A new year always brings a natural moment to take stock of what is working in your business and what needs attention. For many finance teams, accounts payable sits near the top of that list. The work is essential, but it can easily become weighed down by manual tasks, slow approvals, and constant vendor follow-up. Even small inefficiencies grow over time and can hold your team back from higher-value work.

If you are looking to start the year on a stronger note, focusing on your AP process can be one of the most practical ways to boost productivity across your organization. The good news is you don’t need to upend your entire finance operation to make meaningful progress. A few targeted adjustments can help reduce friction, improve accuracy, and give your team more room to do the strategic work only people can do.

Below are key areas worth reviewing as you set your goals for the year ahead.

Look closely at where your process slows down

Before you look for solutions, take the time to understand how your current process works in practice. Map out each step from receiving an invoice to sending payment. Some teams find it helpful to walk through a recent invoice and document who touched it, how long each step took, and where the delays occurred.

Common slow points include:

• Sorting and entering invoice data manually
• Waiting for multi-level approvals
• Tracking down missing or incorrect information
• Switching between systems that do not connect
• Reissuing payments due to errors

Even if these seem like familiar issues, seeing them laid out helps you make smarter decisions about what to fix first. You may also uncover unnecessary steps that were added over time and no longer serve a purpose.

Bring more consistency to your invoice intake

Invoices arriving in multiple formats can place a surprising amount of strain on your AP team. Email PDFs, paper mail, portal downloads, and occasional photos from a job site all require different handling. Standardizing how vendors send invoices will help speed up your process.

If possible, designate a single email inbox or upload method for all invoices. Encourage suppliers to list the same key details every time, such as PO number, contact information, and itemized charges. Some AP automation platforms can extract invoice data automatically, which reduces manual entry and helps prevent typos or missing details.

Even small improvements in this area can save hours each month, especially as your business grows.

Understand the real reasons payments run late

Late payments are not always caused by a single breakdown in the process. More often, they happen because information is missing, expectations are unclear, or teams are not fully aligned on timing and priorities.

This challenge is growing, not shrinking. Recent Forbes research found that 51% of suppliers say their customers pay invoices late, up from 34% in 2020. And 21% report waiting more than 30 days past the due date to get paid, including 7% who wait longer than 45 days. These delays create real strain for suppliers and often signal process issues on the buyer side.

Invoices that arrive without complete details, mismatched purchase orders, or inconsistent payment terms all add to the problem. When AP teams lack a clear view of upcoming obligations or available cash, payments are more likely to slip.

Bring more transparency to your vendor relationships

Suppliers appreciate clear communication just as much as your AP team does. Late payments, unclear timelines, and inconsistent updates can create friction, even if your business values the relationship.

A streamlined AP process can make it easier to give vendors what they need. For example:

• Accurate and complete remittance data
• More predictable payment timing
• Fewer errors that require correction
• An easy way to update banking or contact information

You can also strengthen relationships by offering more modern payment methods, especially for vendors who prefer faster electronic payments.

Move away from checks whenever possible

Checks remain common in B2B payments, but they come with downsides. They take time to print, sign, stuff, and mail. They are easier to lose. They are more vulnerable to fraud. And they often slow down cash flow on both sides of the transaction.

Electronic payment options can take pressure off your team. ACH remains a standard choice, but virtual cards are becoming a popular option for businesses looking for speed, security, and better visibility into their payments. Virtual cards allow your team to issue unique, single-use card numbers for each payment, which helps reduce fraud risk and support cleaner audit trails. They also allow suppliers to get paid quickly.

If your vendor base is hesitant to adopt new payment methods, this is where supplier enablement becomes valuable. Some payment providers, including WEX^®, help contact and onboard suppliers, which reduces the burden on your AP team.

Automate the work your team should not be doing manually

Automation is often misunderstood as an all-or-nothing decision. In reality, many AP teams start with small steps and expand over time. The goal is to remove the repetitive work that consumes your team’s day and redirect their time toward analysis and planning.

Some tasks worth automating include:

• Capturing and validating invoice data
• Routing invoices for approval
• Matching invoices to POs
• Scheduling payments
• Sending remittance details

Automation does not eliminate the need for people. It simply helps your team work from a cleaner, more accurate foundation. That can lead to fewer errors, fewer late payments, and a smoother month-end close.

Improve your payment visibility

As your business grows, visibility becomes just as important as speed. Without clear insight into what is pending, approved, scheduled, or paid, it becomes harder to manage budgets and forecast cash flow.

Strong AP systems give you real-time visibility into:

• Invoice status
• Approval bottlenecks
• Outstanding liabilities
• Payment timing
• Vendor activity

This kind of transparency helps financial managers make better decisions and prevents unpleasant surprises later in the quarter.

Carry your improvements into the rest of the year

A more efficient AP process can pay off in many ways. It helps reduce stress across your finance team, improve your vendor relationships, and create a clearer picture of your financial health. It can also support long-term growth, helping to give your business the structure it needs to scale without adding unnecessary workload.

As you move into the new year, consider setting goals not just around fixing problems, but around building a stronger, more flexible foundation. Keep a running list of what still feels clunky or time consuming. Set quarterly check-ins to revisit your process and adjust as your needs change.

Improvement does not have to happen all at once. If you focus on clarity, consistency, and smarter tools, your AP process will continue to get better each month.

Why WEX

At WEX, we help businesses see payments differently. Our virtual cards and accounts payable (AP) automation solutions give you the tools to manage cash flow with more precision. WEX helps finance teams gain real-time visibility into payments, reduce manual work, and generate revenue through rebates.

WEX is more than a payment provider. We’re a partner that understands how important financial flexibility, security, and efficiency are to your success. Whether your priority is improving liquidity, reducing risk, or creating new revenue opportunities, our solutions are designed to support you.

For more insights and updates on corporate payments, check out:

• Your guide to virtual card rebates
• How to create an anti-fraud culture
• 2026 business payment trends

The information in this blog post is for educational purposes only. It is not legal, tax or investment advice. For legal, tax or investment advice, you should consult your own legal counsel, tax, and investment advisers.