ERP systems are extremely capable masters of all trades. These software suites – often cloud-based – ensure that an organization can handle all aspects of its business processes under a single umbrella. From finance to procurement and project management to supply chain and manufacturing, the ERP is a centralized entry window into all aspects of a business. And, since they are all-encompassing platforms, many businesses make use of the various module options and incorporate the handling of things like human resources or accounting within their ERP solution. Oracle, one of the leading providers of ERP software, calls these solutions “a business’s central hub for end-to-end workflow and data.”
Accounts Payable Automation Oracle Gives You Better Results
Thanks to its importance in maintaining a smooth business operation, every business has developed its own workflows around the accounts payables payment process and dealing with suppliers. These are defined by customized number of steps that take into consideration the specific supplier network, cash management goals, and even the availability and location of the AP team.
Four Things Where an Accounts Payable Platform Improves Your Oracle Experience
There’s always room for improvement when it comes to the special requirements of invoice payment automation. Let’s assume you are already using Oracle as your ERP provider. What are some of the reasons behind how to boost your Oracle Accounts Payable process flow with an outside partner would benefit your company? There are four distinct reasons:
1. It covers the full cycle of the accounts payable process, from purchase to payment
A platform that’s purpose-built for intelligent AP automation keeps track of and handles invoices and other documents from the moment a PO is generated all the way through the payment process. It creates visibility and transparency for the AP team and other departments (as well as for suppliers) all the way through the workflow: intake, approval, exceptions, and payment.
2. AP automation is optimized for a paperless workflow
Intelligent accounts payable automation breaks down into five steps that save a business time and money. First comes multichannel capture. No matter in what format an invoice arrives, the AP platform will reliably handle it. Unstructured data contained in paper documents, faxes, photos or email attachments will be converted into a machine-readable format to speed up processing.
3. AP automation makes sure approvals keep moving even when managers are out of the office
When the main office is understaffed, overworked or even shuttered, AP automation picks up the slack and makes sure things keep running smoothly. That’s because a cloud-based system will automatically route all documents to the right people in the right order for approval. Businesses can set up and tweak their workflow with smart rules to accommodate any kind of temporary disruption or long-term changes.
4. AP Automation lets organizations automate many more AP functions than just approval
While it might be possible to handle the standard invoice approval inside the ERP system, a specialized solution that augments the ERP system offers many more functionalities with added benefits. Take the payments part that is often handled by a separate software with its own interface. But why crimp your productivity and efficiency after you’ve come this far?
Simply put, the less manual labor is tied up in handling invoices, the more your team can apply their unique skills and creativity to make your business more competitive and productive. That’s probably the single most valuable enterprise resource, and with Payables automation, you can finally unlock it.
In the age of accelerating digital transformation, businesses need such integrated platforms to operate, not just to keep their supply chain running and avoid manufacturing bottlenecks. The finance team beyond the core AP function have come to rely on specialized, automated tools that free up their time to focus on more critical tasks.
