71.5% of Suppliers Report Resolving Issues Faster With a Supplier Portal

PROVO, Utah, July 14, 2021 (Newswire.com) - Results of the 2021 iPayables Supplier Survey show that 71.5% of suppliers report being able to resolve issues faster with a supplier portal. While invoice visibility can certainly improve the supplier experience, it's not the only deciding factor in their decision to use a supplier portal. This survey asked for supplier thoughts and opinions of InvoiceWorks, the iPayables portal, as well as if the COVID-19 pandemic had any effect on their use of the portal. Suppliers responded well to the survey, rating InvoiceWorks just above an eight out of 10 for ease of use, with 69% using the portal at least once a month.

iPayables distributes this survey with the goal of understanding the benefits of supplier involvement in the invoicing process, especially focusing on supplier-facing features such as invoice-status visibility and dispute notification. By allowing suppliers to have free access to these types of abilities, it increases their use of the portal and simplifies the working relationship between a company and its suppliers. These features allow suppliers to see where their invoice is at in the process and what, if anything, is keeping it from being approved for payment. Suppliers are also notified immediately if an approver, or other personnel, creates a dispute on an invoice, indicating that some sort of change or clarification is necessary. This increases straight-through processing of invoices, as the portal requires that suppliers include all information required by a company and that the information matches any co-existing information, such as purchase orders. Of the 814 respondents, 74.6% have resolved issues faster with dispute notifications and 83.69% believe they can resolve PO exceptions faster than accounts payable through the portal.

While many accounts payable departments are unsure of their suppliers' willingness to use a portal, this survey shows that well-designed portals not only make the process easier, but improve relationships with suppliers. Having supplier access to the portal be free also simplifies the discussion surrounding onboarding, as they don't have to worry about additional fees just to send an invoice. When asked what changes they felt could be made to improve InvoiceWorks, one supplier stated, "It actually couldn't be any smoother and user friendly. It's awesome."

About iPayables

iPayables is a pioneering leader in the automating of accounts payable departments, optimizing workflow and streamlining the invoicing and payables process. By using its advanced internet invoicing system InvoiceWorks^®, businesses can streamline the entire Procure-to-Pay process.

The world's largest airlines and largest restaurant chain, as well as some of the world's largest grocers, hospital systems, and manufacturers, use iPayables InvoiceWorks^® because of its functionality, flexibility, and unmatched value. iPayables provides supplier portal tools for invoice web-entry, file upload, EDI, and PO flip, as well as paper/PDF invoice capture (digitization), which integrate seamlessly with its robust and dynamic workflow, purchase order matching, dispute resolution, payment and dynamic discounting capabilities. To learn more about iPayables, visit www.ipayables.com.

Source: iPayables, Inc.