Why your invoice payment system is more complicated than it should

In your business, there’s a time and place for complexity. Your kitchen’s signature dishes. Your hairstylists’ scissor movements. Your opticians’ eye examination tools. 

You don’t have time for complicated invoices. 

Your afternoons are not for checking due dates and validating suppliers, they’re best reserved for your area of expertise. Even if you’re a finance expert, you most likely want to focus on the bigger picture – the stability and growth of the business. And no matter what you’re passionate about, you want to spend your weekend with your family or friends, not processing invoices. 

Here’s why your invoice payment system is more complicated than it needs to be – and what you can do about it.

invoice payment system: It’s manual invoice input anarchy

Maybe you’re working with paper invoices, maybe you’re hunting down PDFs in your inbox, maybe you’re keeping a record of everything in Excel. Or perhaps you’re using accounting software tailored for your business. But even if you’ve got what you think is the perfect solution, we can almost guarantee there’s still time being wasted somewhere. 

What is invoice payment process?

Invoice processing is a business function that includes receiving, approving, and paying invoices. The process allows businesses to maintain accurate books and records.

Although all the digital threads are meant to weave together – reconciliation functions, approval workflows solutions, even bulk payment systems – they could be tying you in knots. You’re still going to be manually entering and validating your invoices, you’re going to be chasing approvals from budget holders, and you’re going to lose 10 hours a week for the privilege. 

Don’t get us wrong, we love accounting software. And we’ve got some great friends over at Xero and Quickbooks. So by all means, if you’re sifting through spreadsheets and literal paper trails, go and get that upgrade – you won’t regret it. 
But if you’ve already digitised everything you know how to digitise, you’ll know that paying invoices still takes ages. Not only that, it’s possible to duplicate payments, lose an invoice, and you can still struggle to get your cash flow in line. So what gives?

You’re missing a piece of the invoice payment puzzle

The good news is that the answer is simple. 

Now that we’re more than a couple of decades into the 21st century, payments should be simple, right? If you want to pay your friend, it’s effortless. You just whip out your phone, and in a few seconds you can split the cost of a takeout or throw your friend some petrol money.  So why can’t it be the same with suppliers?

If we haven’t told you about Libeo already, you’ve probably never stepped in earshot of us, because we find it hard to keep quiet about it. Anyway, here’s the deal:

Libeo is a way to centralise, validate and pay all your invoices in one click. 

Yes, you did read that correctly. 

All those hours writing out invoice payments? You can get them back. All those PDFs in your inbox? You can let us find them. All those due date reminders in your phone? You can forget about them.

We’re not trying to replace your accounting software, and we certainly don’t ask you to switch banks. Instead, Libeo is a kind of B2B payments platform that connects to your preferred accounting systems. And it simply makes your invoice payments one less thing to worry about.

Simple payments don’t mean unsophisticated payments

Libeo simplifies your invoice management but that doesn’t mean it prevents you from seeing important insights. In fact, it makes them clearer.

Arnaud Girod, an associate chartered accountant, says, “Libeo allows us to automatically transform a library of documents into accounting entries. We save time, but most of all it gives us a real-time overview of key indicators.”

These insights are not just useful for accountants either. As the founder of the restaurant Liberty’s Burger told us, “Libeo provides an exact overview of flows on a per-supplier, per-date and per-category basis.”

“I also use Libeo as a sort of large digital folder where everything is easy to find: I can track the price of a kilo of carrots from such and such a supplier, as well as checking an address or a payment history.”

This visibility was also instrumental for the Cali Sisters when their second restaurant was undergoing construction. They could clearly track payments, communicate better with service providers, and build a relationship based on trust.

BUSINESS OWNERS, You’ve got bigger fish to fry!

“As a startup owner,” the founder and CEO of Trone told us, “invoice payment is not a priority.” Hugo oversees a group of designers, engineers, and craftspeople who want to focus on their creative vision, not bank account details. Online invoice payment processing frees up his time, which he can spend on other aspects of his business.

“Libeo allows us to save time and be more efficient,” he says, “taking this burden off our shoulders.”

You’ve probably sacrificed a lot to get to where you are now in your business. You shouldn’t have to give up your afternoons to invoice management too. There’s so much more to business – and life – than that. And we want to help you get more from it. 

To learn more about how to uncomplicate your invoice payments, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

FAQ

What are the steps of process of invoice in accounts payable?

The steps of process of invoice in accounts payable is as follows:

1. Receiving the invoice from vendor
2. Entering invoice details into a system
3. Matching invoices to payments in the accounting system
4. Approving invoices for payment by an authorized approver (usually a manager)
5. Making payment

What are the 3 main steps involved in invoice processing?

Invoice processing is a complicated, multi-step process. Here are the three main steps involved in invoice processing:

• Receiving invoice payments.
• Processing payments
• Tracking account receivables and invoices paid.

How do you write a payment method on an invoice?

The first thing you'll need to do is write down all of the information about the person or company who owes you money. This includes their name, address and contact details, as well as the amount they owe you and when they're due to pay it back.

Fill out invoice details at the top left corner of your invoice so it's clearly visible when it comes through the post or is scanned by an accounting system.

What is the best invoicing system?

The answer to that question is complicated. There are many factors that go into choosing the right invoicing solution. But there are some important things to consider before you make up your mind.

The best invoice software for you will depend on your specific needs. If you have a small business with just one or two employees, then it’s likely that a cloud-based solution would suit you best. But if you run an enterprise with multiple branches and thousands of employees, then it might make sense to invest in an expensive on-premises solution.