Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the factura.ai platform best suited for?
Factura.ai is best suited for multi-location businesses like restaurants, retail, hotels, banks, etc.. Further, we find that it is best when you have 10 or more locations as the workflow approval process becomes more important to manage.
What is so unique about your platform compared to other AP Automation systems?
Factura.ai was designed and developed from the beginning with multi-location businesses in mind. 1) We receive all invoices in one email address for all your store locations vs. an individual email address per store location. 2) Our workflow approval process was specifically designed to handle multiple locations with multiple approvers. 3) We have a fully automated workflow approval process vs. semi-automated. 4) If you have multiple holding companies you will be able to manage the entire AP process from one view/account vs. having to switch accounts between the holding companies. 5) We charge a low monthly fee per location vs. per invoice or tiered plans. 6) Our turnaround to process an invoice in 30 seconds vs. 24 hours.
How much am I spending to manually process and invoice?
According to The Institute of Finance & Management (IOFM) it costs on average $12.90 to process one invoice. Using factura.ai can reduce the cost down to around $1.00 per invoice depending on the plan. That’s a ~1300% ROI. Amazing.
Do you charge per invoice?
Our competitors charge around $2 per invoice and I’ve seen it as high as $4 per invoice. We charge a low monthly fee per location that averages to about 50% cheaper than the competition. We simplify managing your cash flow knowing what your stable monthly expense will be.
How long does it take to get onboarded?
We strive to have the fastest onboarding process. We can set up your business in 1-day and you are AP rolling within the first week. You can even see instant results within the first few hours on the platform.
Do I need an IT team to implement the technology?
The system is cloud based so you do not need an IT team to implement the technology. Simply login from an internet browser anywhere in the world. It’s that simple.
How many users can I add?
There is no limit on the number of users that can be added. Simply invite any user through User Management by adding their email address.
How many locations can be on the platform?
There is no limit on the number of locations for the platform and it is great if you are a growing business as it is so simple to add additional locations and can scale as you scale. The system is best for operators of multi-location businesses with at least 10 (or growing to 10) locations.
What is the machine learning component?
We use a mix of various artificial intelligence algorithms to ensure the best data extraction performance and parsing of the invoice to direct it to the proper approver within the workflow.
How many invoices can you process in a day?
There is no limit as to how many invoices you can process in a day whether you are processing hundreds, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of invoices. They will all be processed within seconds.
How do you set up the workflow?
We are a white glove service shop and we will set up the workflow based on your configured needs.
What happens if there is a duplicate invoice?
The system will identify the duplicate and notify that there is an error with that invoice.
How do you integrate with my accounting system?
There are hundreds of different accounting platforms with various versions out in the market today. Our team will review your accounting system to figure out the best way to integrate.
Can you handle line item details?
Yes, we use specialized OCR technology where you can extract any detail from any invoice.
What happens if I change my GL codes?
You will be able to edit GL codes when processing an invoice. Once you make a GL code change the system will maintain the new code on an ongoing basis.
What happens when an invoice gets rejected?
When an approver rejects an invoice we make it mandatory for them to write a note as to why they are rejecting it. That way AP can read the note and resolve the issue with the vendor if need be.
What happens when a vendor changes their invoice layout?
The system will recognize a layout change and will notify of the error. You will then need to go into our vendor management and easily update the template.
How does the system know where to send the invoice for an approval?
The system reads the information from the invoice like the address and uses intelligence to send the invoice to the right store. Further, it will follow the rules that you have set up for the approval workflow and send it the request to the right individuals.
What does factura mean?
In many non-English languages factura means invoice or bill
Can you work globally?
Our platform is cloud based and can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Currently, we support English but have the ability to add new languages. Please inquire.
How fast can you process an invoice?
We are now processing a single invoice within 30 seconds. We can process multiple invoices simultaneously within 30 seconds.
Can I change the workflow?
Currently, we manage the workflow setup based on your desired configuration. If you have any changes it’s as simple as contacting support and it will be completed within 2 hours.
