The Top Three Reasons for Accounts Payable Automation

Why Automate Accounts Payable?

With companies processing billions of invoices every year, and many confronting concerns about compliance, data monitoring, and efficiency, more and more businesses are leveraging accounts payable automation solutions to streamline and secure their AP workflow.

There are a number of advantages to automated invoice processing, alone, and the processing of invoices is only one aspect of accounts payable processes. 

So, does your organisation have the foundation it needs to optimise cash management or the agility required to seamlessly process invoices in our increasingly global economy?

Three Advantages of AP Automation

1. Invoice Data Capture

With the right accounts payable automation technology, you can eliminate manual paper processing from day one, allowing you to digitally collect, store, distribute and utilise invoice information.

To guarantee your invoices are digitised, processed and paid — and you’re extracting the maximum value from each and every invoice — you need invoice data capture as part of your accounts payable automation software suite.

Implementing invoice data capture creates minimal disruption, while providing significant benefits to your accounts payable process, including: 

• Instant ROI. By incorporating digital invoice data capture, you can reduce labor expenditures, printing and mailing overhead, and interest and late fees; without automated accounts payable the cost per invoice is $7.03, while the cost per invoice after automating is $4.53 per invoice — for a savings of 35.6%.
• Improved relationships. Invoice data capture normalises inbound formats, so there’s no disruption to supplier processes even for those unequipped for e-invoicing — and greater consistency enhances customer relationships long term.
• Greater efficiency. According to Billentis, 20% to 30% of all invoices “have to be treated as exceptions in one form or another,” and inaccurate invoices account for approximately 16% of late payments in the United States, as well as 15% in Western Europe. With invoice data capture you unburden your business from paper processing, reducing human error and enabling your accounting and finance departments to focus on value-add tasks that drive growth and refine decision making.

2. End-to-End Purchase Order Operations

Every purchase should start with a purchase order, and every payment should end with an invoice.

With an end-to-end purchase order process solution as part of your accounts payable automation software, you ensure: 

• Timely and accurate purchase order delivery
• Line-level acknowledgement
• Zero exceptions on invoices
• Expedited payment rates
• Real-time status reporting
• Aggregate data for procurement and accounts payable analysis. 

In other words, you achieve greater visibility and control from start to finish, eliminating the onus of paper delivery that often hinders procurement and payment cycles and saving your suppliers and yourself thousands of hours of dispute resolution and thousands of pounds in costs.

3. Advanced Analytics and Improved Compliance

As English author and historian Thoams Fuller once said, “zeal without knowledge is like a fire without light.”

With automated accounts payable line-level and aggregate analytics you can optimise every part of the process, improve contract compliance, strengthen supplier relationships, make better-informed decisions, increase efficiency, save time and improve your bottom line.

Full visibility of 100% of your data, in real time or over time, allows you to be:

• Descriptive. Use visualised data to inform your business on facilities, administrative and procurement key performance indicators.
• Prescriptive. Ensure everyone in your organisation manages spend, eliminates waste, cuts costs and optimises working capital, all whilst preventing fraud and maintaining compliance.
• Predictive. Take advantage of historical data to identify opportunities for improvements and prevent problems before they arise.

Go Digital Today

Automating your accounts payable process provides benefits far beyond rudimentary time savings. And with Total AP from Tungsten Network, you’re 100% digitised from day one, allowing you to accommodate all your suppliers, regardless of size, location or maturity. 

Automated Accounts Payable

At Tungsten, we simplify and streamline your entire accounts payable process, from initial receipt of invoices to customer payment submission.

Total AP provides:

• Flexible delivery options
• End-to-end process visibility of 100% of your invoices
• Real-time access to line-level data to identify price variances, ensure spend compliance and improve procurement decisions
• Guaranteed invoice delivery and real-time invoice status for suppliers, reducing calls and emails by up to 60%
• Digital transmission of all invoices, regardless of a supplier’s chosen submission format
• Eradication of invoice exceptions
• Full compliance with government mandates
• Secure and compliant invoice archiving
• Dedicated global enrollment teams for supplier onboarding

Did you know that the top-performing purchase-to-pay organisations report 10% year-on-year improvements in efficiency and effectiveness?