17 BENEFITS OF PAYABLES AUTOMATION
There are many benefits of payables automation, from time and money saved, to better relationships with suppliers and other departments. Your accounts payable team will have time they didn’t have before to focus on fraud prevention, discount capture, and audit preparation. Check out the 17 benefits of payables automation listed below, and let us know what others you can think of!
- Accuracy of Data (direct from supplier, no data entry by clerks)– Due to high-level payables automation, the clerk’s duties have become fully automated resulting in more accurate data. With AP automation, the average accounts payable worker becomes far more efficient.
- Easier Audits– Controls, visibility, and compliance have been enhanced allowing review information to be saved with the invoice, improving the audit process. AP departments can quickly provide access to invoices based on external audit requests.
- Tighter Control of Spending– High-level AP automation tightens control over spending. Business rules automate the routing, matching, and circulation of invoices and are configured to an organization’s specific needs. Payables automation saves clerks time by requiring them only to review and handle those invoices that do not pass the pre-established system rules.
- Better Visibility – Gaining complete and clear visibility throughout the entire AP flow, organizations minimize paper and tightly integrate AP processes with ERP systems. By integrating document capture and workflow with an ERP system helps to set the foundation for clear and complete visibility.
- Better Supplier Relations– Early dispute resolution, faster processing and payments, and better-established discounts all contribute to a better relationship with suppliers.
- More Streamlined Dispute Resolution –Suppliers can view disputed invoices at any time and provide supporting/backup documentation as needed, making dispute resolution a collaborative process as well.
- More Discounts (either dynamic discounting or otherwise)– Referred to as early pay discounting, dynamic discounting is available when you have an electronic invoicing provider like iPayables. By having invoices processed electronically, they are approved much quicker, typically within 4 days.
- Better Cash Flow Control – Cash is king in today’s market place. Suppliers want to get paid as fast as they can so that they can turn their inventories quickly, and maximize profits.
- Reduce Check Printing Costs –MICR laser check printing increases laser check printing security, as well as reduces costs associated with pre-printed check processing environments.
- Reduce Mailroom Costs –In a manual mail room and mail invoice processing environment, the efficiency of the process is never assured. Human resources come and go. The experience and skill of staff tends to ebb and flow as skilled workers may leave or take time off. Digital mail rooms and accounts payable optimization systems are becoming a strategic necessity for enterprise organizations.
- Higher Quality PO Matching – The invoice matching process has proven for some, a challenge to automate. With high-level PO matching, businesses can achieve a higher standard through accurate three way matching. This new innovation has helped AP departments become more automated in matching the receipt of goods. To be an efficient system, PO requisitions and receipt of goods must also be fully automated. The three way matching process, will allow those invoices with full matching to be sent straight through without unnecessary AP processor involvement. Exceptions that don’t match, can be routed to the specific individuals responsible for match resolution.
- Easier More Accurate Accruals –The workflow engine of payables automation reduces approvals from weeks to days, fostering up-to-date and accurate accrual reporting. Also at your fingertips is a dashboard of real-time metrics that help manage staff productivity, optimize working capital and ease end of the month reporting.
- Eliminate Supplier Tax Calculations – Paying too much sales tax on certain invoices and underpaying taxes on invoices can be resolved through integration with a sales and use tax engine. The automation of sales and tax use calculation has ensured the accurate calculation of invoice taxes. In turn this eliminates exposure to tax audits and other penalties.
- Higher Card Volumes for Rebates – While large companies are winning the race in V-Card adoption, medium and small companies are also utilizing purchasing card programs in an effort to rein in spending and reap the rewards of V-Card programs, including rebates.
- Improving Productivity of your Approvers – With high-level automation, approvers are typically notified via email when invoices require their review and approval. Users click on the hyperlink contained in the email messages and log onto the system to view, code and approve the invoices online. Most solutions available today come bundled with alters and reminders, out-of-office delegation rules and escalation procedures to ensure that invoices are processed in a timely manner.
- Reduced Headcount– The real savings are in the reduced headcount. There are very few AP departmental duties that can’t be automated. The end result is that skilled employees allocated to other department where they can be used more effectively.
- Better Opinion of AP in General – “Our department received immediate visibility to the organization and as the benefits of the new system were discovered, we became seen in the most positive light AP has ever experienced. Personally, I believe I was seen by executives and other managers in a positive light as well,” said an AP Manager experiencing one of the benefits of Payables Automation with iPayables.
What other benefits of payables automation can you think of?