Businesses looking to get ahead in the current market need to do everything they can to set themselves apart from the competition. One key way of doing that is ensuring that their internal processes are running as effectively and efficiently as possible.
An area where many companies could stand to improve and streamline their operations is within the accounts payable (AP) process. This is where accounts payable automation comes into the picture, with this software solution having the potential to evolve the way that businesses handle their invoicing process and data.
But what exactly is accounts payable automation and what could it do for your business?
The basics of accounts payable automation
At its core, accounts payable automation is the use of technology to streamline, manage and automate the process of paying suppliers and vendors. With the use of automated workflows, AP automation significantly cuts down on the need for human intervention within the entire process.
Whether it’s invoice capture, data entry, approval workflows or payment processing, accounts payable automation supports the finance team by taking over the handling of those tasks. Not only does this lighten the workload on members of the team, but it also delivers a variety of additional benefits, including improved efficiency, accuracy, and compliance.
What can accounts payable automation do for your business?
There are plenty of ways that incorporating accounts payable automation into your workflows can benefit a business, from its operational efficiency to its financial health. Failing to keep up with evolving technology and its potential to strengthen your business’s fundamentals is simply not an option for any company that wants to remain competitive in the modern market.
Some of the major benefits of implementing AP automation are:
- Time savings
Cutting down on the amount of time that it takes to process a single invoice is a significant point in favor of accounts payable automation. With manual processing, it can take hours to even days to process an invoice, given the number of steps that need to be gone through.
AP automation streamlines the entire process, reducing the need for manual input and leaving staff with more of a supervisory role over the software. Not only does this reduce the amount of time it takes to process invoices – with automation having the capacity to process multiple invoices simultaneously – but it also frees up the finance team to focus on other tasks.
- Improved invoicing accuracy
Manual data entry comes with a high risk of typos or inputting errors, no matter how good your team are. Even a simple missed digit or decimal point can cause significant issues for the business, with the potential for payment delays, duplicate payments or even vendor disputes.
But data entry errors become a thing of the past with accounts payable automation, as invoices are all captured and processed by the software. This dramatically reduces the odds of any errors slipping through, especially as an integrated AP automation solution has the capability to cross-check data against other sources to ensure its accuracy.
- Greater oversight
When dealing with paper invoices and manual processes, it can be difficult to keep an accurate and up-to-date overview of your business’s accounts payable operations. And not having proper visibility into this key financial area can leave your company vulnerable to nasty shocks or surprises down the road.
But businesses who use accounts payable automation gain access to real-time visibility of all the important invoicing data. Stakeholders can track individual invoice statuses, monitor potential bottlenecks before they become an issue, and access detailed financial reports.
Altogether, this enhanced level of transparency and oversight allows for stronger decision-making and more accurate forecasting.
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We have only scratched the surface of the potential of accounts payable automation today. This simple solution has the ability to dramatically improve the way your business’s financial operations flow, opening the door to future growth opportunities.
