One of the challenges that purchasing professionals and other company managers face daily is the complexity of the P2P process. While it isn’t complicated to understand all these concepts, the sheer volume of paperwork and the burden of internal controls can quickly add up and become overwhelming.
Fortunately, the procurement process doesn’t always need to be complicated. That’s because there are some best practices that can make your life easier while also controlling maverick spend and making sure your company can pass any audit, any time.
Use automation
One of the easiest changes you can make to the procurement process in your company is to use automation. Chances are that you already have payment software, such as QuickBooks, that pay each invoice and post the transaction. However, you can easily add P2P software to the mix. These ingenious applications will track each purchase from requisition, to purchase order, delivery, and finally, invoice processing.
Standardize everything
Next, be sure to standardize how your company makes each purchase. This should include carefully vetting each vendor to make sure that they are reliable, and that using them is consistent with your corporate goals. Then, you can grant approval to the procurement department to use them.
Next, standardize how you process each invoice. Before you spend your company’s hard-earned money, you need to be sure there’s a valid contract and that the seller lived up to their end of the bargain. This way, you’ll avoid paying more than you should or worse, getting ripped off.
Leverage data
Although it’s easy to simply approve one set of suppliers and then keep using them, sometimes there should be changes. For instance, you might find over time that you can spend less money and get better, more reliable parts. You can only discover this by using data to analyze the market over time.
Collaborate
Finally, no part of the P2P process should happen in a vacuum. Instead, you should leverage the power of software and in-house communication to make sure that everyone is on the same page. This will lead to better outcomes over time.
As always, quality procurement software is at the center of modern best practices. Check out ControlHub today to see how we can help modernize your business.
