automated AP

Article Dean Dorton

The accounts payable department has countless daily duties. From managing invoices to making payments, there’s a lot to keep track of. To build a well-oiled AP machine that provides visibility and control over the payments process, finance departments can put these best practices into play.

Don’t let your invoices result in ‘lost files’

As a best practice, electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) has its perks in the payment world. Electronically managing invoices reduces the risk of losing files and missing deadlines. There’s also the bonus of having an automation solution so you can automatically pay vendors without cutting paper checks. Using centralized, cloud-based workflows provides easier cash flow monitoring and real-time visibility into the financial future.

Let your invoices live in the cloud

Moving invoices to the cloud boosts flexibility and earlier visibility into spend. There’s no need to chase down managers who are always on the go. Invoices are available for approvers to review and approve from anywhere, 24/7, 365 days a year. Keeping payables in a centralized hub helps the finance department stay organized and benefit from a streamlined payment process.

Automate approvals to put payments on the fast track

Reduce the headaches and havoc of the approval process. AP automation simplifies approvals while pushing a high volume of invoices. E-invoicing solutions allow you to implement rules and compliance, expediting the approval process with automation for faster payments. Regardless of internal restrictions, automation allows businesses to integrate those rules to save time and costs.

Give suppliers power over their payments

Implementing a “self-service” supplier portal eliminates the frustration of spending the day constantly managing supplier inquiries. A cloud-based portal gives suppliers 24/7 access to check the status of payables and update vendor information. A supplier portal provides your suppliers with the visibility they need, so your AP staff can focus on more strategic aspects of the accounts payable process.

Ease supplier management with a simplified solution

Supplier management can be time-consuming for any AP department. From managing compliance to preferred payment methods, keeping vendors aligned can be a tedious task. With AP automation, you can remove the headache of maintaining supplier data and their preferred payment methods. AvidXchange contacts 100% of your suppliers on your behalf to verify and update their information, identify their accepted payment types, and perform due diligence on any outstanding payments to get them resolved quickly.

The bottom line: Build a case for AP automation

If your AP department is looking to accelerate approvals, reduce processing costs, and virtually eliminate paper while gaining more transparency and control over spending, then AP automation may be the right solution for you. 

avidxchange ROI calculator

AvidXchange has been delivering accounts payable automation solutions to the midmarket for over 16 years. We understand how AP Automation improves controls, creates operational efficiencies, and reduces costs. How much time and money can AP automation with AvidXchange save your company? Find out by using our ROI calculator.

roi calculator

Interested in automating your payables and creating efficiencies for your AP team? Our automation specialists will create a customized demo and walk you through the streamlined workflow of an automated AP process. Schedule a demo!

Article Dean Dorton

There are a million reasons why you should automate your accounts payable (AP) process. However, the reason you will automate is when you decide the pain of manually managing your payables process is greater than the temporary pain of change. The triggers and pain are different for all businesses but the central theme is the same—you recognize challenges in your job and know there is a better way to manage it. In this blog, we are going to discuss what motivates companies and individuals to automate their invoice and payment processes.

Your AP Process is Costly

Many companies think they have a cost-efficient payables process, but the reality is, automated processes are much cheaper. Think about it…every time you, or someone else in your business, touches an invoice or payment, the processing costs associated with the invoice increases. From the moment you open the mail, all the way through to when your CFO or Controller signs the check, you’ve increased the cost to process an invoice and payment.

According to PayStream Advisors, the average cost to process an invoice is $9.00, while the average cost to process a paper check is $7.15. With automation, you can reduce your processing costs by 60% or more. Cost reductions come from shortened approval cycles from an average of 28 days to 2-3 days. Not to mention, eliminating paper, stamps, envelopes, check stock, etc. cuts down on the hard costs as well.

You Are Growing

Growth is a common catalyst for automation because automation is more scalable than continuing to hire additional staff. If you had to process 3x more invoices and payments per month, would you be putting in overtime? Hopefully not! You have more important things to do like spend time with your family and friends. But sometimes it’s not always an option, especially when your job keeps you physically in the office to key in invoice data into your accounting system. This is where automation comes in. You can triple your processing capacity with the same amount of resources. Not to mention – all fully coded and approved invoice data can be imported into your accounting system with just 1-click. Just think about the possibilities…

We know that as an AP professional, you are often too busy to join a lengthy webinar. The reason you are looking to automate probably has something to do with how busy you are. That’s why we’re hosting a 15-minute webinar, tomorrow (May 25, 2017) at 2pm EST, so you can quickly learn the benefits of automating your AP process, without taking too much time away from your day. In this webinar, we’re going to discuss the definition of AP automation, the top signs it’s time to automate, and show you a brief demo of the solution. Register today and secure your spot before it’s too late.