The Ardent ePayables Research team recently met with Karla Friede, CEO and Co-Founder of Nvoicepay, Nilay Banker, CEO of Inspyrus, and Chris Preston EVP & Chief Marketing Officer at Inspyrus to discuss the companies’ recent partnership to streamline invoice processing through to payment and reconciliation. We discussed some of the reasoning behind the new partnership as well the plans both companies have for the integration of their two solutions.
Nvoicepay, Inspyrus, and a Streamlined AP Automation Process
Nvoicepay, a provider of payment automation software, and Inspyrus, an invoice automation and dynamic discounting provider, announced a joint technology partnership to deliver a unified solution for invoice and payment processing. Nvoicepay manages all B2B payments for its enterprise customers and helps them mange all of their payments with a streamlined and automated process solution. Karla Friede, CEO and Co-Founder of Nvoicepay, stated that they manage 100% of their customers’ payments, and on average, 82% of those payments are being paid electronically (either by cards or ACH payments).
Inspyrus offers an eInvoicing solution that is integrated with all of the major ERP systems. Inspyrus CEO, Nilay Banker, said that while they are able to get invoices processed and into ERP systems, they had not yet taken care of the “last mile” of the Accounts Payable (AP) process, which is paying the suppliers. The two companies together will offer a unified solution, called Inspyrus Total Pay (powered by Nvoicepay), that will help deliver automated invoice payments (ePayments) to suppliers, and continually drive electronic payment adoption.
Seamless Integration
Speaking with both CEO’s it was clear that the two companies found a shared view into how to transform AP into a fully automated process, and an understanding of the technology needed to create a solution to accomplish that. They both felt this was a partnership that made sense almost from the start. When the two teams engaged, they quickly worked out a first level of integration, creating a seamless process that allows for an uninterrupted flow from invoice capture all the way through payment. Often times when partnerships between P2P providers are announced, many of them take a “bolt-on” approach to integration rather than aspiring for a seamlessly integrated solution. Nvoicepay and Inspyrus are planning to bring to market the latter, two offerings seamlessly integrated. While it is not available in the initial release, they shared with us their aggressive development plans to bring this to market in the not too distant future.
Future Plans
Nvoicepay has over 500,000 suppliers in its network and dynamically onboards suppliers to help drive down the use of paper checks to its customers. Banker told us Nvoicepay’s large supplier network was one of the initial reasons that attracted them to this partnership. Another was Nvoicepay’s proven model of onboarding suppliers and converting them from paper checks over to ePayments. Friede said they are able to accomplish a high conversion rate by giving suppliers choices in how they want to receive payments, asking who their remittance contacts are, and by providing visibility and support to those suppliers.
Banker discussed how combining Inspyrus’ invoice automation capabilities and seamless access for its clients to ePayments, along with being able to access and analyze data throughout the process, will enable them to offer what he called ‘disruptive’ options for the P2P market, and change what they do and how working capital is managed. The two companies are working on architecting a platform for instantaneous payments upon invoice approval. One that will put payments in suppliers hands faster than ever before. Buyers want to be able to maximize the return on their money, and for suppliers, being able to get their money sooner enables them to re-invest in their business. We are excited to watch these plans develop over time.
Final Thoughts
The ePayables marketplace remains a relatively fragmented one with most provider offering solutions that address one or two pieces of an entire solution, but not whole thing. With this partnership, Inspyrus and Nvoicepay intend to cover the entire process from receipt, to processing, right through to the payment of invoices. The benefits of automating the entire process are easy to understand. We look forward to tracking this partnership and seeing how it develops.
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