Coming soon this summer! We're thrilled to announce a new feature designed to enhance efficiency and reduce risk: payment release workflows.
What is changing with approval workflow capabilities?
Payment release workflows provide a dedicated, robust approval process specifically for the release of payments. This is distinct from—and complements—your existing bill approval processes, offering an extra layer of control and security at the very end of the payment cycle. This final step, the actual release of funds, is a pivotal control point that directly impacts cash flow, speed to payment, and the risk of errors.
**Payment release workflows are available to Bill Pay Elite subscribers or QuickBooks Online Advanced subscribers.
Addressing your biggest pain points
We understand the challenges accountants and AP managers face:
- Impact on cash flow: The final release of funds can dramatically affect a company's available cash. A streamlined, controlled process ensures payments are released with cash flow in mind.
- Speed to payment: Manual or disjointed release processes can slow down payments, potentially damaging vendor relationships and missing early payment discounts. Our new workflow accelerates this final step.
- Risk of errors: The last stage of payment is a high-stakes moment for errors. With a dedicated approval workflow, you can minimize mistakes and enhance accuracy, safeguarding your client's funds.
Why this matters for your firm
Implementing payment release workflows means:
- Enhanced control and compliance: Gain granular control over who can release funds and under what conditions, bolstering your firm's compliance posture.
- Reduced risk: Mitigate the risk of unauthorized payments or errors, providing greater peace of mind for your firm and your clients.
- Clear audit trail: Every action within the payment release workflow is meticulously logged, providing an unalterable record for compliance, review, and accountability.
- Improved efficiency: Automate the final approval step, reducing manual touchpoints and freeing up your team to focus on higher-value tasks.
- Enhanced client experience: Offer a feature that directly addresses a major pain point for your clients, helping you stand out in the market and attract new business.
How to set up your payment release workflows
Setting up and customizing your payment release workflows is intuitive and integrated seamlessly into your existing platform. You'll find this feature within the same robust workflow builder you currently use for custom roles and approval parameters.
To start setting up your workflow, simply navigate to a lightning bolt icon on the top right navigation panel. There, you'll see an option for "payment release workflows." Just like with bill approvals, you can:
- Assign roles and permissions: Assign admins to approve payment releases.
- Set approval parameters: Configure precise conditions such as payment amount limits (for example, payments more than $5,000 require additional approval).
- Build your workflow: Use our familiar interface to construct multi-level approval chains.
