Payables Lockbox has been used by community association managers for the past several
years because it solves a variety of A/P issues managers deal with:
- A large number of paper invoices
- Board member approvals that are required for invoices
- Tracking down and researching the status of invoices
The average association processes around 15-25 invoices a month. A medium-sized
to larger association management company will process anywhere from 1500 to 5000
invoices a month. Getting a handle on this kind of invoice volume is difficult,
especially when processing for multiple associations with managers assigned to each
association. With Payables Lockbox, invoice receipt is centralized and processed
at a single location. We'll perform some of the data extraction for you, such as
the association, vendor, invoice number, amount, and relevant dates. This leaves
managers with only the simple task of reviewing the invoice image online and approving
it for payment.
Many board members want to be included in the approval process for an invoice and
likely are the final signors on the payment. At a minimum, board members want the
ability to oversee the expenses getting approved for their association. With Payables
Lockbox, board members no longer need to wait for the board meeting or receipt of
the invoice and check by mail for approval. They simply log on to the Payables Lockbox
site, review the invoices waiting for their approval, and authorize them for payment.
This new process is not only more convenient for board members, but also helps eliminate
late fees by expediting the approvals required.
For years, the association management industry has been using products like Receivables
Lockbox and ACH to more easily collect homeowner’s membership dues. Payables Lockbox
is now being offered through banks as a Treasury Management product to provide similar
efficiencies to the Accounts Payable process. The benefit for the association manager
or association is that they can leverage their deposit volume with their bank to help offset costs
of the service. Please contact us or your banking relationship manager to see if
Payables Lockbox is offered through your bank.