One of the big benefits of accounts Payable Automation (or AP Automation) is the amount of time that organizations save. We have found that more often than not businesses actually underestimate the time that they could save because they are just thinking about the time that it takes to process an invoice when there are several ways that AP automation makes your business more efficient.
This article covers 3 ways accounts payable automation saves you and your enterprise time.
What Is AP Automation?
AP automation uses software to eliminate repetitive tasks and standard processes. Invoices touch many hands, sometimes different departments, and multiple pieces of software. When your organization implements AP automation, you essentially 'hire' a robot to send paper from point A to point B and automate other tasks that a human doesn't need to do. It's the process of eliminating manual AP tasks, increasing visibility into spend, and controlling costs. Now, you can even earn rebates on your spend with payments automation.
This will not only save you time but also:
- Limit errors when applying manual methods
- Increase labor productivity: departments involved in the payment process can be proactive in their work.
- Increase the security of business data
- Digitize documents and invoices to save printing and warehousing costs
Business Process Optimization
The typical AP billing process goes through several stages and requires multiple levels of approval. Sometimes it takes a few weeks to complete the payment process. This can be a huge hassle if your business has hundreds or thousands of bills to pay.
By setting up predefined programs and rules, AP automation reduces unnecessary processes and procedures resulting in faster approval and payment times. To hammer home the last point, we have found that not only do existing processes become faster and better with AP automation but also DTI can often eliminate some of your workflows altogether.
When it's time to pay, you simply send us a payment file with the transaction details. That file is loaded into your workflow engine, and your team reviews your pending payments before sending it in a simple interface... Sometimes after just one click.
This can be a turning point for accounting and finance departments. Your employees won't need to waste time looking for stamps or rummaging around for lost invoices. You will better leverage your existing team, which is critical in today's labor market.
Electronic Invoices
Moving to a paperless environment is a critical component of your digital transformation. Invoices move faster in a digital environment no longer slowed down by paper forms, envelopes, stamps, and physically mailing invoices.
Having electronic invoices also means that your team doesn't need to categorize invoices manually. With AP automation, you can set up rules that automatically categorize invoices.
In addition, reviewing and auditing invoices is not nearly as cumbersome. AP automation keeps valid invoices moving along and flags invoices where there are issues. Reviewing records no longer requires a trip to the warehouse. You have historical information at your fingertips.
Reduce Data Access Time
30% of jobs in the traditional AP workflow are procedural. Your AP professionals become instantly more productive when you automate your processes. Another reason why AP automation saves you time centers on document retrieval and access.
The AP automation application relies on your ERP system to store all billing-related information, a virtual repository of records. This saves you time, space, and ensures safety and security.
Information requests are easier and faster to respond to especially if you warehouse older records off-site. AP automation also makes it more convenient for you to check and search for records when needed. You can access it anywhere and organized however it makes most sense to you. Instead of spending hours rummaging through paper files, now, you only need a few minutes.
You also have access to real-time reporting giving you data that would have otherwise taken hours or days to compile.
DTI understands that every business has a different way of handling invoices and that successful AP automation projects rely on making things as simple as possible for your team. Our experts are ready to work with you to design the most suitable solution.
Conclusion
Ready to say goodbye to the paperchase of manual invoice and payment processing? DTI will automate and optimize your invoice processing, providing best-in-class speed, accuracy and consistency. If you are looking for a simple and more secure way to manage payables, our team and the technology we use are here for you. Reclaim the time spent on tedious manual tasks, and free your finance team to focus on more important work.
