From your coffee maker to your thermostat, automation surrounds you at home, and the same is true in the workplace. Organizations are using automation to streamline everything they can. Accounts payable is no exception—according to a 2019 Payables Insight Report by Levvel Research, nearly half of organizations have adopted an AP automation solution to improve their workflow.
AP automation is growing as organizations use it to improve productivity, financial performance, and customer experience. Here are a few trends to watch in 2020.
Security
Payment fraud schemes can force organizations to adopt preventative measures and upgrade their accounts payable security policies. One of the ways you can combat fraud attempts is through AP automation. Fraud protection is built into the software with specific payment controls, enabling your team to check invoices and payments in a secure system. Automation centralizes your documents, giving staff visibility into payment history and the ability to identify outliers in the record.
The customized approval process makes it difficult to forge approvals. Paypool’s AP automation solution, for example, can trigger a special approval route if an invoice is above a certain amount. AP automation is constantly improving, not only to detect fraud but to prevent it entirely.
Cloud Integration
According to Forbes, 83% of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by the end of 2020. We may be aware that our emails, documents, and other applications are hosted in the cloud, but we can also use the cloud in accounts payable. The key benefit of cloud integration is that it allows solutions to be deployed off-premise. This provides flexibility and simplicity by syncing your enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution with built-in solutions like AP automation.
AP automation creates ROI because of that time and money your organization saves by streamlining. With AP automation you’ll be able to make the choice to upgrade and start seeing the effects within a few weeks. Additionally, product updates can be rolled out without interrupting your workflow. This ensures your company can reap the benefits of new AP technologies without delay.
Going Paperless
Cash and paper check payments are now the exception, not the norm at the checkout line. Today the majority of payments are electronic, for reasons that include convenience, security, and reduced environmental footprint, both for the user and vendor. Switching to an AP automation solution can help you leverage the advantages of electronic checks, including their security and quick clear time. However, paper checks are still useful and AP solutions including Paypool offer them as an acceptable payment method.
Additionally, an automated solution will keep a secure and easily searchable digital record of your invoices that, unlike a file cabinet, takes up no space at all. This transition can save hours spent searching through paperwork.
Prioritize AP Automation
While many solutions can help automate your AP process, few can integrate easily with hundreds of systems including NetSuite, QuickBooks, Intacct, and Abila MIP. Paypool’s cloud-based solution does just that. Learn what AP automation can do for you—request a demo today.