You might assume that automated solutions lead to staff layoffs. However, automated software frees time for more productive work like expansion efforts.
Accountants are especially vital to expansion. Accountants contain knowledge of marketing, and sales teams do not. Using accounts payable automation will free accountants to analyze cash flow and identify new opportunities as well as what works and what doesn’t.
There are many more benefits to accounts payable software that businesses shouldn’t ignore. Read about the top six below.
Time savings
Maximized time is the most indisputable benefit of accounts payable automation.
Manual data entry consumes a significant amount of time. Accounts payable automation eliminates 80 to 95 percent of that time.
Even extremely basic AP automated software free accountants from mundane and tedious work, such as:
- Chasing approval
- Correcting errors from manual data entry
- Reconciling payments
Cost savings
Many business owners neglect to transition to AP automation because of the upfront investment. However, AP automation saves as much money as time.
Research shows that automated AP software saves up to $16 per invoice and pays for itself within six to 18 months.
Automation also makes paying on time, and even early, easier. Business owners can say goodbye to late fees and hello to early payment discounts.
Minimizes errors
Incorrect contact information, missed due dates, inaccurate amounts, and double payments originate from human error.
AP software ensures accuracy through artificial intelligence such as optical character recognition (OCR) and robotic processing automation (RPA).
OCR quickly scans and captures information from invoices for payment and record keeping. RPA technology instantly enters the information.
Easy auditing
Accounts payable automation even makes auditors’ lives easier. AP software employs cloud-based technology to store digital copies of purchase orders, approvals, contracts, and more.
This means the days of frantically sifting through paper copies alongside an impatient auditor are over.
Automated solutions also ensure compliance, decreasing the chances of a detrimental mistake.
Increased visibility
Accounts payable automation speeds up the entire payables process, granting a real-time view of cash flow.
AP software also exhaustively records every piece of information and even creates helpful reports based on collected data.
Easily accessible, detailed data helps pinpoint vendor relationships the company should let go of or improve. It also identifies where the business is losing money and where it could be saving money.
Security
Accounting departments are often the target and victims of fraudulent activity. Automated AP software stops payment fraud in its tracks.
An automated system oversees the entire process, from invoice processing to payment. Accounts payable automation protects companies’ assets through the following features:
- Cloud-based technology that reduces the need for paper filing
- Customizable access management that ensures only the appropriate people have access to sensitive information
- Security monitoring alerts the company of suspicious or out-of-the-ordinary behavior.
Before you go
Whether expansion or organization is the goal, business automation tools achieve both. Most importantly, accounts payable automation builds business credibility by enhancing vendor relationships and clearing the way for fruitful labor.
