Building a Seamless NetSuite Accounts Payable Process

As an Oracle NetSuite user, you already know NetSuite ERP is a powerful and versatile addition to your business toolbox. Let’s talk about how it can help you optimize and streamline your accounts payable processes. (If you don’t currently use NetSuite, read on for some pointers on AP optimization.)

First, the basics.

NetSuite is a cloud-based enterprise resource planning and accounting system that automates day-to-day accounting, finance, and business tasks. NetSuite also has modules covering business functions like business intelligence, accounts receivable, supply chain management, payroll, inventory, payments, and accounts payable.

But its capabilities go beyond that.

Third-party SuiteApps (like Stampli) integrate with NetSuite to extend its power to optimize and streamline complex, manual business processes like accounts payable. By leveraging NetSuite and SuiteApps, NetSuite customers can save money and time, improve cash flow, access actionable real-time data, and free employees to work on higher-value tasks.

The trick is getting it right. Read on to learn how you can optimize AP processes and take advantage of NetSuite and SuiteApps to build a seamless accounts payable workflow.

How to streamline AP processes

Nobody in finance has ever said “We need more paperwork” is a successful business strategy.

In AP in 2023: Expectations, Technology, Opportunity, Stampli surveyed 251 CFOs and finance leaders on their expectations for 2023. Over two-thirds (80%) said they expected the volume of invoices they would need to handle would increase. Just over half (53%) also said they expect invoice complexity to increase.

The unfortunate reality is that many AP teams are buried under mountains of paper. In AP in 2023: Expectations, Technology, Opportunity, Stampli surveyed 251 CFOs and finance leaders on their expectations for 2023. Over two-thirds (80%) said they expected the volume of invoices they would need to handle would increase. Just over half (53%) also said they expect invoice complexity to increase.

That’s a lot of paperwork, and as the volume and complexity of invoices grow, AP teams can get overwhelmed. Adding employees isn’t the answer – adding more staff to work on a manual process just creates new bottlenecks. The best solution is to fix the problem at its source by optimizing AP processes.

Streamlining AP processes focuses on three goals: optimizing workflows, improving communications, and automating manual tasks.

Optimizing AP workflows

To optimize AP workflows, I start by identifying and addressing the bottlenecks in my current process. For example, I can check where my vendors are currently sending invoices and make sure they go to a single address (or email address for digital invoices). I can also ensure that employees are sorting received invoices according to date and priority so they get paid on time.

One of the biggest efficiency gains comes from replacing or streamlining time-consuming and error-prone manual processes like invoice data entry and verification. For example, I can use optical character recognition (OCR) to scan and digitize paper invoices, receipts, and other documents. Digitizing makes it much easier to store, manage, and search these documents.

I can improve my payment process by making a few changes, like deciding when to pay invoices and grouping invoices by the due date. Doing this lets us manage these payments in batches, so they get paid on time. I can also look at my payment methods and see if we can replace paper checks with electronic methods like ACH or credit cards.

Improving communications

Poor communications can plague AP teams. Accounts payable touches almost every other department in my business, so it’s important that everyone is reading from the same page. For example, tasks like three-way matching need accurate purchase orders and receipts. This means my AP team needs to communicate with the procurement team. If an email gets lost or misrouted, things can grind to a halt, so we need to ensure information is getting through.

Good communication is also crucial to the approval process. Approvers need complete information to properly review and approve a transaction. If they don’t have the info, it can trigger a wild goose chase while everyone tries to find it. I can review my current process and internal controls to ensure employees include the right information when they send an invoice for approval.

Automating manual tasks

Streamlining workflows and improving controls can make a big difference in AP process efficiency, but it’s only half the battle. My business still faces a growing volume of increasingly complex invoices, and hiring new staff isn’t an option. Manual processes are just not going to cut it. I need a solution that’s efficient, scalable, and easy to implement.

Accounting software and AP automation solutions, such as NetSuite Accounts Payable, automate invoice scanning, coding, verification, approval routing, and communications functions. For example, I can use NetSuite to speed up my vendor payment process by automating manual data entry, invoice verification, and approval workflows. This ensures the transaction info is complete, and the approval goes to the right person.

Here’s how it works.

Optimizing AP workflows with NetSuite

NetSuite Accounts Payable automates core AP functions like vendor management, purchase orders, invoice processing, payments, and reporting. I can customize my solution and workflows within NetSuite to add the functionality my business needs. Some NetSuite AP automation solutions, such as NetSuite Invoice Management, are bundled into larger solutions. So, I may need to select the whole solution to get the functionality I want. To maximize my ROI, I want a NetSuite AP optimization solution that’s powerful, easy to implement, and scalable.

Let’s look at how NetSuite can help me with vendor document management, invoice processing, and payments.

