We just got our copies of the April issue and will be mailing them this week. This is an intriguing issue with articles like "Remittance Information Via e- Mail," "Dealing with the Cell Phone Payment Problem," "Motivating Employees," "P-Card Best Practices," "T& E Best Practices," "Growing Use of e- Payments" and much more.

The p-card insights are really good. Here's a simple piece of advice-simple, yet usually overlooked. Automatically deactivate unused cards. Why? Because they often end up in the wrong hands, used for purposes never intended.

Do you know what your unclaimed property exposure is? This is an important question for both those currently reporting (but perhaps not getting everything right) as well as, obviously, those not currently reporting. Consider doing a self audit to estimate your exposure. You may not be complying imagining a huge exposure when in reality it might be quite small. Or, heaven forbid, your situation may be the reverse! The important issue for those grappling with this issue is getting their arms around the problem. Once you have an idea as to the extent of the issue, dealing with it becomes much more manageable.

This is just one of the topics that will be addressed in some detail in Chicago on April 25 at the Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow Unclaimed Property seminar. While rooms at the conference rate will only be available until April 3, we will take registrations for the event through April 23 unless or until we run out of space.

From time to time we like to give readers who are not familiar with our publications the opportunity to sample our print newsletter at a reduced cost. For a limited time, we will make the September and October 2007 issues available for $29.95-half the normal single issue cost!

Included are three articles about fraud prevention and detection, a look at potential ACH debit problems, an analysis of the newest T&E problem, a look into the undetected problem many of our readers have in their warehouses, a look into the data in the master vendor file, a piece on when you can legally get rid of your paper copies, and much more.

Here's just one tip from these two great issues. It comes from Diane Gee. She gets invoices to accounts payable in a timely manner by putting a note on the firm's Intranet site informing all locations and employees of the cut-off date for getting invoices into AP.

And, speaking of Diane Gee, (notice that slick segue into this next item?), she's our expert lecturer for the Internal Controls Webinar scheduled for April 17. Gee knows the importance of not forgetting the master vendor file when evaluating accounts payable operations.

This means making sure the naming standards used when entering information into the master vendor file match those used when entering invoices into your accounting system. It also means ensuring the appropriate segregation of duties regarding the master vendor file are coordinated with other tasks in accounts payable. Then, ideally, your invoice processors cannot make any changes to the master vendor file.

These few items are just the beginning of the internal controls issues related to accounts payable. Ms. Gee will investigate the matter much more thoroughly on April 17. We hope you will join us.

I had a question from a reader asking about the mileage reimbursement rate for private airplanes. I found one rate of $1.07 per mile but it went back to 2006. Does anyone have anything later? I'd also like to hear from anyone who reimburses for use of private planes about how they handle that issue. Send your comments to marys@ap-now.com. I thank you in advance.

Are you interested in expanding your p-card program but are having trouble getting your employees in the field to use their cards? If so, you're not alone. More than a few programs have run into a brick wall in this regard. And, it can be particularly frustrating, especially after you worked so hard to get the program up and running. In fact, a few programs have faltered for this very reason.

Paul Bernstein recommends sharing the rebate with the end users. When some or the entire rebate comes back to their departments, you'll be amazed how fast these formerly recalcitrant employees get on board.

This is just one of the tips Paul has agreed to share with attendees at our May 20 Webinar, Managing a P- card Program: A Best Practice Approach

Thanks for listening.
Mary Schaeffer
editorial director
Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow