Capital Area Food Bank Processes Payments in Minutes with Tipalti Accounts Payable

The Challenge

Unpaid Invoices as Late as 200 Days

The Capital Area Food Bank, a nonprofit serving Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, faced challenges  in managing its accounts payable (AP) operations. With $120 million in annual revenue and a high volume of invoices from numerous vendors, the organization relied on a cumbersome, manual process. 

The company’s finance team used NetSuite alongside manual bank file uploads to process payments. The manual workflow created room for human error. Mitigating controls filled the gap, but were tedious to maintain and often caused delays in vendor payments.

The Solution

Centralized AP Automation

In 2022, Capital Area Food Bank implemented Tipalti, and by integrating bill capture, approval routing, and payment execution into a single system, Tipalti automated previously labor-intensive, manual data entry  and bank file uploads.

The Result

Payments Processed in Minutes and Late Payments Curbed

Since adopting Tipalti, payments to vendors are now processed in minutes, drastically reducing late payments and manual errors. With the AP process streamlined, the broader finance team no longer spends excessive time on manual tasks, which allows its finance team to focus on strategic initiatives and community programs.

Tipalti’s scalability has proven invaluable during critical moments. For example, during a recent government shutdown, the food bank received $3M in emergency funding to distribute to 180 local nonprofit partners. Leveraging Tipalti, the team efficiently disbursed sub-grants within two weeks, a feat that would have been impossible under its previous system. 

With Tipalti Accounts Payable, Capital Area Food Bank can respond swiftly to urgent needs and maintain operational efficiency.