Founders 3 Management Company is a property management firm overseeing more than 200 residential, commercial, and condominium properties across multiple regions. Supporting this diverse portfolio requires a centralized accounting team responsible for managing invoice processing and payments across all property types.
Tairie Mendez, Accounting Specialist and Banking Administrator at Founders 3 Management Company, manages accounts payable across a growing portfolio of properties. As the organization expanded, she recognized that increasing invoice volume and payment activity, along with complex approval workflows, required a more scalable process that would not add administrative burden or slow down operations.
Managing Manual AP Processes Across a Growing Portfolio
As Founders 3 expanded its portfolio, accounts payable and payment processes became increasingly difficult to manage at scale. Invoice processing required multiple manual steps, including downloading invoices, coding them, routing them for approval, and coordinating communication across teams.
Even at low volumes, the process was time-consuming and repetitive.
“We had to scan each invoice, assign it, pre-code it, and then notify the team it was ready for review,” said Tairie Mendez, Accounting Specialist and Banking Administrator at Founders 3 Management Company. Mendez continues, “Even entering just eight invoices was so time consuming. It was inefficient for us to continue in that way.”
What began as a manageable workflow became a persistent operational strain as invoice volume increased across more than 200 properties. Even small batches of invoices became time-consuming to process manually.
Payments added another layer of complexity. Weekly check runs required a full day of effort, including printing, stuffing, and mailing checks, while teams fielded frequent supplier inquiries about payment status.
As these manual processes scaled, they pulled the team away from more meaningful financial work and made it difficult to maintain consistency across properties.
Automating Invoice and Payment Workflows to Reduce Manual Effort
Founders 3 implemented AvidXchange to replace manual invoice processing and check-based payments with a more scalable accounts payable process.
Invoice processing shifted from a step-by-step manual effort to an automated workflow where data is captured, validated, and routed with minimal intervention. AvidXchange’s software surfaces invoice errors at the start, helping ensure invoices are validated before processing and enabling the team to focus on exception handling instead of manual review.
“Before, we wouldn’t know an invoice was a duplicate until after it was entered. Now the system flags it right away, and once it’s assigned to the property, the custom workflow routes it to the right person,” Mendez says.
On the payments side, AvidXchange replaced in-house check runs that once took a full day to complete. Previously, payments required manually cutting checks, stuffing envelopes, and sending them out across properties. Now, AvidXchange pays suppliers by their preferred method (check or ePayment) as soon as the next day. Additionally, their team of payment specialists provides supplier support when there are questions about payment status or method.
Built-in communication tools also simplified how teams interact with suppliers, allowing invoices to be corrected or rejected directly within the system without separate follow-up, while increasing visibility across invoice workflows.
Greater Efficiency, Lower Costs, and Capacity to Scale
By automating invoice and payment workflows, Founders 3 saves approximately 830 hours annually on weekly check runs and has significantly reduced the manual effort and time spent on invoice entry. The role of the AP team shifted away from data entry and toward resolving issues, supporting property teams, and taking on broader responsibilities as the organization grows. This shift also created capacity to support continued portfolio growth without adding additional administrative burden.
“Our AP associate isn’t spending time entering invoices anymore. She’s coming in after AvidXchange has already done the work, which gives her more time to focus on other financial tasks and has allowed us to grow without adding staff,” Mendez says.
Operational costs were also reduced by eliminating paper-based processes.
“Moving to AvidXchange reduced our costs right away. We eliminated expenses tied to check stock, envelopes, and postage, along with the effort required to manage them,” Mendez adds. At the same time, payment speed and visibility improved across the organization. With fewer manual steps and a centralized process, payments are issued more quickly and with greater consistency. Payments that previously sat in processing queues for several days now reach suppliers as soon as the next day with real-time visibility into payment status at every step.
“Payments go out so much faster, and we get far fewer calls from suppliers asking about payments, which has made the process much more efficient overall,” Mendez says.
With faster payment turnaround and fewer supplier inquiries, the team spends less time managing follow-ups and more time supporting operations across the portfolio. These improvements created a more consistent and reliable accounts payable process across all properties, enabling Founders 3 to support continued growth without adding operational complexity.
“Moving to AvidXchange reduced our costs right away. We eliminated expenses tied to check stock, envelopes, and postage, along with the effort required to manage them."