Procure to Pay Software: The Benefits

Have you ever heard of the benefits of technology for our lives? We bet you have.

But what about the benefits technology, or more specifically automation has for procurement?

If you are a business owner or a procurement leader, you probably know how important it is to rely on an optimized procure-to-pay process. And yet, taking care of everything manually is not only exhausting but prone to errors that can cost you a lot of money.

The solution? A good procure-to-pay software

What’s Procure to Pay(P2P)?

P2P is nothing more than the process companies use to identify a need to buy something, request it, and finally pay for it. While procure to pay plays a huge role in the procurement department, it shouldn't be confused as a whole procurement process, P2P it's just a part of it. 

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What’s a P2P Software?

Okay so procure to pay seems important, what can you do to be sure that you're doing it right? 

You'll find automation as the most common answer. 

A solid P2P software will help your company to streamline all the key points. 

Do you find that choosing the right product from your supplier's catalog it's too much of a chore?  Do you wish it could be a faster way to handle invoices? 

Working with a procure to pay software solves these questions and so much more

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Benefits of P2P Software

Accuracy 

Yes, mistakes happen and that's completely fine but for businesses, making a mistake can lead to lose some money, if this happens constantly then it becomes a problem. Procurement and P2P rely on a series of critical factors, information, approvals, analysis, and resources, just to name the main ones  The most important thing? Every single step is connect to the next, so if you or someone of your team make a mistake entering the wrong number or date, the entirety of the process could be ruined. If, on the other scenario, you are working with a P2P software, you will remove any possibility of manual error along with the consequent delays. 

Automation

And speaking about manual errors, this is probably the most obvious and at the same time most necessary benefit of choosing a P2P software. Simply put, with a digital solution like this, you can save yourself and your team precious time, by not longer having to deal with manual processes, something that will become a must for every business as procurement responsibilities keep increasing. 

Visibility 

Yes, this is another key advantage of P2P software, you get clear insights into your procurement activities. You can track spending, monitor supplier performance, and gain relevant data into purchasing patterns, helping you make informed decisions for your business. 

Scalability 

P2P software solutions grow alongside your operations. You won’t have to worry about time-consuming, manual data entry, invoice routing, or payment reconciliation anymore. With automation, you can easily set spending rules based on users, departments, categories, or locations. Now, how beneficial does that look? 

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Steps of the Procure-to-Pay Process 

Identify the need

Wondering about the starting point? This is.

You’ll start by recognizing a need for goods or services. Someone in your team or other department could need specific software to carry out their responsibilities, or maybe it’s because a new project is in development and requires different materials.

Create a purchase requisition

Next, you’ll create a purchase requisition. This is simply a formal request to buy what you need. It usually includes details like what you want, how much you need, and why. You need to be very specific at this point, in order to facilitate the approval process. 

Approval

Once you’ve got your requisition ready, it’s time to send it off for approval. The goal here is to be sure that the right people give the green light before any purchases are made. If you were already using a P2P software, this step could be fully automated, making the communication and ultimate approval point really simple. 

Purchase order

After receiving approval, you’ll generate a purchase order (PO). This is a document that you send to the supplier to confirm what you want to buy and contains key details that will later on help you to keep track of everything. 

Receive the goods 

Yes, the goods finally arrived, but the job is not done yet. When your order arrives, you’ll check to make sure everything matches the purchase order. This way you can verify that you’ve received what you ordered.

Process the invoice

Now, the supplier will send you an invoice. You’ll match this invoice with the purchase order and the receipt of goods or services to ensure everything aligns.

Payment

Time to pay, once everything is verified, the only thing that’s left it’s to make the payment. You’ll process it according to your company’s payment terms, the important thing is to handle it as quickly as possible, as you won’t want to incur any delays. 

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How to choose procure-to-pay software

Alright, so there are a lot of reasons why you could choose a procure-to-pay software, but how can you be absolutely confident that you are choosing the right alternative? 

Define what you need 

Start by identifying your company’s specific requirements. Consider the size of your company, how complex is your procurement processes, and any particular features you might need, depending on your industry. 

Scalability 

This is the feature that you want to have in your P2P no matter what, businesses are made to grow, after all, so why the software you are working with shouldn’t do the same?

Integration 

There’s no point in having software that operates aside from your other systems. So, integration is another aspect that any good P2P digital solution, should work and communicate with your other software systems. 

Automated approvals 

The procurement process relies on support from various departments and leaders who help manage purchasing. With automated approvals, it becomes completely simple for everyone to view, comment, and approve purchases.

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