Restaurant Automation Belongs in the Office, Too
Automation is reaching the restaurant industry in ways never dreamed of twenty years ago. Electronic menus. Order kiosks. Online reservations. Pre-ordering. All of these digital contributions lead to faster, more streamlined customer service and fewer order mistakes. What a great time to be alive and hungry!
Yet, when it comes to automating their nuts and bolts business functions, many restaurants still lag. One such function is invoicing. Even in this brave new world of electronic everything, many accounts payable departments are still clinging to paper invoicing.
Why? The two main reasons are hassle of switching and cost. And neither one is a legitimate excuse any more.
Sure, the thought of switching over to electronic invoicing can be daunting. But it doesn’t have to be. A prime example: not long ago, California-based iPayables took on the task for the world’s largest restaurant chain, switching from its old electronic method to iPayables’ InvoiceWorks®. In just a few months, InvoiceWorks® was up and running smoothly, processing 1.7 million invoices annually, resulting in greater efficiency and better productivity. The result was less expense and fewer headaches for both the chain and its valued vendors.
AP Automation means fewer errors, easier tracking of data, and the virtual elimination of lost invoices and authorization lag. Once vendors understand the ease of use – not to mention the benefit to them of faster payment – they’re generally quick to jump on board.
For chain restaurants, large or small, there’s the added benefit of freeing up floor managers to attend to more productive activities, rather than fielding calls from vendors all day. With an AP Automation solution like iPayables’ InvoiceWorks®, vendors have 24/7 access to payment status, making updates as quick and easy as the click of a mouse.
For the AP department, payment of invoices is a simple point-and-click, too, as is redirecting invoices for verification and approval. No more snail mail payments, no more scanning paper invoices, no more chasing around wondering whose desk a paper invoice ended up on.
Best of all, an automated platform like InvoiceWorks® is customizable to gather and process information for individual accounts. For example, a food supplier account might require a very different configuration than an equipment service account.
Customizable, streamlined, AP department-friendly and vendor-friendly are key aspects of a good e-invoicing platform. But what about cost? The up-front expenditure for automating should be recaptured quickly through reduction in labor costs as well as hard costs such as mailing and document storage. Among the intangibles are happier vendors, AP personnel and managers.
So, don’t wait. Satisfy your craving for an automated accounts payable system by contacting an industry leader that serves up everything you want – custom-ordered to your taste.