Time-saving automation

In the past, when Accounts and Legal wanted to make supplier payments for customers, they had to do so by file upload to banks. This laborious process meant manually inputting each individual transaction, with payments then taking three days, or more, to reach suppliers via Bacs.

“It was so slow, and inefficient. We were basically doing everything twice just to make sure it was correct, and even then, human error wasn’t uncommon” 

- Darcie Robinson, Head of Operations.

Thanks to Modulr, Accounts and Legal now have an alternative to cumbersome file uploads. Supplier payments can be processed as usual through Xero, and then approved and paid in the Modulr portal. This makes the payment process, and the reconciliation that goes with it, far simpler for everyone.

“Beforehand, we might see that 10 payments to six different suppliers had been made by a client, but we couldn’t see what those 10 payments were for. With Modulr, everything is linked, and reconciliation is automatic. It’s reduced the time spent on these tasks from two hours to 30 minutes.”

A client-friendly payments solution

Accounts and Legal’s clients have always used the practice’s service in various ways. Some give them full control to process supplier payments, whereas others prefer to play a more active role, often because they want to make payments at certain times due to cashflow.

With Modulr integrated into Xero, both options become easier. Accounts and Legal can process and approve all supplier payments on their client’s behalf, or clients can simply approve payments in the Modulr portal themselves when convenient while still avoid- ing the dreaded file upload.

"For some of our clients, if we sent them a message saying ‘can you approve these 5 payments in Modulr’ it would just confuse them – they just want to get on with running their business. But others prefer that level of control, they want to decide when payments go out and with Modulr we can support both approaches.”

And it’s a solution that doesn’t require months of training or experience to use either.

“It’s so simple and seamlessly integrated that if a customer decides to use us for supplier payments, we can get them set up with a Modulr account and trained on how to use it within an hour. It’s so straightforward and jargon-free, you can’t really go wrong.”

Speedier supplier payments

When businesses need to make multiple payments to a single supplier, they’re traditionally processed individually. This means that despite payments going to the same beneficiary at the same time, the business is charged multiple transaction fees.

But Modulr’s integration with Xero enables businesses to consolidate these transactions, reducing the fees they’re paying each month. And Modulr’s direct access to the UK’s Faster Payments scheme means that transactions reach the beneficiary in a matter of seconds, giving businesses better supplier relationships through reliable payments.

“With instant payments, everything becomes so much easier. No more going into the office to make payments via Bacs and using a smart card reader. And it’s so fast that even if there is anything unexpected that needs to be resolved, we can do so quickly and easily.”

Why Accounts and Legal decided to use Modulr

Accounts and Legal had prior experience of using Modulr to automate their payroll processing, which helped them overcome high levels of manual input, slow payment speeds and human error issues. So, when they learnt that they could do the same for supplier payments through Modulr’s integration with Xero, it was a simple decision.

Now, they’re looking to the future. Accounts and Legal now introduce all new clients to Modulr at the point of onboarding and plan to move all their current clients across to Modulr for supplier payments. Offering payment services is a win-win – making clients’ operations much easier while creating revenue boosting opportunities for Accounts and Legal.

And Modulr’s Practice Enablement team is there to assist, every step of the way.

“It’s always felt like a collaboration. Modulr provides us with loads of useful resources so if our customers ever need help with something, we know exactly what to give them. They’re always innovating and releasing new functionality; it’s been great to watch them grow and be part of that journey.”

Modulr’s integration is available for all Xero customers and can be used by both accountancy providers and the SMEs they support. If you’d like to know more about using the Modulr integration, you can find more information here, and instructions as to how to connect your Xero account to Modulr today.