Vendor management 

NetSuite lets me replace my paper-and-spreadsheet vendor files with a centralized vendor list. Once I create a vendor record in NetSuite, the software will pull the vendor data (address, payment method & terms, discounts) whenever needed. For example, if I enter a vendor invoice, NetSuite will automatically pull the vendor data from the invoice, search for a matching vendor record, and populate the vendor data into the bill record. This saves time and also helps prevent errors during the invoice processing stage.

To add a new vendor, I log into NetSuite, click the Lists tab, click Vendors, and then click the New button. From there, I enter the vendor’s information into the record, then click Save when finished.

Invoice processing

NetSuite’s AP module provides basic invoice processing automation that will help me streamline my AP workflows. The module lets me scan and digitize paper invoices using built-in OCR functionality. I can also have vendors send digital invoices to a central email address, or I can drag and drop digital invoices into NetSuite. 

Once an invoice is entered, NetSuite creates a bill record, adds general ledger codes to line items, and performs two-way matching to verify the invoice against the purchase order. After the invoice has been verified, I send it for approval and payment.

Read the case study on how Renova Energy reduces invoice processing time by 50%

Note that the basic NetSuite invoice management processes still require some manual steps. I can further streamline the process by setting up workflows in NetSuite using the NetSuite Approvals Workflow SuiteApp. 

NetSuite also offers a complete invoice management solution (NetSuite Invoice Management) that provides additional approvals and payments functionality. However, NetSuite Invoice Management requires me to use HSBC as my payments provider. I want to be able to choose my own payment provider, so that solution doesn’t work for me.

Vendor payments 

Finally, NetSuite provides approval and payment automation features that streamline my payments process and help prevent errors and late payments. Once I create a bill record in NetSuite and it has been verified, the software automatically routes the bill record to an approver. I can set up workflows in NetSuite to apply simple routing rules. But if I want to add more complex routing, I need to use the NetSuite Approvals Workflow SuiteApp.

Once the approver has reviewed and approved the invoice, it’s ready for payment. Here I have a couple of options. Using NetSuite’s core payments functionality, I can pay the bill manually by check, ACH, or credit card. Alternatively, I can use NetSuite’s Invoice Management solution to pay the bill via HSBC.

The NetSuite bill payment process can be complex. In a nutshell, to pay a vendor bill in NetSuite, I navigate to Transactions > Payables > Enter Bills, click View next to the bill I want to pay, and then click Make Payment. From there, I enter the payment information and click Save to make the payment.

NetSuite’s core AP solution helps me streamline my AP processes, but it still requires manual tasks, so it’s not fully automatic. Plus, it has limited functionality unless I set up custom workflows or additional modules. I also want the flexibility to choose my payment methods or partner.

Third-party AP automation software solutions (SuiteApps) for NetSuite give me more control over my AP processes. They can also connect to NetSuite to share data and improve communications. This means I don’t need to change my current processes or IT environment, which is a big plus for my business.

Stampli is an ideal AP solution for us, because the solution centralizes communication, docs, and workflows in one unified solution. It eliminates workarounds and tedious manual tasks to streamline procure-to-pay workflows. And as a Built for NetSuite (BFN) SuiteApp, Stampli integrates seamlessly with NetSuite with no changes to my IT or existing processes.

Let’s unpack that a bit and see what makes Stampli so versatile.

Stampli: Industry-leading Accounts Payable Automation for NetSuite

Stampli is Industry-leading Accounts Payable Automation for NetSuite

Stampli is for Accounts Payable teams that want automation but don’t want to rework their ERP or change their AP processes. Unlike other solutions, Stampli supports the full functionality of more than 70 ERPs, including NetSuite. This flexibility enables Stampli to deploy in days without any disruption to your business — which is great for businesses like ours that need to scale quickly and don’t want to spend months waiting on a solution.

You’ll have efficiency, visibility, and control in one unified platform with these key features:

  • Invoice processing: Automate invoice capture, coding, approvals, and more to streamline and optimize AP processes.
  • Information in one place: All invoice communication, actions, documents, and workflows are at the top of each invoice.
  • Billy the Bot: An advanced AI that adapts to your AP processes and business structure to eliminate manual work in NetSuite.
  • Purchase orders: Effortless 2- and 3-way PO matching, handling partial amounts, adjusting line items, and directly adding new line items.
  • Vendor management: Keep vendors happy and maintain compliance by managing vendor onboarding, information, and documentation.
  • Multi-subsidiary support: Process and pay invoices across subsidiaries, offices, departments, or locations from a single place.
  • Business insights: Get real-time visibility into invoices, employee productivity, and AP processes with powerful analytics and reporting tools.

With Stampli, you don’t have to sacrifice visibility or control. Stampli optimizes your entire AP program by reducing errors and fraud, enforcing controls, improving vendor relationships, and making processes more efficient.

Get started today. Contact Stampli to set up a free demo and see for yourself how you can get the most out of NetSuite for accounts payable.

How Stampli's industry-leading end-to-end AP solution gets the most out of NetSuite

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