Procure to Pay in Action: Real Results from Real Operators

Multifamily operators are bringing the power of automation and advanced technologies to a wide range of processes. In the Procure to Pay in Action: Real Results from Real Operators session at Entrata Summit 2025, industry experts conducted a deep dive into the benefits of modernizing the procure-to-pay process and outlined the profound drawbacks of relying on manual, paper-based systems.

Among the major takeaways of the session: an optimized procure-to-pay process can eliminate disconnected workflows, free up associates for high-value tasks, improve relationships with vendors and drive cost savings.

“That world of paper and manual processes just doesn’t work anymore for our teams to be efficient,” said Brandon Schank, Principal Sales Engineer at Entrata. “Businesses are moving too fast, and the cost of inefficiency is too high.”

Research shows that manual payment processing costs five times more than automation and that accounts payable teams spend 25% of their day answering payment questions, according to Sara Sharpe, Senior Vice President of Product Management for the Accounting Suite at Entrata.

Among the industry’s longtime pain points is “that it’s hard to find a business application that can support all three major components of the procure to pay process: vendor compliance, invoice processing and invoice payment,” said Brittan Roland, Senior Director of Enterprise Systems at Peakmade Real Estate. “You can find a system that can handle one or two, but not all three. And so you’re managing different systems, and it can be hard to research the status of an invoice or payment at any given time.”

Jordan Meyer, AP Manager for CAF Management, said manual systems can too easily lead to missing invoices. “Either vendors never send them or send them to the wrong place, leaving unknown invoices unpaid,” she said. “This leads to costs that haven’t been accounted for, and you know how much investors love surprises.”

Online vendor marketplaces, in which operators can engage with pre-vetted vendors, are one example of technology improving the procure-to-play process, the panelists noted.

Vendor marketplaces can cut sourcing time by up to 40% while reducing compliance risk by 30%, according to Sharpe.

“A vendor marketplace transforms the experience in three ways,” Sharpe said. “First, it helps with speed to purchase because, instead of hunting for vendors or chasing down quotes, everything is centralized, so teams can source quickly.”

Second, a marketplace provides cost savings because it allows for “negotiated pricing, reduced overhead and automation of purchasing,” all of which lower direct and indirect expenses, Sharpe noted. Third, marketplaces reduce risk because operators are interacting with vendors that have already been vetted for compliance, she added.

“It’s about bringing a consumer-like shopping experience to operations, but with the rigor and controls that accounting and compliance demand,” Sharpe said. 

Entrata is building its own vendor marketplace and is also enhancing its Bill Pay solution. 

“Our Bill Pay roadmap is focused on three specific themes: automation from invoice capture to reconciliation with little to no human touch; payment optimization to reduce costs and enable faster and secure payment methods; and fraud prevention through the use of AI to flag unusual activity or suspicious vendors before a dollar ever goes out the door,” Sharpe said.

When asked to identify the most important step an operator can take to strengthen its procure-to-pay process, the panelists had a variety of recommendations.

“For me, it’s about ease of use for all parties,” Meyer said. “Vendors and management teams are both more likely to utilize a new system if it is easy to understand and implement.”

Roland urged operators to embrace automation. “It creates efficiencies with your workflows,” she said. “It improves processes and accuracy, enhances compliance, provides visibility and reduces fraud overall.”