consider EDI for high-volume vendor relationships

Target: 80%+ electronic invoices within 12 months. Leading companies achieve 95%+.

Implement Three-Way (or Four-Way) Matching

Without systematic matching, invoices are approved based on incomplete information. The invoice looks right, the PO number checks out, payment approved. But did you receive what was ordered? At the price quoted?

Three-way matching compares:

• Purchase order (what you ordered)
• Receiving document (what you received)
• Invoice (what you're being charged)

Four-way matching adds contract verification for price validation. Automated matching flags discrepancies instantly, eliminating payment errors and duplicate payments.

Reduce Invoice Exceptions

Exceptions are where cost hides. An invoice that processes straight through costs $2-3. An exception requiring investigation, calls to vendors, and manual intervention costs $20-50.

Common exception causes and fixes:

• Missing PO: Enforce no-PO-no-pay policy; create retroactive POs for legitimate purchases
• Price discrepancy: Update contract management; automate price verification
• Quantity mismatch: Improve receiving documentation; implement real-time goods receipt
• Missing approver: Set up delegation rules; escalation after 48 hours

Track exception rates by vendor and root cause. Target: under 10% exception rate.

Optimize Approval Workflows

Invoices sitting in approval queues cost money: missed discounts, late payment fees, and staff time chasing approvers. Most approval workflows have unnecessary steps.

Workflow optimization tactics:

• Auto-approve low-risk invoices: Matched invoices under $1,000 from established vendors
• Increase approval thresholds: Does a $500 invoice really need director approval?
• Enable mobile approval: Approvers can act from anywhere, not just their desk
• Set escalation rules: Auto-escalate after 24-48 hours of inaction
• Batch approvals: Daily digest of pending approvals vs. individual notifications

Capture Early Payment Discounts

Standard 2/10 Net 30 terms offer 2% off for paying within 10 days instead of 30. That's a 36% annualized return, better than almost any investment your treasury can make.

Most companies capture less than 40% of available discounts. The problem isn't cash availability; it's processing speed. By the time the invoice clears validation and approval, the discount window has closed.

Discount capture strategy:

• Identify all discount-eligible vendors and terms
• Prioritize these invoices in the processing queue
• Track discount capture rate as a KPI
• Consider dynamic discounting platforms for suppliers without standard terms

Consolidate Vendors

Every vendor relationship generates invoices. More vendors means more invoices, more master data maintenance, and more exception potential. Vendor consolidation reduces volume at the source.

Consolidation opportunities:

• Category review: How many office supply vendors do you really need?
• Preferred vendor programs: Channel spend to fewer, better vendors
• Tail spend analysis: One-time vendors under $1,000 often represent 30% of vendor count but 3% of spend
• P-card for small purchases: Shift low-value, high-frequency purchases to corporate cards

Target: 15-25% reduction in active vendor count without impacting operations.