AP Invoice Tracking System & Invoice Intake Workflow Use Case

Any organization that needs to streamline their accounts payable process can benefit from an automated, DIY invoice intake and tracking system. For example:

• Finance teams managing vendor invoices, payment approvals, and cash flow oversight
• Accounting departments processing high volumes of invoices and tracking payment statuses
• Small businesses that are outgrowing manual invoice processes and spreadsheet tracking
• Service companies that need to track customer invoices from quotes to payments
• Growing organizations that require better visibility into their accounts payable workflow

An orders and invoices template app is an essential tool for any business that wants to stay organized and efficient. Unlike traditional spreadsheet methods, a dedicated app provides comprehensive automation and integration capabilities:

• Order Tracking: The quotes and invoices template allows for automated tracking of incoming orders: customer details, order dates, items, quantities, and prices. Unlike a spreadsheet, the app can automatically update order statuses, send order confirmations, and reduce manual entry errors, ensuring more efficient and accurate order management.
• Invoice Generation: Generate invoices for fulfilled orders with automatic calculations for totals, taxes, and discounts. It can integrate with payment gateways, send invoices directly to clients, and track payment statuses in real-time, offering a level of automation and convenience that a spreadsheet cannot provide.
• Client Relationships: Maintain a comprehensive list of customers, track repeat buyers, and tailor marketing campaigns more effectively. Segment customers based on purchase history, send personalized communications, and generate reports on customer behavior, providing deeper insights and better engagement opportunities than a spreadsheet.
• Inventory Management: Integrate directly with your inventory system for real-time monitoring of stock levels and automatic updates as orders are processed. Ensures that you never oversell or run out of stock, a feature that is difficult to manage with a standalone spreadsheet.
• Financial Reporting: Get robust financial reporting tools that allow you to produce detailed sales summaries, revenue trends, and outstanding payment reports with ease. Unlike a spreadsheet, which requires manual data manipulation, the app can generate real-time reports with just a few clicks, saving time and reducing the risk of errors.
• Tax Preparation: Simplify tax preparation by automatically calculating taxes owed, tracking deductible expenses, and generating necessary reports. Ensure compliance with tax regulations, store digital copies of invoices for record-keeping, and reduce the workload associated with tax season, offering a more comprehensive solution than a spreadsheet.

A comprehensive invoice intake and tracking system offers significant benefits to small- and medium-sized businesses. To begin, it can eliminate problems such as:

• Invoice requests getting lost in email chains, causing payment delays and vendor relationship issues
• Manual tracking of invoices across different spreadsheets without proper approval trails
• Lack of payment status visibility leading to duplicate payments or missed due dates
• Different departments being unable to see invoice statuses or collaborate on payment decisions
• Time-consuming manual creation of payment reminders and customer communications
• Compliance gaps due to missing approvals or inadequate audit trails for financial reporting

Unlike rigid accounting software or basic invoice tools, Knack lets you:

• Create flexible invoice intake: Build customized forms to capture all necessary invoice data including vendor information, GL codes, payment terms, and approval requirements.
• Build custom accounts payable workflow: You can create customized workflows, such as: invoice received → data entry → manager review → finance approval → payment processing → customer notification.
• Set approval thresholds: Configure automatic routing based on dollar amounts. For example, small invoices get single approval, larger ones require dual sign-off from different departments.
• Automate payment reminders: Send alerts via email for approaching due dates, overdue payments, and payment confirmations to keep cash flow healthy.
• Enable customer self-service: Create secure customer portals where clients can view their invoices, make online payments with credit cards, and update their own account information.
• Track comprehensive data: Maintain centralized records of invoice numbers, amounts, due dates, payment status, vendor details, and customer payment history with complete audit trails.
• Process online payments: Integrate e-commerce functionality to allow customers to pay invoices online securely, improving cash flow and reducing manual payment processing.
• Generate detailed reports: Create insights on payment trends, aging reports, customer payment behavior, and cash flow projections to optimize your accounts payable workflow.
• Ensure security and compliance: Benefit from role-based access control where customers only see their own data, plus encryption, two-factor authentication, and automated backups.

You get a comprehensive invoice management system regardless of business size:

• Ecommerce Integration: Allow customers to pay their invoices online with credit cards or configure check payment options for maximum flexibility.
• Website Integration: Embed the customer portal directly into your website so customers can access their invoices without leaving your site.
• Notifications & Reminders: Set up automated email notifications with scheduled tasks to ensure customers pay invoices on time and reduce accounts receivable aging.
• Customer Security: When each customer logs into the portal, they will only see invoices and data connected to their specific customer account.
• Workflow Integration: Invoice approvals, payment notifications, and user permissions can all be integrated into your customer portal, allowing customers to participate directly in your accounts payable workflow.

Downloading our free template app can revolutionize your quotes and invoices process. Here’s how this comprehensive solution transforms your accounts payable workflow:

• Automate Quote and Invoice Generation: Streamline the process of creating quotes and converting them into invoices with a single click, saving time and reducing manual errors compared to spreadsheet-based methods.
• Enhance Customer Experience with Self-Service Portal: Provide customers with a secure portal to view, approve, and pay their invoices online, offering a more convenient and professional interaction than static spreadsheets.
• Integrate Seamlessly with Ecommerce: Enable online payments through integrated e-commerce features, making it easy for customers to pay invoices directly, increasing cash flow efficiency.
• Automate Payment Reminders and Notifications: Set up automated email notifications and reminders for customers to ensure timely payments, reducing the need for manual follow-ups and improving payment consistency.
• Secure and Centralize Customer Data: Protect sensitive customer information with robust security measures, ensuring that each user only sees relevant data while centralizing all quotes and invoices in a single, secure platform.
• Modernize for Free: Knack’s Orders and Invoices template app is completely free to download and use.

Stop chasing invoice approvals and manually tracking payments! Now, you can build your own custom AP invoice tracking system in hours, not months, without hiring a developer or IT consultant.

The flexible template adapts to your company’s specific needs: track only the data that matters to your business. Whether you sell services or products, this invoice intake solution works for any industry.

Try our free Quotes and Invoices Template → [Get Started for Free – No Credit Card Required]