Change is difficult for everyone, and accountants are especially known for sticking to time-honored methods. The nearly overnight transition to remote working because of Covid-19 was not easy, but finance teams were forced to adapt.
Many organizations welcomed the advantages of AP automation solutions after the switch to remote working. In a State of Accounts Payable report, 32% of companies surveyed began to automate their AP departments in 2021. Of these companies the greatest adoption rate has been among companies earning between $250 million – $1 billion, with over half choosing automation. While working remotely, embracing AP automation becomes even more critical.
Manual accounts payables processes brought about many challenges long before remote working was the norm and they will continue to cause problems even after staff have returned to the office, be it partially or permanently.
Benefits of Accounts Payable Automation Software
1. Time Savings
Accounts payable automation makes invoice processing and approval exponentially faster by removing time-consuming and error-prone manual tasks:
- Invoice headers and line-item data are scanned with character recognition software.
- Two, three-way and advanced matching is completed without any human interaction.
- Payables are routed to your predetermined business processes.
2. Streamlined, Accurate Processing
Automated matching processes, on-average, 80 percent of invoices straight-through from capture to payment.
- almost completely eliminates human error.
- removing the need for the same level of oversight.
- virtually eliminating overpayment and duplicate payments.
- automatically flagging exceptions to be reviewed by your approvers.
- makes reporting, budgeting, and auditing far more efficient and accurate.
3. Easy Access, Real-Time Monitoring, and Greater Control
Accountants and CFOs want to know where every cent is at a given time. They want to keep track of every obligation owed. They are also keen to avoid paying late fees and damaging reputations with suppliers.
Unfortunately, paper gets lost. Employees lose track of where invoices stand in the payment process. Accounts payable automation platforms will help you save time and effort that could be channeled into other vital aspects of your business.
Automated accounts payable allows full access to the payment cycle. Anyone who has permission can learn the status of an invoice at a glance. Since you can monitor progress in your workflow, it’s easy to pinpoint delays and get answers from your team members.
4. Better Insight and Transparency
Greater visibility into the Accounts Payable process gives accountants and business leaders keen insight. Accounts payable automation solutions offer finance executives the ability to:
- see the big picture at a glance.
- leverage exhaustive, real-time dashboard reporting of key performance indicators to retrieve and present relevant data on short notice.
- focus on specific problem areas and opportunities for improvement.
- identify noncompliance with business rules and company spending policies.
Moreover, managers can use automation as a tool to monitor the performance and productivity of any AP individual or team. AP automation solutions can be used for employee reviews and as a tool to develop staff.
5. Customized Solutions
An intuitive, versatile accounts payable automation software has many benefits making it easy for users to design the AP workflows that best suit their needs. You determine the route that invoices follow to individuals with proper authorization.
You can create approval timers and set up alerts. No one knows your requirements better than you do, and a powerful platform allows you to keep it that way.