Accounts receivable invoice deductions and disputes can be a big problem when you use manual AR processes. Your AR team typically doesn’t find out about them until after deductions have been taken, and it takes a lot of their time to resolve them. Time which could have been spent contacting high priority collection accounts.
You can get control of disputes and invoice deductions with AR automation, and correct the problems that are the source of invoice disputes. Here’s how accounts receivable automation can help your team stay ahead of the curve on invoice disputes and deductions.
Reporting Disputes
With AR automation including an online self-service customer portal, customers can report disputes. You can learn about them long before a deduction is taken, and take action to resolve the dispute so payment is not delayed.
Analyzing Disputes
The research required to analyze disputes, and the back-and-forth communication by email and phone calls with the stakeholders in the dispute, is difficult and time consuming under normal circumstances. It can be much more difficult if your AR team is working remotely, if you do not have AR automation to help analyze invoice disputes and deductions.
With an online portal, customers can report disputes and indicate the reason for the problem, which can time researching the dispute. AR automation can also utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify the probable reasons for a deduction reducing the time needed for research and analysis.
Resolving Disputes
Invoice dispute resolution usually requires communication with the stakeholders to arrive at a solution. An online customer portal facilitates this process by providing a forum to keep stakeholders informed of a dispute, and communicate with the stakeholders to reach a resolution.
Eliminating Invoice Deductions and Disputes
Armed with knowledge of the reasons for invoice disputes and deductions, your AR team can follow up to ensure that corrective action is taken to eliminate the problems causing the disputes, including:
- Pricing issues
- Master data errors
- Operational problems
Getting control of accounts receivable deductions and invoice disputes with AR automation can facilitate reporting, analysis and resolution, and help to eliminate similar problems in the future. It will free-up time to contact more high priority collection accounts and increase cash flow.
Digital Solutions
Accounts receivable and accounts payable cloud-based solutions with customer/vendor portals and digital processes keep vendors and customers connected whether they work remotely or not.
With a connected accounting solution for your accounts receivable and accounts payable teams to coordinate work with customers and vendors, you can go digital and enjoy the benefits of office automation.
Lockstep Collect, a leader in cloud-based connected accounting solutions, can help you boost productivity and optimize cash flow with:
- Automated Communications
- Customer Self-service
- Collections Activity Management
- Reporting & Forecasting
Lockstep is an experienced software partner that can help you increase efficiency and accelerate cash flow.
If you would like to learn more about how you can benefit from connected accounting solutions, please contact Lockstep or visit us at www.lockstep.io
