So, are you still buried under heaps of paper invoices?
Are you still always depending on emails that toggle between departments for approvals? Have you been looking for a lost payment and can’t seem to find it anywhere? Is your entire AP reconciliation cycle driving you crazy?
Have you had to deploy a separate team to enter the data from the invoices manually? Are human errors part of the reason your existing Accounts Payable is falling apart?
If you answered “yes” to even one of the questions above, it’s time to automate your AP process and work smarter!
Accounts payable management can be very tedious to deal with when administering with heaps and heaps of invoices.
To counter such a cumbersome and time-consuming management, Accounts Payable Automation or AP automation, as it is commonly known as, helps reduce the workload by automating the processing of invoices.
AP Automation
Account Payable Automation is a software system that streamlines and automates accounting processes to give better control and visibility of the aggregate financial data.
Firstly, the invoice data is captured using a scanning software or an OCR (Optical Character Recognition), after which the system routes the invoice based on a preset organizational workflow.
For this entire process to happen, the AP automation software needs to be seamlessly integrated with the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) architecture of the company.
Why should you opt for AP automation?
There are several reasons why you should have an automated process for your accounts payable processing,
The OCR software makes it smooth to convert print into text so you can turn tons of paper data into digital text in no time. This also means that it is easier to search through invoices by merely using the keyword of the scanned image.
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All AP Processes Streamlined
With your AP processes well-organized, all the manual processing can go out of the window and, with it, any possibilities of human errors. Streamlined procedures make the workflow more efficient and provide a more natural way for you to identify what went wrong in case of any invoice-related issue.
You can also achieve a higher degree of PO-matching with the software offering a two and three-way matching. There’s also an added advantage of customizing tolerance levels so that all unmatched invoices can go for further approvals.
With automation in place, it is easier to monitor payments and their cycles. Plus, it is easy to identify payment delays and to prevent fraudulent activities. This can be further enforced with the help of the SoD (Segregation of Duties) feature that can be customized within the AP automation software. Such a feature ensures that the AP activities be distributed systematically among individuals rather than becoming only one person’s onus, thus establishing a more transparent and robust system of work.
Integration with the existing financial set up ensures a more fluid flow of data between the systems eliminating the need to toggle between multiple screens to enter data.
Which AP automation software is the best for you?
With so much said about AP automation software, how do you know which one to deploy for your organization?
Let’s look at the eight leading market players in this segment,
1. Sage Intacct
With Sage Intacct, you can make use of their superior point-and-click control features to create a customized workflow and approval processes. It is a cloud-based ERP that includes all diverse verticals of account payable like purchasing, vendor management, cash accounting, contract management, inventory management, and others. You also can get a real-time picture of all your AP transactions. Easy to integrate with other ERP systems, Sage Intacct also gives easy access to draw reports on vendor payments.
Sage Intacct prides itself on cutting down the AP processing time by a whopping 65%. Added to that, you get better internal controls and the ability to set spending limits.
2. Bill.com
With Bill.com’s structured and straightforward approval workflows, you can clearly define who approves which payment. IVA (Intelligent Virtual Assistant) helps save hours of hard work by auto-entering data for you. Bill.com provides a super speedy reconciliation system through a smooth integration with your current accounting software. A single-view payment in and payment out helps you budget your finances better. What’s more, you get real-time info on your mobile phone so that you can review and approve payments on the go. Any fraudulent or suspicious activity on your account quickly gets intimated to you.
Bill.com has tied up with leading payment gateways so you can pay up to 1099 contractors!
3. Stampli
Rightfully assuming its position in the top eight best AP automation software list, Stampli will leave you more than satisfied with its features. It is one tool that lays more emphasis on communication so you can collaborate better with vendors and approvers. The invoice capture and coding are all done with AI and machine learning. The tool gives you a real-time view of payments as well as an intuitive dashboard to monitor all activities.
Stampli AP automation software can be seamlessly integrated with the organization’s current financial setup without any technical know-how. The installation of the software itself can be done in just one day, and it is ready-to-use.
4. DocuWare
With DocuWare, you can keep large heaps of documents at bay. DocuWare’s AP automation software helps you save time and effort by maintaining invoices without any hassles. Workflows can be digitized, and approvals can be set up in the system. The software also helps notify you about early payment discounts so you can save some bucks. You could also avoid late fees, which, in turn, help you build better trust with the vendor.
The software helps organize your invoices better and is available in 16 languages. Currently, over 600,000 customers across 90 countries are using Docuware to build a more robust invoicing system in their organizations. The software can be deployed over a cloud or on-premise – the choice is yours!
5. Tipalti
When it comes to a reliable AP automation software, Tipalti ticks all the right boxes. The first step in using this software is for the vendor to reveal all necessary information about themselves; this not only reduces your data entry efforts but also ensures that the right person gets paid. The software asks the vendors to uploads their invoices, and Tipalti’s Machine learning-powered set up helps in pre-filling any incomplete data based on records. This is a substantial energy-saving feature.
This AP automation software helps establish a transparent approver system and a robust audit trail to validate all payouts. You could schedule the payments with great ease and view real-time reconciliation.
6. Spendesk
Revamp your spending process with the help of Spendesk’s AP automation software, a boon not only for the organization but also for the employees. This software will give your organization a way to better plan their spending system by setting limits and help monitor payments, budgets and also helps to track the reconciliation on a real-time basis. The benefit for employees is even not forgotten by Spendesk as its superior software lets employees access the company funds. It gives your staff the freedom to make payments on the go and in payment option of their choice – cards, cash, or invoice.
Spendesk assigns virtual cards to team members to use the software more securely. Also, the software does not track expenses as a policy to eliminate any frauds.
7. SoftCo
SoftCo delivers powerful, innovative financial process automation solutions that increase productivity, reduce costs, and ensure organizations meet compliance obligations. SoftCo’s technology automates Procure-to-Pay, Accounts Payable, Vendor Management, eBilling and Contract Management processes. Their solutions are built on a common platform, SoftCo10, ensuring that as our customers expand they can seamlessly grow on the SoftCo ecosystem.
8. MineralTree
MineralTree is an award-winning organization that offers a complete AP automation solution called “invoice-to-pay.” It is an integrated two-way communication tool, just like Xero, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, etc. All electronic payments, as well as checks, are remitted directly from the bank account. The software scans physical invoices to convert them into digital text to provide customizable and configurable payment approval workflows.
Users can view and approve the transaction on the go from their mobile phones and keep their operations safe with a two-factor payment authentication system to stay protected from any frauds.
9. AvidXchange
Another leading market player in this division is AvidXchange’s AP Automation software. It provides a complete suite of products right from placing a purchase order to the invoice for the product rendered and, finally, the reconciliation of the invoice – all done automatically. AvidXchange offers freedom from all the manual work that has been keeping your accountants busy all this while with its intuitive and intelligent platform doing all the hard work smartly for you. The workflows provided by the software give you the freedom to keep your current business rules in place.
The implementation is a three-step process mastered over the last 16 years and only takes three days to accomplish, all the while with an implementation specialist by your side 24*7.
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