Trends in Integrating Accounts Payable Automation
The advent of technological innovation such as big data and cloud computing have coalesced and CFOs and their teams are finding that these new technological innovations can easily be integrated into the way they do business. For example, innovations like accounts payable automation are making timely payments easier while improving supplier relationships. Considering the sudden spike in the use of AP automation, the following is a forecast of how this technology will evolve and how it will change the companies and industries that utilize its functionality.
A Data-Driven World
More businesses are putting accounts payable automation to use in the form of ERP and ECM. Then, they’re using the data they gained to develop insights, identify trends, maximize performance, and reduce the amount of mistakes they make. Under this new data-driven business model companies are able to set goals that are accessible while also utilizing real-time information consistently. This also allows them to work with more transparency, because businesses will be more accurate with data when making decisions, performing overall processes, and building customer relationships.
This additional transparency has led many CFOs to conclude that financial decision-making responsibilities in the company are no longer simply the purview of accounts. By making the information surrounding accounts payable automation available to other departments it can be used to accelerate the payment process, reduce the instances of bottlenecks in processes, maximize vendor relations, and raise early pay discount. By shifting to a data-driven model they can reduce the guesswork and create a more cohesive and informed operational strategy constructed on the concept of real-time data.
The benefits don’t stop there with AP automation, as its use of clarifies systems and operations. This capacity allows smaller businesses to get the benefits of big data to compete with larger businesses by leveraging a business’s critical data throughout the company.
Everyone’s Going Mobile
Alongside and in tandem with AP automation mobile solutions have also come to the forefront. By improving the way we communicate and speeding up the way we do business mobile solutions are revolutionizing the business dynamic. The key is understanding that mobile devices and mobile applications like AP automation systems and file sharing systems, help businesses to grow in scope by making data readily accessible.
A company fusing mobile solutions and AP automation team workflow with smart phones, tablets and also notebooks is bound to have an advantage. This functionality makes access to important information and collaboration much simpler. Also, improved Wi-Fi standards have made devices more responsive and functionality more consistent. For example, with routers designed to process 7 to 10 GB per second faster mobile connectivity is almost assured.
Making Cloud Access Easier
Technology trends over the past few years have moved business steadily towards making the cloud the standard for data management businesses of all sizes. The cloud is essential for every IT department and mobile AP automation is changing too take full advantage of the cloud. The high percentage of businesses using the cloud have stated that the boundaries between departments are beginning to blur for the better thanks to cloud platforms creating a more into an interconnected system. The result is massive efficiency improvements that businesses can use to maximize profit and productivity, in AP operations in particular.
Thanks to the low overhead and minimal upfront cost and accessibility of cloud computing, managing AP data on almost any device from almost any location makes automation simple. Consequently, cloud technology has become more attractive to businesses of all sizes and types particularly when it comes to streamlining their AP workflow. Evidence of this increase is found in the rise in investment of income into cloud computing infrastructure as it is expected to rise 30% by 2018. The result is a whole new round of cloud-based, automated accounts payable products that can integrate themselves easily into a company’s ERP system.