How companies can reduce the cost and effort in accounts payable with AP automation?
Change is terrifying. Especially when it comes to shifting processes within organizations that have been carrying out the same activities, in the same ways for years, it can be extremely overwhelming. But the fact is that, there exist sufficient compelling and cost-justifiable reasons for automation, particularly when it comes to accounts payable.
Although your company might have survived in the past using manual, error-prone and inefficient AP systems, it might be the right time to take a closer look at the advantages of account payable automation and how they can empower your finance team to function smarter, not harder.
Franchises, business divisions and departments continue to be added by a growing organization and often they let each of these divisions to manage its own invoices. This leads to forming a team at each location in charge of the Accounts Payable. A number of problems are posed by separating AP duties into such different teams. It is clearly inefficient, for sure. In order to essentially perform the same job, you end up having to train multiple people throughout your company. In addition, various departments can end up placing orders with various suppliers; foregoing the best deals or bulk discounts that could have increased the ROI. In cumbersome reconciliations, there are also additional effort and overhead processing costs waiting your business at the end of the curve.
Making the shift to AP Automation
Saving time is a key advantage of using AP Automation. Analysis suggests that the adoption of accounts payable automation in an AP department will reduce as much as 85 percent the time spent on a manual AP process (and in some cases by over 90 percent), leaving workers with far more time to deal with other crucial duties. Although speed and efficiency in processing are a significant attraction, there are several other benefits to offer by shifting to an AP automation system focused on AI and Machine Learning algorithms.
Reduces Manual Input through Intelligent Data Extraction
Intelligent Data Extraction in AP automation captures the invoice metadata with high accuracy and uploads the invoice information automatically from scanned invoices or pdfs. This means that up to 90% of manual data input is absolutely removed. The time-consuming and error-prone feature is no longer a component of your AP process that will free up your AP staff to cope with more constructive tasks and challenges bringing in meaningful strategies to increase the ROI of your business.
Saves Time & Cost through Intelligent Invoice Classification and Approval Workflows
On invoice extraction, the automation system classifies the invoices based on invoice formats like PO, Non-PO, Blanket PO, Service PO etc. This eliminates the need for manual PO matching, non-PO invoice manual coding, and looking for Invoices and retrieving them. Also chasing non-PO invoice approvals is a task that is frustrating and time-consuming, particularly when multiple approvers are needed. This approval process can also be automated by AP Automation with the approvers being sent updates from their mobile devices and routing the invoices to accounts payable executives based on line item details and suppliers. Thereby the overall impact on data capture and workflow that has brought about by AP automation have reduced the processing time and costs by over 70%.
Why to automate your Accounts Payable processes?
Source: PayStream Advisors; Electronic Invoice Adoption Benchmark Report
The number of invoices being handled per year is just growing for most businesses. If your business follows this pattern, chances are high that the challenges a paper-based AP extends will also grow with your business. The right solution would decrease or remove the need to wade through piles of paper invoices and add a big boost to the bottom line of your business. But it is equally important for you to recognize and document problems with your current invoice processes and measure the advantages of the transformation to find the right C-suite champion for automation.
Read more on How to efficiently choose the right AP automation solution provider
Applexus InSITE for a fully-integrated & automated invoice processing
A comprehensive and intuitive AI solution, Applexus InSITE goes beyond the traditional accounts payable workflows to completely automate the vendor invoice processing from receipt to posting while addressing exceptions and approvals. It offers preconfigured invoice management processes based on best practices in the industry and provides multiple channel options for suppliers to send their invoices.
Simple to use with an Intuitive UI, Applexus InSITE offers auditable transparency on invoices for early identification of duplicates, frauds and errors in the invoice processing period.
If you’d like to know more on the on the latest innovations in invoice management and how an AP automation solution like Applexus InSITE can mitigate the legacy challenges associated with your invoice management for improved data accuracy, easy substitution management and much more through leveraging automated AP tracking & visibility,.
