Enhance Your Business with Accounts Payable Automation Solutions

Lee Bourke

In business, you know that profitability comes from improving business processes to save time. Saving time and money are two of any business's key goals; however, you also know that it's essential not to sacrifice accuracy.

When you can reduce pressure on your organisation's resources by helping streamline and automate labour-intensive processes, such as accounts payable, human resources and document management, this enables and facilitates growth.

So, let's take a closer look at accounts payable automation and how it can benefit your business.

What is Accounts Payable automation?

Accounts payable (AP) automation software facilitates your business growth by allowing you to design your payable process to create touchless invoice processing and reduce manual invoice processing time.

Paper invoices will be a thing of the past, and your accounts payable teams will notice the reduction in the number of manual tasks. Everything about AP automation software is designed to deliver significant cost savings whilst simplifying and automating your accounting systems and invoice approval process.

What are the benefits of AP automation software?

It's clear that saving time and money are top of the list when talking about the benefits of AP automation software. However, you'll probably notice that your accounts payable department is also happier. You'll undoubtedly have fewer erroneous payments and errors to chase up, and you'll get money into the pockets of your suppliers and staff by ensuring a fast invoice approval process.

Compliance is built into the AP automation software, so you'll know you're meeting requirements. Add to that being able to access document management files from anywhere worldwide, and your business is truly going global.

How does AP automation software save time and money?

Using data capture software to extract data from invoices electronically delivers a significant reduction in data entry needed to process your invoice stream. This time saved can then be used for completing much higher value tasks than data entry.

Imagine all of the time lost invoices can use up. By relying on paper invoices, you run the risk of missing payment deadlines, which can affect supplier relationships. Or you might miss early payment discounts.

Invoice management is critical in ensuring a project stays on time and on schedule. By managing and tracking invoices and working to a strict invoice approval process, you can save time and money and ensure the project stays on schedule.

Increase accuracy and improve efficiency

Manual tasks such as invoice data entry can equal errors. Errors delay your payment reconciliation and can result in duplicate payments and incorrectly processing supplier invoices.

However, invoice scanning when processing invoices ensures that the invoices received are the invoices paid. AP automation software allows you to monitor what's happening in your accounts payable processes easily and become more efficient with approval times.

Invoice automation is key to better efficiency and lower processing costs, and it also means your financial systems and payment process are reliable and accurate.

Reduce approval time

With AP automation software, you can easily design and build custom workflows to streamline and automatically route invoices and other documents directly to your staff approvers for action.

This eliminates manual tasks associated with your invoice approval process and means your accounts payable process becomes more efficient. This positively impacts your staff and suppliers, who can rely on timely payment of invoices.

You can automatically route through your defined invoice approval process while seamlessly integrating with your existing accounting software to reduce invoice processing time.

Compliance

Managing your projects to include electronic invoicing means you can streamline processes and design them to keep every project on track. With all critical invoice data in one place, it's easy to keep everyone updated with progress and communicate important updates.

AP automation software also ensures that no task is ever forgotten and no electronic invoice remains unpaid. You're in control of creating the business rules that fuel the AP automation, route electronic invoices for approval, and prompt mandatory testing and certification at critical stages throughout the project, enhancing overall compliance.

From the smallest to the largest projects, accounts payable automation delivers a collaborative system that ensures you, your contractors and your suppliers stay on schedule and are compliant in all areas, helping to assure the success of every project.

Access documents from anywhere

With cloud-based accounts payable automation, you can access your documents from anywhere, and it's vital to ensure the software you choose features advanced security and document controls to protect your data.

Whether working from home, off-site, travelling interstate or travelling overseas, you can instantly access critical information wherever you are from any internet-enabled device, such as your smartphone, tablet, or laptop.

Accounts payable automation software allows you to control security rights around the functionality available in the system, including printing, emailing, or editing documents, to protect your records and maintain maximum security.

How does AP automation software work?

IT'S FAST

Eliminate manual processing by digitally scanning all invoices and documents that come into your business via email.

Choose an accounts payable automation system that pre-populates and validates data as invoices and documents are received, which will reduce your invoice processing time, and you can be assured that your data is reliable.

YOU MAINTAIN CONTROL

Ensure the accounts payable automation software you choose has an exception processing function, allowing you to identify any errors early on before progressing further along the AP process.

You can apply security policies to Accounts Payable files or specific documents to control access to sensitive information and assign roles to ensure invoices are only actioned by approved staff.

CUSTOMISE AND AUTOMATE DOCUMENT ROUTING

Meet agreed on payment timeframes and reduce the chance of human error with document routing and automated workflow features.

Built-in checkpoints allow staff to verify details and ensure all required documentation is in place before moving to the next approval point to maintain compliance.

In summary

For mid-sized organisations, AP automation software solutions deliver benefits that will ensure your business success by giving you the power to control your accounts payable processes.

AP automation saves your business time and money by ensuring your AP processes are fast, reliable and compliant and also allows your business to grow by facilitating secure access from anywhere in the world.

DOCUMENT VISIBILITY

Digitising paper documents ensures easier handling, connects separate systems to deliver a single view and helps you locate documents quickly, using any connected device.

EFFICIENT PROCESSES

Simple functionality creates automated workflows to eliminate manual handling, speed up administrative processes, and save valuable time.

UNLOCK STAFF POTENTIAL

Streamlining capabilities eliminates manual data entry and other low-value tasks, giving your staff the chance to tackle high-value work and unlock their full potential.

At Ellby, we help businesses facilitate growth and unlock their true potential.

Our digital solutions have been designed to improve your business efficiency and reduce pressure on your organisation's accounting system by helping streamline and automate traditionally labour-intensive processes, including accounts payable, human resources and document management.

Let’s talk solutions! Get in touch to discover how Ellby can transform your accounts payable process to drive success.

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