Retail – Automating 400–600 Weekly Store Payables for Faster Operations and Stronger Vendor Satisfaction
Industry: Retail
Service: Retail Store Payables Automation
Client Background
The client is a popular retail brand in the USA operating more than 95 brick-and-mortar stores and a fast-growing e-commerce channel. Each store generated 20 to 40 invoices per week for utilities, cleaning, merchandising, maintenance, store supplies and local promotional activities.
Over time, the finance team began dealing with 400–600 store-level invoices every week, submitted through multiple channels. The workflow became slow, inconsistent and difficult to scale. As the brand continued opening new stores, the manual AP process started delaying vendor payments and disrupting daily store operations.
Challenges
- Decentralized invoice collection – Invoices arrived through email, courier packets, physical paperwork and even messaging apps, making it hard to track what was received and what was missing.
- Frequent payment delays – Approval cycles involving regional managers and finance heads stretched payments by 10–15 days, leading to vendor dissatisfaction and strained relationships.
- Limited spend visibility – Leadership had no real-time view of spending patterns across the 95+ stores. Budget overruns were usually caught only during month-end consolidation.
- High risk of duplicate or missing invoices – Stores often sent the same invoice twice or misplaced originals, resulting in overpayments or delayed reconciliations.
- Weak audit trail – With no centralized digital archive, pulling documents for audits or internal reviews required manual digging through emails and shared folders.
How Did APS Help?
APS deployed a complete Retail Store Payables Automation solution to bring structure, accuracy and speed to the client’s AP operations.
- Centralized Invoice Submission Portal – Every store uploaded invoices through a single online portal, tagging store code, category and due date. This eliminated email clutter and ensured 100% traceability.
- Automated Classification and GL Coding – Invoices were automatically sorted into predefined categories such as:
• Utilities
• Maintenance and cleaning
• Store supplies
• Merchandise display and marketing services
• Repairs and minor CapEx
This brought consistency across all 95+ stores and reduced manual errors. - Role-Based Approval Workflows – Invoices were routed instantly to the correct regional manager and then to the finance team. This cut approval time significantly.
- Store Spend and Budget Dashboard – Leadership received real-time insights into:
• Spend by store
• Spend by vendor
• Category-wise budget consumption
• Trends and cost deviations
This helped catch overspending early instead of weeks later. - Digital AP Archive for Audits – Every invoice, approval and communication was stored in a secure digital repository, making audits faster and more transparent.
Results Achieved
- 90% reduction in manual AP effort – Automation replaced repetitive tasks, cutting monthly processing hours drastically.
- Processing cycle reduced from 10–15 days to 3–5 days – Vendors received payments faster, reducing service disruptions at the store level.
- 100% centralized invoice capture – No more missing or misplaced store invoices.
- Accurate spend tracking across 95+ stores – Category-wise and store-wise visibility improved budget compliance.
- Stronger vendor relationships – Timely payments increased reliability and ensured priority service during high-demand seasons.
As a result, the firm gained:
- Smooth store operations without payment bottlenecks.
- Improved budgeting accuracy and forecasting across all stores.
- A scalable AP workflow ready for future store expansions.
- Higher vendor confidence and service quality.
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