From the smallest retail shops to the largest industrial facilities, every business has to deal with waste—and the costs that come with it. It may not be the most exciting part of running a business, but it’s one of those unavoidable tasks that can’t be ignored. And although the actual cost of waste services is sizable on its own, what really adds up is the time and effort it takes to manage thousands of fragmented invoices each month.
The reasons for this are varied, including vendors that are rarely centralized, tight payment timelines, and high stakes. Missed or late payments can lead to stopped services, disrupting operations and even hurting your brand. On top of that, granular data often needs to be tracked for internal and external diversion reporting, adding another layer of complexity to an already time-consuming task.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how the money spent on commercial waste management is directly tied to the time spent managing invoices. We’ll also highlight common pain points—and smarter, more efficient ways to handle them.
Among a broader list of the top 20 expense categories for commercial businesses, waste expense typically ranks anywhere between the 10th and 12th largest, falling below major costs such as utilities and maintenance, but higher than signage and pest control. The exact waste management costs will depend on several factors, including the size of the operation, the volume of waste generated, and the types of materials being disposed of or recycled. These costs include:
You can’t avoid these costs, of course—they’re simply part of doing business. But what most businesses miss is the hidden drain on time and resources that comes with managing all those invoices. It’s one thing to pay for waste services; it’s entirely another to spend hours every month wrestling with the paperwork that comes with it.
Processing waste and recycling invoices is more time-consuming than many business operators and financial experts realize. The tasks involved typically include:
A small business with one location may only spend a few hours each month on these tasks. However, businesses with multiple locations or high waste volumes will often find that their time commitment balloons to dozens of hours. Mid-sized businesses generally spend an average of 40-80 hours per month on invoice management alone, and the largest companies often need entire teams dedicated to keeping up with it all.
Another issue that impacts both time and costs is manual invoice processing. If you’re still handling invoices the old-fashioned way, you’re not only dealing with the time crunch but also the many inefficiencies that add to it. As with anything done manually, there is always the risk of human error. You could miss an overcharge or enter the wrong payment amount, and those little slip-ups add up before you know it.
Vendor complexity is unique in this field, but it is just as time-consuming as human error. That’s because most businesses work with multiple waste companies—each with its own billing schedule, invoice format, and payment terms. Trying to keep track of it all without a centralized system can be very difficult.
Further, without everything in one place, it’s nearly impossible to spot patterns or find ways to save money. With data scattered across different spreadsheets or filing cabinets, how can you spot opportunities to optimize pickup schedules or negotiate better rates? And when billing errors do arise (and they always do), resolving them can drag on for weeks, eating up even more time and holding up payments.
The good news is that outsourcing to the right company will not only save you time and headaches but also cut your waste management costs significantly. For example:
Although commercial waste management costs are a necessary expense, the exorbitant amount of time spent processing invoices is not. This time can be minimized when you outsource, automate, consolidate, and make data-driven decisions. But it’s not just about saving time. By addressing inefficiencies, you can also uncover real cost-saving opportunities, ultimately improving your bottom line.
Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, optimizing your invoice management process is a smart step toward operational efficiency and sustainability. Contact Cass Waste Invoice Management for a complimentary, detailed evaluation and review of your current processes to identify potential immediate savings.
Our Invoice Management Solution (IMS) provides four core services: (1) acquires critical data from multiple documents, (2) manages the data acquired, (3) provides business intelligence for internal and external stakeholders, and (4) offers a financial exchange for timely and efficient vendor payments addressing liquidity and cash management goals.
Leveraging our proprietary technology, WasteVision™, we provide a more informed, efficient process that focuses on reducing costs and relieving your burdens. Our passion for this work, and our reputation for client satisfaction, provide us with the opportunity to work with hundreds of the world’s largest organizations.
Contact us to learn more about how we can help you reduce or even eliminate these challenges today to get on a path to a more efficient, sustainable tomorrow.