Lose the Paper, Keep the Control
When accounts payable departments start looking at automation solutions, one of their biggest concerns is that by switching to AP automation they would lose control over and productivity in their AP department. It’s a valid concern, so we have put together two major ways that accounts payable automation helps your AP department increase productivity and stay in control, you just lose the paper.
AP Automation cuts out the busy work
Despite advances in technology, many companies still process their invoices by mail. Even when companies receive their invoices by email, however, what often happens is that the attached invoice is printed, and a processing clerk inputs the important information by hand.
Though your employees are working hard, the work they are doing is busy work and not nearly as efficient and productive as it could be. While emailing invoices cuts a few days off turnaround, switching to a fully automated system can cut processing times down to a matter of days. This allows your department to be as productive as possible. Rather than worrying about inputting information from each individual invoice, employees can spend more time on things like audit preparation and fraud prevention.
AP Automation allows your employees to work from anywhere
By choosing an automation solution that allows your employees to work virtually from anywhere, your accounts payable department will see an uptick in productivity. All your invoices are in one place, allowing for greater control.
There are many reasons that a company might require their employees to work in different locations. Maybe work from home is necessary, or maybe there are different meeting locations that the employees are required to travel to. No matter the situation, relying on a manual AP system can put these employees in a bind and cause a loss in productivity.
Automation Ensures AP Keeps the Control
Accounts payable is responsible for receiving and paying invoices in a timely manner. As such, it’s counterproductive to have a system in place that takes control away from this department. High level automation ensures that control stays within the AP department by maintaining whatever workflow works best for your department. This means that invoices are still received, checked, approved, and paid by the same people, the process is just automated. Invoices come in through an online portal, approvals happen with the click of a button, and even payments can be made through things like ACH or Virtual Card.
So lose the paper! No matter what accounts payable automation solution you choose, switching to the right e-invoicing solution will give your AP department the control and productivity that every team strives to have.