Bill.com - Mass Payments

Does your small or mid-size business pay vendor invoices multiple times a month or even per week? Is paying your vendors or employees a time-consuming and expensive process that often incurs mistakes? Has your accounts payable team wasted valuable time looking for email trails, supporting documentation, or chasing approvals?

Consider utilizing a mass payment provider. Mass or batch payments are an automated, simplified method of payment. This method saves massive amounts of time (up to 50% less than paying vendors or partners individually) by combining all incoming and outgoing invoices to vendors, streamlining multiple payments into one mass payout, and allowing both you and the vendor to track the payment and receipt easily, usually with a simple organized 'dashboard' from a payment platform.

What are mass payments or "batch payments"? 

Mass payments, also known as "mass payouts" or "batch payments" are the paying of multiple recipients (or multiple invoices for one recipient) simultaneously. This payment method for mass payments can be set up for a one-time disbursement or recurring payment — each week, bi-weekly, each month, etc.

Mass payments (eliminate incredible amounts of wasted time, money, and resources spent on paperwork by accurately and efficiently combining multiple payments with the click of a button. When you mass pay, recipients receive one payment, and their payment information is grouped in one email notification, one deposit. A single mass payment solution is much easier to track, reduces multiple emails, and eliminates costs associated with multiple bank transactions. Think about the costs of multiple international wire transfers – and how much you would save by combining all those payments into one.

Does your business account frequently need to pay out things like commissions, rebates, or employee benefits? Do you generate biweekly payroll? How many vendor invoices do you need to pay each month? Automated mass or batch payments can make these outgoing payments in a snap (actually, a “click”-- of the mouse!)

How does a mass or batch payout work? 

Creating mass payments to one vendor or multiple vendors is as easy as checking boxes on an account dashboard. You can schedule payment for up to several hundred bills in one batch, no matter how many are combined to one vendor. Each “check stub” can list multiple bills or paid invoices instead of sending an individual invoice image for each bill. 

A mass payment provider will have an easy-to-read dashboard that will prompt you through the payment process steps necessary to create and send mass payments. The process looks something like this:

1. Each of your payees sends their bill or invoice to a unique email address, e.g., "jimmysfactory@payments.com."
2. When this invoice is received, the payment provider captures all the key invoice details. This saves time and prevents errors by reducing manual data entry.
3. The invoice is reviewed and approved by an internal team or individual designated for that task.
4. The invoice is electronically signed, timestamped, and dated as approved by that team or person. This creates a clear and reliable audit trail if needed.
5. The accounts payable team can then arrange to send payments all at once, pay only bills they choose or pay one bill or vendor individually. 

Sample business use case for mass payments 

"Before Bill.com, we either used a direct deposit payment or sent handwritten checks. The paper check process was very arduous. It included hundreds of checks going through the printer. If the toner went out, you would have to reprint checks, adding a couple of additional steps. After all the checks were printed, we would have to sign them, put them in envelopes, stamp them, and drop them in the mail. Now, we can run AP through Bill.com and save a lot of time. I like the fact that I can click on numerous payables, push a button, and be done." - Nick Pasquarosa, Founder and CEO, Bookkeeper360

With mass payout capabilities, your company and staff can streamline payment options and spend less time paying bills and focus more on your business. 

The benefits to using mass or batch payments are numerous, including:

• Electronic payments are processed through a clearing account, meaning you don't have to exchange bank account information with vendors. In addition to electronic payments, you can also make payments by check or with Vendor Direct, a single-use virtual card option.
• Documents are stored virtually, including coding time stamps, approvals, and (if using paper checks) the check image once cashed by the vendor—front, back endorsement, signature, bank stamp, etc.
• The payment status is tracked every step of the way so you and your vendors can stay informed.
• Once mass payments are sent, that information can now be synced over to both parties’ accounting software, so the books are up to date. Just another way mass payments help to reduce manual data entry.
• This process creates a clear separation of duties, strengthens vendor partnerships, helps reduce risk, and provides transparent control over every step.

