e-AP News
a short update on payment issues, news and products July 22, 2008

in this issue

Can They Really Do That?

Fall 1099 Schedule: Webinars

The New Payment World: An Excerpt

Master Vendor File

Date Change: September UP webinar

This Week on the Blog

Top Clicks from Last Week


 


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Dear Colleague

Wow, what a week! Tiki Barber in prime time talking about unclaimed property, the stock market finally posting some healthy returns, several new additions to our Webinar schedule and news of a September 1 price increase at Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow. Okay, the last is not exactly good news, except we're giving a heads up to readers of this ezine so they can start a subscription at the old price or renew before the increase. I'm going to start this packed edition with a really interesting question from one of our readers.


  • Can They Really Do That?
  • I received the following note from a reader asking what I thought (I'll tell you in a bit) and if I could get input from some of our readers (please send your comments to [email protected]). Here's what she wrote.

    "We have been contacted by several of our vendors giving us only an option to receive invoices by fax or email. Right now we only accept invoices by U.S. mail. Can vendors force us to receive invoices this way?

    "First, we are curious if this has happened to others and if so, what you did." Please send your notes to [email protected] even if you just say, "happened here and we complied" or "happened here and we refused."

    My thinking on this issue is that unless it was in the terms originally agreed to with the vendor, the vendor cannot force the issue. Of course, the vendor can refuse to sell going forward unless you agree. Having said that, let me point out that I wouldn't be at all surprised to see more of this in the future. Like paper checks, albeit not quite as bad, paper invoices are a royal pain.

    My suggestion is to set up a special email address and fax number to accommodate these requests moving forward. Because, as I said earlier, I believe this is a trend. The note got me thinking about how AP is changing. So I pulled out the New Payment World book to look for an excerpt that demonstrates how the payment piece is evolving. You'll see it further on in this issue.

  • Fall 1099 Schedule: Webinars
  • If I hadn't blabbered so much about everything else on our rather full plate, I'd have included more information about the new Webinars we added to the schedule. I'll have more about each of the sessions in upcoming issues of this ezine. For now, I just want to alert you that:

    On September 22 Cyrus Daftary and Jayne Alfano will discuss B-Notices and provide best practice advice on how to deal with those dreadful notices.

    We're also really pleased to be able to tell you that Greta Hicks, a CPA formerly with the IRS and E&Y has agreed to give two Webinars for our group. Among her numerous honors is one for Outstanding Instructor for National Society of Tax Professionals. On October 16 she'll talk about "Are You Certain Your Independent Contractors Are Really Independent Contractors?" And on November 20 she'll discuss the issue of "1099s the Right Way: Getting Ready for Year End."

    And here's something I'd like your input on. We're also discussing the possibility of doing a one-day seminar or a 3.5-hour webinar on "Getting Ready for Year End and 1099s." If this is something you think you'd be interested in, please drop me a line and tell me ([email protected]) what locations would work for you. We are aiming at a price of $495. (Please note: This would not commit you to anything. This is just our informal market research.)

  • The New Payment World: An Excerpt
  • If you think back just a few short years ago, most of the payments made for virtually any organization outside perhaps of the US government were paper checks. Boy, has that changed in the last five years or so. Now, organizations everywhere are looking to get rid of paper checks by the boatload replacing them with electronic payments and p-cards. By judiciously taking advantage of the differing payment vehicles, organizations can run a really efficient operation.

    So, what exactly is the best mix of payment vehicles? There is no one right answer to this. Many different compositions work. However, we thought we'd bring you a sample breakdown that was included in the New Payment World published by John Wiley & Sons last year. Here it is.

    For most organizations, their payment program simply evolved, with most payments being made by paper check. This situation is gradually changing, given the efficiency savings associated with p-cards and direct demand payments. Organizations that adopted these techniques usually have done so to gain process improvements and cost reductions. Rarely has an organization stepped back, reviewed its payments, and set up a program that combines all payment types, with different types used according to what is deemed appropriate.

    For example, an organization might create this type of payment plan:

    • P-cards for purchases under $1,000, where cards are taken
    • Direct payments (ACH credits) for all vendors converted to the plan who do not take p-cards
    • Direct payments (ACH debits) for sales and use tax
    • Wire transfers for all real estate transactions
    • Travel and entertainment (T&E) reimbursed by ACH credits only
    • Checks for everything else
    • No invoices process under $10

    New Payments World
    , the publication this intelligence was excerpted from, is a $45, 192-page hardcover book that explains the pros and cons of each of the payment tools available, and then provides detailed information on how to set up an integrated payment program. Like all other John Wiley & Sons books, it can be purchased at a 15% discount directly from the publisher using the link below. You'll need to go to the bottom of the page and click on the Wiley link.

    Purchase any John Wiley book at a 15% discount
  • Master Vendor File
  • Rich Lanza will be joining me on August 20 to talk about cleaning up the master vendor file. Whenever I listen to Rich I always pick up a few tips that I'm able to use in other Excel applications and I'm hoping this time will be no different. He's going to explain how to effectively and efficiently purge the master vendor file, reveal how to reduce duplicate payments to vendors, identify common mistakes with vendor masterfile setup, and much more.

    Register for the Clean Up Your Master Vendor File: A Step by Step Approach Webinar
  • Date Change: September UP webinar
  • Due to a scheduling snafu, we are going to change the date of the September Unclaimed Property Gotchas webinar to October 7. Rather than have a hurried presentation, which is what would have happened, we decided to move the date to one when our attendees could get the full and undivided attention of our speaker. Everyone who signed up has been contacted about the date change.

    Register for the Unclaimed Property Gotchas webinar
  • This Week on the Blog
  • How The Tiki Barber Unclaimed Property Show Might Impact Your Organization

    Myth Basher: P-cards and 1099s

  • Top Clicks from Last Week
  • To recommend this e-zine to another accounts payable or accounting professional, simply forward the entire newsletter or use our handy 'Tell A Colleague' form. He or she will appreciate it.

    I just had a note from a reader in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN area looking for an AP group or others interested in networking. If you have any information or would be interested in meeting, please drop a line to [email protected] and I'll put you in touch.

    If you plan on attending one of our Fall unclaimed property seminars and need to make a hotel reservation, please do not wait too long. The hotels only hold rooms for us until about one month before the actual date. Information about the hotels is on the unclaimed property seminar page.

    Until next week, thanks for listening.
    Mary Schaeffer
    Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow, a CRYSTALLUS, Inc. publication


    CRYSTALLUS, Inc, publisher of Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow, this ezine and sponsor of the AP Now webinar series, is a Woman-Owned Business and is registered as a Federal Government CCR vendor.

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