# Accounting Operations Benchmarks

> Small and mid-sized businesses

Source: https://valuexpa.com/publication/Accounting-Operations-Benchmarks-SMB
Publisher: ValueXPA (https://valuexpa.com)

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## Executive summary

Process Metric Benchmark Value/Range Unit Notes/Typical Practice Invoice Processing Time (AP) 2–4 Business days Highly automated sectors reach 1–3 days; complex/project-based up to 5 days Cost to Process One Invoice (AP) USD 2.80–USD 5.00 Dollars per invoice Standardized sectors at the low end; regulated or custom at high end Touchless Processing Rate (AP) 78–90% Percentage Most companies achieve >80% with automation; less in compliance-heavy fields Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) 40–70 Days Manufacturing, automation, and B2B sector average DSO spans 40–70 days Cash Application Cycle Time (AR) 1–2 Days Real-time EDI/ACH in best cases; manual project allocation can delay to 3+ Invoice Exception Rate (AP) 4–8% Percentage of invoices Exception rates under 5% with AP validation; rises with manual controls Collection Effectiveness Index (AR) 100–115 Index (100 = baseline) Higher in…

## Key findings

- Individual sector or business-model deviations should be assessed against this baseline to drive internal process improvements and strategic automation investment

## Who this is for

This report is for mid-market business leaders, and manufacturing executives.

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ValueXPA runs a fixed-scope Margin Drift Diagnostic that validates every service vendor invoice against contract terms, for $100M+ US industrial manufacturers and distributors. Two to four weeks. The client retains 100% of recoveries. https://valuexpa.com/contact-us