Processing Payables

When it comes to issuing payroll for your organization, Wingspan offers two ways to facilitate payments to payees:

• Single Payments to a payee
• Bulk Payments to multiple payees

Single Payable:

This method necessitates the creation of individual Payable for every payee. A Payable can have multiple line items and you can include an attachment, such as a receipt, per line item. This can be done in the application, or as an API call. An API call is made for each Payable to be created, and a secondary API call is needed for each attachment you want to include on a line item.

Single Payables are suitable for:

• Infrequent transactions.
• Situations where every transaction might require individual scrutiny or specific handling.
• Smaller organizations with fewer payees, making management simpler.

Bulk Payables:

With this model, multiple Payables or line items can be grouped together and processed as a batch. There are two strategies to approaching bulk Payables: the Single Processing Strategy and the Merge Processing Strategy. To facilitate Bulk Payables, you upload a Comma Separated Values File (.csv) containing the details of multiple payees and their associated invoice details, such as rates, email addresses, internal payee IDs, attachment IDs, and more.

Bulk Payables are more best suited for:

• Frequent transactions or when dealing with a large number of payees.
• Reducing the number of API calls, which can be cost-effective and reduce system load.

Single Processing Strategy

The Single processing strategy is best used when all the Payables in the batch must be sent out as individual invoices. Meaning that a Payable is created for each row in the CSV file, processed separately, and issued its own invoice for each payee. No consolidation occurs in this instance. This strategy ensures that each payable is distinct with only one line item represented on each Payable invoice.

Merge Processing Strategy

The Merge processing strategy is best used when you have multiple payable line items that need to be consolidated into a single payable. This is ideal for cases where multiple items share similar attributes and can be presented in a unified manner. For example, consider that you need to pay a subcontracting firm and their contractors for work completed. You can use the Merge processing strategy to pay the firm directly, with  each line item representing one of their contractors.

Note: The Merge processing strategy requires Payable line items to have matching attributes including due date, status, and merge key. The system uses these matching criteria to effectively consolidate the payables.

Deciding Between Batch vs. Single Payables:

Take the following considerations into account when deciding between batch and single Payables.

Volume of Transactions: If you are dealing with a large volume of transactions regularly, batch processing can be more efficient. On the other hand, for fewer transactions, single invoice payments might be more manageable.

System Limitations: Consider the limitations of the integrated system. Some Wingspan plans might have a cap on the number of API calls within a specific timeframe.

Operational Efficiency: Batch processing can reduce manual errors and enhance efficiency by processing multiple invoices at once.

Processing Speed: Single invoice payments are usually processed faster since they are one-off, while batch payments might take longer due to the sheer volume, but overall, they can handle more transactions in a similar timeframe.

Flexibility & Customization: Single invoice processing can offer more flexibility in customizing individual invoices. If each payee requires a unique approach, single invoice processing could be more suitable.

The choice between batch or single payments should be based on your organization's specific needs, the volume of transactions, cost considerations, and system capabilities. Regularly reassess your choice to ensure it remains aligned with your business needs and operational efficiencies.