As we all know, efficiency is key to staying competitive. One area where many organisations can significantly improve their operations is in Accounts Payable (AP). By implementing robust Document Management and Automation solutions like DocuPhase, M-Files, DocuWare or Laserfiche, businesses can begin to transform their AP processes, reaping benefits that extend far beyond the finance department.
Automating these processes can bring a raft of advantages and benefits to both the business and its employees – lets take a look at those.
Firstly, automation can dramatically reduce invoice/credit note processing time (“purchase to pay”), turning days of work into mere hours indeed some organisations report that the average processing time of documents can be reduced from 15 minutes of “active contact” time to around 45 seconds. This time-saving can allow your AP team to focus on more strategic or “value add” tasks, which in turn boosts productivity and ultimately, job satisfaction.
An added benefit is that automation significantly improves accuracy by eliminating manual data entry errors, ensuring that payments are processed correctly and on time This not only enhances the company’s financial health but also strengthens relationships with suppliers through timely and accurate payments.
From a business perspective, AP automation offers substantial cost savings and improved cash flow management. By streamlining invoice processing and approval workflows, organisations can take advantage of early payment discounts and thus optimise their working capital. Coupled with this, automated systems provide enhanced visibility and control over the entire AP process, allowing for better financial planning and decision-making.
The built-in compliance features of some of these systems also help mitigate risks associated with fraud and ensure adherence to regulatory requirements and, many offer a robust and forensic audit trail of who did what, when. Remote access for auditors speeds up those often time and resource-consuming processes.
For employees, AP automation eliminates tedious, repetitive tasks, freeing them to engage in more fulfilling and value-added activities and, the user-friendly interfaces of solutions like DocuWare make it easy for staff to adapt to the new system, reducing training time and increasing overall efficiency and confidence.
With cloud-based solutions, employees and organisations have the flexibility to undertake and provide for remote working, accessing invoices and approving payments from anywhere, at any time. This of course not only improves work-life balance but also ensures business continuity in challenging times and makes multi-time-zone service easier.
Integration with ERP and Accounts systems should come as standard but, for the more obscure of finance management systems, integration products like Make or DMS-specific automation plugins will allow you to achieve automation rates of up to 92%, meaning that you can take invoices from “Inbox to ERP” in minutes, accurately and with validation and verification built in.
Those are just a few of the benefits of automating your AP function. If you handle over 500 AP invoices a month it would be well worth your time investigating the options available to take advantage of the benefits of using a document management system to help automate your processes. It doesn’t stop at AP indeed, any DMS worth its salt would offer options and functionality that would benefit ANY department in an organisation.
Are you ready to transform your Accounts Payable processes and unlock the full potential of your finance team? Reach out to us today to discuss your challenges,, and find out how we can help you select an AP automation solution to meet your organisation’s unique needs. Our consultants are ready to talk you through the possibilities and help you achieve greater efficiency, accuracy, and cost savings within your AP operations.
Don’t let manual processes hold your business back – take the first step towards AP automation excellence by contacting us now!
