Converga - Enjoy the peace and quiet by introducing Vendor Self Service

By Rachel Griffiths
A day in the life of Accounts Payable…

8.30     Start Work
8.32     Vendor call to see if we’ve received their invoice
8.35     Start entering invoices
8.36     Another vendor calls to find out when the next payment run is
8.40     Back to invoice entry
8.41     Vendor calls knowing the payment run is today but checking how many invoices
            will be paid
8.46     Back to invoice entry

And so on…

Having spent more than 20 years managing Accounts Payable departments it is increasingly difficult to balance the constant pressure of headcount reduction with the need to staff
accordingly for the never-ending stream of incoming phone calls from vendors relating to invoice status such as; Have you received my invoice yet?, When will I get paid?

When looking for ways to improve efficiencies a common response from AP clerks is that there is not enough time to do even the basic task of data entry as they spend too much time on the phone to vendors. Clearly the more time spent on the phone to vendors means less invoices are being entered which increases the need for vendors to call. It seems to be an overwhelming problem.

Certainly an electronic workflow solution has a huge part to play in reducing the time that AP have to chase invoices internally, but it still doesn’t address the suppliers need for information.

Vendor Self Service (VSS) is a module designed to work with Converga’s off-the-shelf Paperless Accounts Payable (PAP) solution, delivered as software-as-a-service.

Easily accessed via the web, vendors can upload their invoices directly into the application either from a simple online Excel template, an uploaded image of an invoice in PDF format
or via EDI.

You control which vendors you give access to; once they have access they can manage their own information including adding additional users if required.

For complete ease of processing the ability to perform a PO Flip is included. VSS will access the PO’s you have raised to a vendor, once goods or service has been supplied the vendor simply accesses the PO, amends quantities as required and on the click of a button the PO is generated as an incoming invoice which is ingested straight into the Converga PAP solution. Using your own data this can significantly reduce processing errors.

Vendors can access the VSS system to track their invoices andsee whether they are still being processed, have been approved, or paid. Vendors are notified through VSS that an invoice is in dispute and can engage in an online “chat” with all parties to achieve resolution.

VSS

Delivered through a flat fee implementation and a fixed annual fee at a fraction of the cost of 1 FTE it makes perfect sense to combine VSS when implementing the Converga Paperless Accounts Payable solution.

Prodagio Powered

Rachel Griffiths has more than 20 years experience in the UK and Australia in Accounts Payable and Shared Services management for companies such as Philips Medical Systems, Vodafone and Australand.

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Contact us for more information:
Phone: 1300 557 672
Email: hello@converga.com.au