If you’re an accounts payable (AP) or procurement leader who uses NetSuite, you may have realized it’s missing a few pieces—especially if your organization wants to scale. Too often, as companies expand, employees will make purchases outside the system, and that can trigger an avalanche of problems, including eroded spend visibility, compliance, and spending control.
Fortunately, if you enjoy using NetSuite but want to simplify work for your AP and procurement teams, there are steps you can take. In this article, we lay out ways to improve your compliance, gain more control over your spending, digitize your suppliers, and simplify your procure-to-pay (P2P) processes—all within your NetSuite platform.
Why Improve Buying and Invoice Processing on NetSuite?
NetSuite lays a solid foundation for AP and procurement teams that want to run their processes. However, it’s easy for cracks to form in that foundation, especially as your company grows.
As an organization grows, employees often circumvent the system—or teams may realize they aren’t able to complete tasks as efficiently as they would like. Those gaps can lead to:
- Rogue spending: Too often, employees will bypass your digital system and purchase through unapproved suppliers. Not only does that hurt compliance, but it also dampens your spend under management and spend visibility. And without clear spend visibility, it’s difficult to manage your spending effectively. Rogue spending also limits your control. After all, if spend isn’t flowing within your system, you can’t control it.
- Inefficient invoice processing: Teams that are manually processing invoices or matching documents on their own end up pouring hours into task-based work. Not only does that distract them from more specialized work, but these extra steps can also delay payments and sour supplier relationships.
- Errors and mistakes: Inefficiencies in P2P processes often mean more humans are updating and handling documents. That leads to a higher rate of errors, triggering even more work and tainting financial data.
- Disconnected systems: One challenge with ERPs is that they run on a specific process that only some teams are familiar with. That means when an issue in the P2P process comes up, your team may need to track down people who don’t understand the ERP, get answers to their questions, and record those updates in the system. That all slows down your P2P processes and causes delays.
How to Upgrade Your Invoice Processing, Buying, and AP
The easiest way to fill in the gaps in your NetSuite software and supercharge your experience is to adopt NetSuite-certified technology. Here are a few ways to use this technology to upgrade your invoice processing, buying, and AP:
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- Simplify purchasing with a digital marketplace: P2P solutions that include a certified NetSuite app will give your employees a centralized digital marketplace for purchasing. They also support supplier catalogs, including punch-out and hosted catalogs that clearly lay out company pricing. These tools let your employees easily see approved suppliers and purchase items in a few clicks. This increases spend visibility, eliminates unapproved purchases, and lifts your spend under management. And because this purchasing method is easy and convenient, it boosts adoption.
- Save time with two- and three-way matching: Advanced P2P solutions use a NetSuite app to automate two- and three-way matching. That drives straight-through invoicing, saves time, and facilitates on-time, accurate payments.
- Reduce errors with P2P automation: P2P automation trims down manual input throughout the P2P process, reducing errors and freeing your teams up for more specialized work.
- Boost efficiency with AI and machine learning: Advanced P2P solutions use AI and machine learning to boost efficiency throughout your P2P process. For instance, top-tier solutions use cognitive optical character recognition (OCR) to scan PDFs or handwritten documents and upload them into your system—saving hours of time for employees.
How Certified P2P NetSuite Apps Work
Advanced P2P solutions will include a certified P2P NetSuite app that instantly elevates your NetSuite experience. For instance, Vroozi’s certified SuiteApp is built on NetSuite’s SuiteCloud computing platform, letting you manage everything from purchasing, approvals, and electronic invoicing to AP automation, procurement planning, and more on one platform.
These apps don’t require any additional training and map easily onto your existing NetSuite software. They also scale alongside your business, so you can control rogue spending, increase spending controls, and secure more digitally enabled suppliers as you grow.
Ultimately, with certified NetSuite apps, you can start accessing a full digital marketplace, streamline your P2P processes, and boost your spend visibility and control in a matter of clicks.
Lift Your AP and Procurement Teams’ Performance to the Next Level
When companies mature, running NetSuite alone can lead to AP and procurement inefficiencies. By upgrading to a certified NetSuite app that includes P2P automation, you can sharpen your P2P processes, simplify your purchasing, increase your spend visibility, and lay out the insights you need to make smart strategic decisions.
Want to see how to upgrade your NetSuite experience with P2P automation? Visit our NetSuite page to learn more.
