How Can I Simplify Payments?

Less than 5 years ago, I wonder if, like me, you can remember digging out card readers from the safe to start the laborious task of logging into your bank account and begin the process of setting up payments.

Each bank had a different User Interface and each bank had its own and very different ways of setting up payments. For those without a user-friendly way of setting up beneficiaries, we would often find ourselves not only typing the values and dates manually, but also the bank details and references. This was a surefire route to human error.

On top of this, there was definitely no talking between your bank and your accounting system. If you had paid a supplier, you’d need to manually mark it as paid until the transaction came through to reconcile it, if you had the luxury of a direct bank feed. If you didn’t, you would be at risk of paying the same invoice twice as it may just still be showing as outstanding in your accounting system.

Fast forward to the present day, and the options to streamline this process whilst simultaneously reducing the risks that come with setting up payments, are plentiful.

At MAP, our solution is software called Telleroo linked to Xero Cloud Accounting, and whilst this is less a plug for either of them, it is more about how the functionality and integration of such software can make your life so much easier when it comes to setting up payments.

Hey, you can even get us to set up and make the payments too!

Within Telleroo, you can access your payables from your accounting software and simply select the ones you’d like to pay. Any bank details that have already been entered for a contact previously will pull through, but if there are any you have not added into your accounting software yet, then you can have Telleroo scan the invoice for the bank details and add them automatically.

The pay run can then be created alongside an approval process that suits you and your business. You then just need to fund the total amount of the pay run by transferring the amount from your bank into Telleroo, again, easily achieved via the Telleroo portal.

With MAP, Telleroo also integrates with Brightpay, so you can have a similarly efficient process when paying your staff.

We know that for many business owners, the process of making payments can be a source of frustration and worry. If you are worried about typing in an extra ‘0’ or missing important due dates, if you get frustrated about how your time, or one of your team’s time, could be better used, then know that we are here to ease that pain.

If you want to know anymore about automation and your business, then call MAP and ask for me, Will.

Will Jarvis -Head of Financial Controls MAP