The Hidden Costs of AP Customer Service
Introduction
Most organizations track their invoice processing cost and perhaps payment cost, but current research finds that few look specifically at costs incurred by activities related to service accounts payable’s customers. There is a cost to the status quo that is often unmeasured and may be less effective and higher than it could be. By examining these activities and determining the costs, most organizations will find room to employ more effective and less costly means to reach objectives.
There is an opportunity cost to suboptimal customer service. AP’s processes should be optimized and incorporate tools to balance cost with good customer service.
Studies show the value of good supplier relationships to profitability. Supplier relations are impacted by requisite AP customer service to answer questions, maintain high data quality and address problems. By employing disciplined processes, training staff and implementing targeted, effective automation tools, organizations can remove friction in supplier interactions and further support supplier relationship strategies that improve the bottom line.
Key Things You Will Take Away from This Report:
- Learn the hard cost of AP customer service
- Get a formula to calculate the actual cost of vendor inquiries
- Understand that inquiries don’t just come into AP; costs are duplicated in 40% of the cases when they call the purchaser first
- Discover the cost of new supplier registration
- Examine the strategic cost of supplier relations
- Recognize the value of good supplier relationships
- Learn how supplier self-service tools can reduce friction and improve relationships
- And much, much more!
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Explore answers to common queries and get the information you need from the experts at Financial Operations Networks.
Financial Operations Networks (FON) is a financial operations company whose products help accounts payable teams prevent payment fraud: VendorInfo, a vendor portal; InvoiceInfo, a supplier portal; DisbursementControls.com, a membership resource for disbursement controls; and VIMCOE, which provides accounts payable certification. FON is a Nacha Preferred Partner.
FON strengthens front-line control points across vendor onboarding, supplier maintenance, and payments — verifying vendor information, validating bank account ownership, running compliance checks, and reducing exposure to business email compromise (BEC) before payments are made.
VendorInfo is a vendor portal for onboarding: it verifies tax IDs, screens OFAC and validates bank account ownership before a vendor is paid. InvoiceInfo is a supplier portal for after the invoice: suppliers look up invoice status, payment dates and remittance advice themselves instead of emailing AP. Both sit on top of the same ERP and are often used together.
Yes. FON offers specialized programs including the AP Payment Fraud Prevention Certification and the Accredited Vendor Information Professional (AVIP) Certification to help finance professionals strengthen expertise and advance their careers.
Request a demo and our team will walk you through how FON can strengthen your controls, reduce fraud exposure, and improve AP efficiency based on your organization’s goals.
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