Ever spent hours hunting down a missing invoice? You wouldn’t be the first person.
A single lost invoice can throw your entire accounts payable (AP) process off track, leading to payment delays, frustrated suppliers, late fees, and wasted time. In fact, studies show that nearly 1 in 5 invoices go missing or require reprocessing, adding unnecessary stress to an already busy workload.
What’s worse, a missing invoice causing a delay in payment can disrupt your supplier relationships. The good news? There’s a simple way to fix the issue and prevent it from happening again.
Here’s what you can do when an invoice goes missing and how to stop it from disrupting your workflow in the future.
What’s Really Causing the Chaos?
Let’s be honest. Invoices don’t just disappear, but sometimes it really feels like they do.
You know the drill. You’re already juggling a dozen tasks when someone casually mentions an invoice that should’ve been paid last week. That’s a wild goose chase.
Lost in transit? Of course. Maybe it was handed to a colleague who swore they'd "pop it on your desk." Maybe it’s still sitting in someone’s inbox. Either way, you're the one left tracking it down.
Tiny data error? Yep, that one-digit typo that somehow turned into a 6-hour hunt through the system. Safe to say, you more than earned a well-deserved break after that one.
Siloed systems and poor comms? It’s a familiar scenario: documents scattered across inboxes, folders, and desks, and sometimes even forgotten entirely. And when no one flags an incoming invoice? It leads to even more chasing, delays, and frustration.
We know it’s not just frustrating and exhausting. These everyday headaches slow you down, mess with your cash flow, and test your patience.
But imagine if these problems weren’t part of your job anymore.
No more chasing. No more digging. No more “have you seen that invoice?” chats. Just clarity, calm, and time back in your day.
The Cost of Missing Invoices
Your missing invoice comes with a cost, one that goes beyond just the missing paperwork.
When an invoice goes missing, your entire approval process slows down. If it never reaches the right person, they can’t sign off on it, leaving you stuck chasing approvals instead of moving payments forward. Without the right details, you’re left sending follow-up emails, requesting copies from suppliers, or digging through files, wasting valuable time. And if just one person in the approval chain doesn’t have the invoice, everyone down the line is left waiting.
Without the necessary approvals, you’re stuck fielding follow-up emails and calls, and your supplier payments inevitably get delayed. Statistics show that 25% of all invoices issued in the UK are not paid on time, while in Australia, businesses lose up to $30,000 per year to outstanding invoices. That’s a lot!
When your suppliers are left waiting, unsure when they’ll be paid, this can strain your relationships with suppliers. If this happens too often, they might put you on hold for future deliveries, tighten payment terms, or even charge late fees, adding unnecessary costs to your business. Worse, a reputation for late payments can make it harder for you to negotiate better deals in the future.
And let’s be honest, this puts huge stress on you and your finance team. Constantly following up on missing invoices, dealing with frustrated suppliers, and firefighting last-minute payment issues takes time away from strategic work. Over time, these inefficiencies can hold back your business growth, making it harder to scale operations smoothly. In fact, 89% of businesses say that late payments are preventing growth, showing just how much of an impact delayed invoices can have on long-term success.
But there’s a way to stop missing invoices from causing these headaches for good.
Let’s talk about how to fix it.
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Servicing businesses is what we do best. We have over a decade of experience working with businesses just like yours. We've helped finance teams reduce their invoice processing by up to 97% and get invoices approved 5 times faster
Read our customer success stories to see the data for yourself
How Can You Fix the Problem?
How Can You Fix the Problem?
You can avoid these impacts with a simple solution: digitising your invoices with an invoice automation solution. AP automation can reduce lost invoices by up to 80%, ensuring that you do not miss any invoices. With all your invoices stored digitally in a centralised system, you can easily track, access, and manage them, reducing manual errors and preventing delays caused by misplaced paperwork.
What’s more, automated workflows speed up the approval process significantly. Instead of waiting days for approvals, you can use automated systems to route invoices to the right people instantly, ensuring that payments are processed on time. Withington Girls' School implemented automated invoicing to reduce their approval time from 2 weeks to just 1 day and pay suppliers 30% faster.
This faster process doesn’t just keep your suppliers happy, it also frees up you and your finance team to focus on more important, strategic tasks. Rather than chasing invoices or managing tedious manual processes, you can work on initiatives that drive business growth.
And as your business expands, the beauty of AP automation is that it scales with you. You won’t have to worry about the strain of manually handling high invoice volumes. Whether you’re dealing with 50 invoices a month or 500, automation ensures that your process remains streamlined, efficient, and error-free, allowing your business to grow without the stress of an outdated system.
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Are you still handling invoices manually?
It’s time to stop losing track of invoices and switch to invoice automation. Don’t let manual processes slow you down. Download our detailed checklist for choosing the right invoice automation provider and streamline your accounts payable today.
Download our detailed checklist for choosing the right AP automation provider.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How can I track missing invoices more effectively?
The best way to track missing invoices is by using an automated accounts payable system. With centralised digital storage, automated routing, and real-time tracking, you can locate invoices instantly and eliminate the risk of lost paperwork.
2. What is invoice automation and how can it help me?
Invoice automation digitises your AP process, from invoice capture to approval and payment. It reduces manual errors, speeds up approvals, improves accuracy, and ensures that invoices never go missing. It also gives you full visibility and control over your invoice workflows.
3. How much time can invoice automation save me?
Invoice automation can cut your invoice processing time by 80% or more. Many of our client have reported reduced approval times from weeks to just days, freeing up their AP teams to focus on strategic work instead of chasing paperwork.
4. Will automation replace my AP team?
No, automation is designed to support your team, not replace it. It handles the repetitive, manual parts of the process so your team can focus on more valuable, strategic tasks.
5. How do I get started with invoice automation?
Start by assessing your current AP process and identifying where delays or errors happen. Then, explore invoice automation providers and use our free checklist to compare features and find the right fit for your needs.
Other resources
EBOOK
Download our 5 Steps to Automating Your AP Function eBook for quick and actionable tips on a smooth implementation.
LIVE WEBINARS
Join our live webinar to see how Lightyear works to enhance AP processes across your business
Join our live webinar to see how Lightyear works to enhance AP processes across your business