What are the thresholds that I can set for the workflow?
Thresholds can be set by dollar value, vendor type, expense type, location. Pretty much any workflow process can be customized for your needs.
Who do I contact if I have a technical issue?
We have a dedicated support team to address any technical issues. Most issues are resolved within 2 hours.
Do you store the invoices?
We store the invoices for as long as you are on the factura.ai platform. The invoices can be accessed instantly in the cloud.
Can I speak with someone at factura.ai for sales or support?
More and more companies nowadays want you to talk through a chat bot or via email. We like hearing your voice so that we can resolve any issue as quickly as possible. Please call 1-833-905-2159 to speak with a live person.
Can I search for invoices?
As the invoices are stored in the cloud it is super simple to search by vendor, date, invoice number and access the files within seconds.
Is there an audit trail of invoice approvals?
We timestamp and store name records for every invoice approved to ensure there is an audit trail.
Can I leave notes attached to an invoice?
Yes, there is the ability to communicate within the platform to leave notes per each invoice. Further, we make it mandatory to leave a note when rejecting an invoice.
Do you handle the payment to vendors?
Yes, you can easily pay your vendors by ACH, Check or virtual card and receive a rebate on any virtual card spend.
Do I need to download your software?
The platform is cloud based and can be accessed anywhere. There is no need to download any software.
Where can I access your platform?
As long as you can access the internet you will be able to log into the factura.ai platform.
Can the platform be viewed on a phone?
The approval view is mobile friendly. Although the main AP view is mobile responsive, it is optimized on a desktop.
How can I digitize the way I receive an invoice?
We set up one centralized unique email address for all invoices to be sent to. You can send the invoices in any electronic form including cc’ing the original email, forwarding the email, taking a picture of the invoice or scanning the invoice and forwarding to the email address.
Do I need an email address per location?
Unlike our competitors, we set up one email address for all your locations. The system is smart enough to know which invoices belong to which store.
What if my locations are in multiple states?
The internet is borderless and the invoices can be received electronically from anywhere in the world.
How does the system ensure it is capturing the right data?
We use best in class data capture technology (Optical Character Recognition) that continuously learns to read and capture the right data.
How long does it take to set up the system to start reading invoices?
The system is ready to start reading the data as soon as you upload your first invoice. It really is efficient.
How long will it take to onboard an accounts payable employee?
The system is very intuitive and takes 60 minutes of navigating the system to become an expert.
How long does it take store managers to onboard?
The system is so simple with either approve or reject buttons, that within 5 minutes your managers should be a pro.
Do you provide any training?
We will provide whatever you need to ensure that you and your team are comfortable using the system.
What criteria can I search for an invoice?
You can filter your search criteria by date, vendor names, invoice number.
How long do you store the electronic invoices?
Forever.
How do you ensure that the manager communicates with the issue when they reject an invoice?
We have made it mandatory when an invoice gets rejected that the manager has to write comments which get saved as notes for accounts payable to read and deal with.
How does the system ensure that there are never any duplicate invoices processed?
The technology keeps track of all invoice numbers by each vendor and can easily identify duplicate invoices.
Does the manager need to print a copy of the invoice?
Everything is electronic and the manager can view the original invoice in the application. There is never a need to print an invoice again.
What do I do if I have multiple managers per location?
We recommend having an email address for the store for the managers to login to. That way the invoice approval never gets missed if one manager is on vacation. The invoice is approved on a first come first serve basis, so the first manager to login has access to approve the outstanding invoices. Once an invoice is approved it gets kicked out of the system so to speak so that there is never a double approval by two managers.
Does accounts payable need to track and follow up with approvals?
The system automatically sends notifications until the approver signs off.
What if executives need to sign off on big ticket items?
The approval workflow is configured to your business workflow needs and triggers can be set by dollar amount, vendor, type of expense, legal entity, business unit, location.
Can I track the status of each invoice?
There is a dashboard that provides transparency into the status of where the invoices are in the process, for AP to quickly see which invoices are outstanding and where the bottlenecks are.