In his book "Automate This", author Christopher Steiner writes the story of Thomas Petterfy, a virtual unknown who single-handedly transformed the trading industry and became one of the world's richest men. Now that the problem and its solution was stated pretty much a decade ago, it was not as nearly advanced as it is now and automation is the need of every business. Invoice automation solutions have captured the notice of business and government authorities globally.
Today automation is making things simpler, faster and more
efficient, a need of the virtual era. It is a wonder then that so many
businesses rely on inefficient, outdated processes to manage their day-to-day
operations. With so much at stake in a fast-moving global economy, automating
critical functions like Accounts Payable should be a no-brainer.
Nevertheless, some companies miss this opportunity, costing them
real money off their bottom line due to lost revenue and productivity. Thus,
invoice approval software's have made their impact and are supporting the
enterprises to get away from the clutches of outdated methods.
Let us further understand the common challenges faced by the AP
teams, and how those could be solved by automation and invoice approval software's and increase the efficiency of the business workflow:
Pricey Errors
No matter how experienced or efficient, humans are not
infallible and will make errors in invoice processing. The more manual
your processes, you create room for mistakes. This can cost your business very
closely when it comes to accounts payable. Whenever an invoice is submitted
incorrectly or not submitted at all, your staff are spending valuable work time
identifying the cause of the issue and trying to correct it.
In addition, every phone call, email, and discussion consumes the resources of multiple employees that could otherwise have been directed towards productive purposes. This is where some of the best invoice processing software like that of Skyscend can support in reducing redundancy through automation.
Lack of Visibility
The checks and balances will guarantee fewer payments will fall
through the cracks. Managers will have greater insight into the state of play,
while other team members will also have access to knowledge that will help them
do their jobs more efficiently. Of equal importance, while nobody likes to
think that fraudulent manners are occurring in their organisation, it is
unfortunate that no workplace is immune to such abuses.
One of the greatest advantages of integrating the invoice
approval software is they come with complete transparency. A deficiency of
visibility is the perfect smokescreen for any unethical individual who wishes
to take benefit of the method internally or externally. But with the invoice
automation solution the same is banished for the good.
Lack of Timely Information
Without automated systems, generating reports or collating
required information can be time-consuming and subject to inaccuracies and
errors. These can slow the decision-making process down or lead to poor
decisions based on inaccurate information. Your AP status tangibly impacts your
cash-flow situation.
It is the most understandable ideas that cash flow will be front
and center when it comes to a significant percentage of financial and strategic
decisions you will make every day. You place yourself at a distinct
disadvantage without immediate access to real-time information. The invoice
automation solutions don’t just reduce the hassle of data entry and others but
they also fetch the information such as early payment discount etc.
Challenges without automation
●
Invoices received across the company, by anyone, at any time – In many companies, multiple employees can accept invoices. This makes it challenging to hunt drawbacks and
manage the process.
●
Excel spreadsheets and post-it notes comprise your invoice
tracking and approval workflow. Suppose your invoice payment process relies on numerous
spreadsheets and colour markers to identify and track invoices for review and
approval. If you find yourself manually keying the same information into
multiple systems or making multiple copies of invoices, an invoice automation
solution is your ease.
●
You dread the auditors – Constantly trying to enforce controls manually? Lack of
consistent structures. An invoice automation solution is insignificantly a
solution to save from inconsistency.
It should be clear how much potential value and efficiency can
be unlocked for your organisation and having an invoice automation solution if
you are still keying invoices in manually. Each of the problems mentioned above
can be drastically reduced or eliminated with a system that automates your
processes efficiently. Safeguarding your business in the new market essentials
has become indispensable.
Now is a significant time to ensure your business stays safe and
secure from interruptions—an opportunity to take control over operations the
customer engagement. This will promote healthy, happy employees. In addition,
it can help protect your business from late payment issues that make your
company more vulnerable to late payment penalties and strained relationships
with vendors and suppliers.
AP automation process solutions enable businesses to eliminate
strenuous and manual tasks. Freed from the burden of having to perform these
more mundane tasks, your accounting personnel will be able to focus on what
matters: making your company run as smoothly as possible.
Many companies baulk at the cost of automating. However, as your
company grows and the workload mounts, you will have little choice but to hire
more staff. Therefore, the cost of automation needs to be weighed against the
price of leaving things as they are with manual processes. For example, with
the help of AP automation, you would be able to pay for invoices from home or
any place.
Building advocacy before implementation around AP Automation is
essential; having individually employees map out their workflows, you can point
out how automation can remove parts of their workflow, which isn't quite
enjoyable. In this way, you can get people looking ahead to the results of AP
automation instead of descending into the time spent implementing.
The larger your business and the more suppliers you have, the
greater the opportunity cost of not optimizing your payment schedule. Of
course, every vendor has different terms and arrangements for early payment.
Manually keeping track of all these can be quite the task whose cost outweighs
the benefits. This may be precisely why many companies don't do so. Finding a
way to work payment terms to your advantage makes good business sense.
Invoice processing is the new hero of the invoicing industry!
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