Your Vendor File Grew Up, But Your Process Still Uses Training Wheels
Most finance teams know their vendor master is messy. Few can say how messy, what it costs, or how exposed it leaves them. The Hackett Group set out to answer…
Vendor Onboarding
First Contact Matters
How you bring vendors in sets the tone for everything that follows.
Supplier Portal Software: Identifying What You Need
Supplier portal software has become a standard part of the AP technology stack. Most mid-market and enterprise organizations now have some form of vendor-facing portal, a place where suppliers can…
What Should Your Vendor System Actually Do? The Capabilities Most Organizations Discover Too Late
Most organizations don't go looking for a better vendor system until something breaks.
Ready or Not: How to prep for a Vendor Master File Audit
A vendor master file audit examines how your organization creates, changes, authenticates, and retires vendor records, and whether the controls around those records actually hold. Preparing means proving those controls…
Vendor Onboarding vs. Vendor Identity: The Problem With Treating Them As The Same Thing
Ask most AP teams how they authenticate their vendors, and they'll describe their onboarding process.
What Is Vendor Identity Authentication? Your Payment Security Depends on It
Every year, accounts payable teams process millions of payments to vendors they can't fully authenticate. They trust the data in their ERP. They trust the form that was filled out.…
The Benefits of AP Automation — If Vendor Data Is Clean and Authenticated
Organizations talk about the benefits of AP automation constantly. Finance leaders want faster invoice processing, fewer errors, and greater visibility into payment operations. Technology vendors promise streamlined workflows and improved…
What Is AP Automation? (And What Most Definitions Miss)
Ask ten finance leaders, “What is AP automation?” and you will likely hear ten slightly different answers. Some will describe invoice scanning software. Others will focus on electronic approvals or…
Why Validating Bank Accounts Is Now a Board-Level Issue
Not long ago, validating bank accounts was viewed as a back-office control. Important? Yes. Strategic? Not really.