As you can see, an intelligent payments platform saves you time and helps prevent mistakes in the process.

Examples of how mass payments can help 

A few months ago, Trusha Patel, the Director of Finance for YMCA of Greater Nashua, and her small team were responsible for manually processing over 75 invoices a week, each requiring multiple approvals from a pool of over 25 individuals. Not only was it impossible to track who had approved what, but Patel was spinning her wheels trying to find out why some invoices hadn’t been signed off. In parallel, it was taking CFO Mahesh Bhatia more time than ever to sign all of the paper checks and weekly check runs.

Desperate to stop the inefficiencies and restore order to the YMCA corporate office, Bhatia discovered Bill.com through a web search, and two months later, the nonprofit implemented Bill.com. The team quickly saw tangible benefits: the Friday check run is down to a mere 30 minutes, approvals and notifications are now tracked and issued automatically, and anyone on the team can access and view bills.

“As a nonprofit, we rely on a system of checks and balances and require a large number of approvers. The introduction of Bill.com made an impactful difference to the efficiency of our operations, saving me and my team at least six hours a week, and making us all a lot happier!” - Trusha Patel, Director of Finance, YMCA of Greater Nashua

The biggest difference to Patel’s day now that the nonprofit is using Bill.com?

“I am so grateful for all the time I save not having to file paperwork,” said Patel. “Bill.com has really eased our weekly AP process, and month-end closes are simple and quick.”

The benefits of mass/batch payments vs. normal payments 

The normal process of paying multiple cross-border workers, vendors, suppliers, and other business partners means looking up codes, paying for expensive wire transfers, mailing checks, time spent on postage and mailing, errors in manual data entry, and lost staff time chasing down supporting documents or filing paper copies. Today’s mass payment solutions allow your team to spend much less time on the process of paying people and more time focussing on your company's bottom line and future goals for growth.  

 Take a look at some of the benefits of mass payments over normal payments:

• Vendors and payees will receive payments faster
• Receiving and processing invoices and payments is reduced 
• Each payment is sent with all necessary remittance information to create an audit trail
• Time spent reconciling payments is reduced
• Transaction fees are reduced with batch processing
• Mass payments through a payment provider can help you keep reduce staff time for payments and
• Each mass payment provides financial clarity and transparency for you and your vendors
• Mass payment solutions help you avoid errors that eventually happen with manual payment entry in spreadsheets

Are there limitations to mass payments?

There are very few downsides to mass payments to vendors. There are, however, some limitations on just how many you can pay at once. Mass payment providers can usually handle up to 200 payments at once, and up to 30-40 line items or invoices can be included on one digital payment "check stub."

Why Bill.com should be your mass payment service

Bill.com provides a streamlined "automation solution" to ensure all your customers can pay and be paid electronically for your goods or services. 

“The key for us, and our clients, is time. Since integrating Bill.com with Microsoft Dynamics, we've been able to cut our close time down by two whole days. A typical close takes about ten days. Eliminating two days equates to a 20% time savings overall. This is a big win when you consider the aggressive pace of the renewable energy industry.”— Tony Kenon, CPA, CGMA Managing Director at Kenon Group Consultants

Why Bill.com?

• Millions of businesses paying and getting paid
• Over 80% of the top 100 U.S. accounting firms use Bill.com
• $100B+ moved annually
• Partner to leading U.S. financial institutions
• Only $49 a month for a basic membership subscription

What is included with a Bill.com subscription?

• Customized invoice templates
• Single or recurring invoices or customer debits
• Payment status tracking
• Automated email reminders for overdue payments
• ACH and credit card payments
• Auto-charge and auto-pay
• Integrates with: QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, Microsoft, Oracle NetSuite, QuickBooks Pro/Premier, and Xero

Reach out to Bill.com today to see how easy it is to set up and schedule your mass vendor payments. Click here for a quick and easy self-guided demo. Or if you’re ready to put Bill.com to work for your company right now, click here to start a risk-free 14-day trial.