If you have suppliers holding onto uncashed checks, let them know that waiting to retrieve those funds after they have been reported to the state as unclaimed property could be expensive.

Searching for unclaimed property on a government site, such as your state's department of revenue or the U.S. Treasury's unclaimed property site, is free. However, there are also businesses out there willing to reunite owners with their property - for a price.

Organizations expecting the IRS to increase the mileage rate in response to rising gas prices should think again. The IRS plans to leave the rate where it is.

Twice during the past six years, the IRS has raised the standard mileage rate during the summer due to spikes in the price of gas. In 2005, for example, the IRS raised the rate from 40.5 cents to 48.5 cents after Hurricane Katrina sent gas prices soaring.

The percentage of organizations that have implemented AP technology has increased during the past three years, indicating that most businesses see the benefits of automation. However, the percentage of companies identifying themselves as highly automated is still small.

In benchmarking surveys, The Accounts Payable Network routinely asks participants to indicate the level of automation they have achieved. TAPN first asked the question in a December 2008 study on invoices processed per FTE.

Employee classification has been a contentious issue between lawmakers and businesses for years. Things may get worse between the two if a new bill working its way through Congress becomes law.

The bill, called the Payroll Fraud Prevention Act, is designed to improve compliance with existing classification rules. However, a key provision in the bill could end up hurting businesses that properly classify their workers.

Before you venture outside your organization to search for best practices, look in your own backyard. You may find that one of your departments is saving 50 percent on a particular process because they developed a faster way to get the job done. How valuable would that knowledge be to other departments and divisions? Develop a system for identifying, communicating and implementing best practices you uncover within other parts of the company, using the following tips as your guide:

Government contractor payments are about to get more complex, thanks to new reporting and withholding requirements taking effect in 2013.

Although most organizations understand the benefits of implementing electronic invoicing, many have yet to do so. A number of barriers to adoption stand in their way, according to the results of a recent survey.

Accounts payable automation provider Basware conducted a survey of 1,373 finance professionals from the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Unsurprisingly to anyone working in accounts payable, the survey revealed that 56 percent of organizations receive less than 20 percent of their invoices electronically. Just 9 percent reported high e-invoicing levels.

Last week’s catastrophic tornado outbreak stands as a stark reminder of why it’s important for all organizations to have a disaster recovery plan.

According to an article published by CNN, the tornadoes that tore through the Southeast April 27 and 28 were part of the second most deadly tornado outbreak in U.S. history. The official death toll is at 337. The storm also holds the record for the most tornadoes created in a single day, with at least 11 reported.

As the business landscape continues to go in the direction of doing more with less, many are turning to cloud technologies to help them automate without breaking the bank. However, before taking the leap into the cloud, you should be certain that it is the right move for your organization.

Just over a year after they became law, the expanded 1099 reporting requirements have been repealed.

On April 14, 2011 President Barack Obama signed H.R. 4 into law, which repealed the 1099 provisions originally passed in March 2010 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The repeal means that businesses will not have to report payments to corporations or for property on form 1099.