The pain of receiving hundreds of invoices in different formats and thoroughly checking them highlights how quickly the accounting team can experience burnout. No matter how much effort you give, without invoice management, issues like overpayment, payment penalties, or strained vendor relationships are likely to come up.

Even in the era of online accounting tools, today, 57% of invoices are manually added to the system from handwritten invoice copies. The number itself emphasizes the accounting team’s struggle and the growing need for proper invoice management by embracing the right tool.

Sooner or later, companies overlooking invoice management may experience cash flow issues, which can negatively impact their bottom lines. If you are facing similar issues, here we are to help you learn A-Z about what is invoice management, and invoice management process.

Key Takeaways

  • Invoice management is all about tracking and processing invoices to ensure timely payments to suppliers or vendors.
  • Businesses need proper invoice management to combat fraud risks, send timely payments, and reduce cash flow issues.
  • Without invoice management, it would be difficult to track invoices as quickly as possible, which may result in late payments.
  • Moon Invoice is a perfect invoice management software that is easy to implement for modern businesses.

What Is Invoice Management?

Invoice management is the process of simplifying a business’s approach to reviewing and approving invoices efficiently before making vendor payments. It involves a structured workflow where the approval team verifies invoices and ensures compliance with company policies.

Optimized invoice management helps prevent errors, reduce delays, and foster strong vendor relationships. Without proper invoice management, businesses may spend extra time manually vetting invoices before processing payments.

Moreover, failing to gain invoice control means having no idea of the company’s liabilities, putting your business at risk of cash flow disruptions and potential late payment penalties.

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What Is the Importance of Invoice Management?

What Is the Importance of Invoice Management

Below are several reasons why your business needs effective invoice management.

1. Dispatch Timely Payments

The accounting team handling thousands of invoices clearly justifies the need for proper invoice management to check invoices and process payments. Invoice management is crucial to dispatch payments in a timely manner and avoid potential late fees.

2. To Phase Out Fraud Risk

Managing invoices efficiently can root out fraud risks, ensuring you don’t fall prey to fraudsters or wrongfully lose money. It helps you see the bigger picture of your invoicing process so you can quickly spot the fraud claims and phase them out.

3. Lasting Vendor Relationships

Invoice management offers another perk in the form of strengthening vendor relationships. You can identify or even receive notifications about unpaid invoices and payment deadlines. After verifying the details, you can proceed with the payment and delight vendors by clearing your dues before the deadline.

4. Minimize Cash Flow Disruption

Unorganized invoices often disrupt business cash flow, as you may have no clear idea whether an invoice has been paid or not. In fact, tracking an invoice received long ago can be difficult. Here, invoice management comes in handy as it helps minimize cash flow disruptions.

Common Challenges in Invoice Management

Now, following the significance, let us uncover the pitfalls of managing invoices manually.

1. Invoice Tracking

Often, manually managing invoices results in tedious invoice tracking. You need to flip through paper invoices and discover whether a particular invoice exists in your records. This could take hours to identify whether an invoice is already paid or overdue. In case it is overdue, you know heavy penalties might come into effect and hamper your company’s financial budget.

2. Time & Resources

When done manually, invoice management can take extra time and effort. You need to allocate extra time and do multiple things to keep invoices organized. The approval process may take days to verify an invoice, ultimately delaying the payment to the vendor or supplier.

3. Limited Use of Automation

Restricted use of online tools can greatly affect your invoice management. You may be able to save invoices on software, but overlooking it for a long time can lead to missed payments and disorganized financial records.

How Does the Modern Invoicing Process Look Today?

Here’s what the modern invoicing approach looks like in today’s world and how it alleviates your accounts payable and accounts receivables process.

1. Digitize Invoice Collection

Most suppliers and vendors have already started sending invoices electronically. You may not realize it, but this is quickly becoming the new norm in digitization. Sooner or later, you need to adopt the digital way and start collecting paperless invoices instead of piling paper on your office desk. This modern-day invoicing approach also makes sense because you can promptly extract the data and generate financial reports without doing manual calculations.

2. Review On-the-Go

Following the invoice collection, the accounting team only needs a few minutes to check and approve the invoice. They can quickly scan high-quality invoices using a smartphone or tablet on the go. With this modern approach, they no longer have to evaluate paper invoices, which are not only difficult to read but also consume a lot of time. Importantly, they don’t get burned out.

3. Cashless Payments

Upon the payment approval, you don’t need to arrange a physical meeting to hand over the cash. You can simply tap on the payment link (inside a digital invoice) and pay using your preferred payment method. That’s how online invoicing in today’s world is saving time and resources for businesses like yours.

Implementing an Invoice Management System

Implementing an Invoice Management System

Implementing an invoice management software is easier than you think. Want to embrace a robust invoice management software for your business? Get Moon Invoice, a powerful invoicing software that makes a real difference.

Moon Invoice can automate your invoicing and payment collection process so efficiently that you can contribute more time to other important business tasks. You can check crystal-clear invoices, approve them promptly, and proceed with quick payments to build healthy relations with suppliers or vendors.

What’s more? Generating a financial report is also easier as there is no more tedious manual work. You can get insights into payment trends, expenses, and sales patterns right at your fingertips. With such on-demand reports, you can gather valuable insights to make strategic decisions and scale your business.

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Why You Should Consider an Invoice Management System

Below are some factors that explain why you really need an invoice management system to handle your invoicing and payment hassles.

1. Quick Approvals

If your accounting team is taking longer than usual to review invoices, you certainly need an advanced invoice management system. Delayed payments can become a serious concern, as suppliers or vendors may choose to cut ties after noticing frequent late payments. Therefore, having a powerful invoice management system is worthwhile.

2. Diverse Payment Methods

Still, sending payments in cash? It’s time to switch to the online invoice management system to pay invoices timely and keep your finances organized. Moreover, if vendors are imposing late fees due to delayed payments, invoicing software can be the rescuer. It enables businesses to examine and pay invoices quickly before the due date, eliminating late fees.

3. Tax Reporting

Without an invoice management system, difficulties in filing tax returns are common for businesses of every size. You need to spend hours extracting the data from invoices and receipts manually. Also, the manual approach is highly prone to errors, highlighting the need for a reliable invoicing system.

Conclusion

A simpler, more effective invoice management process with a modern approach is what your accounts payable team truly needs. Since you now know how to manage invoices, we are optimistic that implementing an invoice system would be at the top of your to-do list. If so, trying Moon Invoice can be beneficial in multiple ways.

You neither need to spend more time reviewing invoices manually nor worry about late payments. That’s how having a robust invoicing management system can turn the tables. Interested in adopting one for your business? Get a 7-day free trial now and explore how you can manage invoices, POs, and receipts on a single invoicing platform.

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Jayanti Katariya
Jayanti Katariya About the author

Jayanti Katariya is the founder & CEO of Moon Invoice, with over a decade of experience in developing SaaS products and the fintech industry. He holds a degree in engineering. Since 2011, Jayanti's expertise has helped thousands of businesses, from small startups to large enterprises, streamline invoicing, estimation, and accounting operations. His vision is to deliver top-tier financial solutions globally, ensuring efficient financial management for all business owners.