Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable

No two businesses are alike, except too many are the same when it comes to how they handle their outgoing cash flow. The reason? On a strategic level, many companies view their Accounts Payable process as nothing more than a cost center that adds no business value. And they’re right, to an extent. AP is a recurring cost-center, one that grows proportionally over the life of a business. So, to realize value, businesses need to find ways cut associated costs and make AP more efficient. The answer is automation and integration, and all it takes is the right advice to get you there.

Throw away the manual

From start to finish, the AP process is an inefficient one: sorting, data entry, approvals, exceptions, reporting, and mailing, often followed by more data entry. And that’s not calculating the costs to retrieve documents manually and to store them onsite and off. So, trimming AP costs by as much as 50%-95% is as simple as eliminating manual and redundant steps wherever possible, and getting rid of the paper that goes along with them.

By using a high-speed data capture solution to collect, index and deliver incoming invoice information, a company can reduce processing by days, while making things like lost invoices, duplicate payments, and late payment fees a thing of the past. All of which translates to real savings that can quickly offset any initial investment.

The benefits of AP automation go beyond cost savings to something just as precious to a business: time. In the time it takes a clerk to input one invoice, a high-speed capture solution can process 120, or more. In the time it takes a clerk to get up from their desk to manually retrieve a document, a few keystrokes can recall any invoice in their system, along with purchase orders and any other identifying information. That’s because in an automated environment, invoices are scanned in batches by software that actually learns to differentiate different form types over time. Each invoice is indexed with multiple data points for easy recall. Priority invoices are moved to the head of the line. Invoices with irregularities are pulled for review prior to payment, and errors from manual data entry simply don’t exist.

So, the only question that remains is: why would any company continue running their AP process manually?

Implement Some Integration

As each level of AP automation is added, efficiencies are gained that free additional resources. But to get to that level requires tying the AP process to the databases, Accounting and ERP systems that are at the heart of a company’s operations.

For companies with limited IT resources, or who are not skilled with document management technology, partnering with an experienced systems integrator, particularly one who’s familiar with their existing software environment, can be the key to unlocking the full value of their IT assets. A skilled systems integrator can enable real-time collaboration between systems, further eliminating manual steps, as AP data flows freely into back-office systems. Integration is the final ingredient in making accounts payable more painless.

About Datamation

Datamation automates business processes by image-enabling your information systems. We analyze, design and implement comprehensive imaging capture, management and workflow systems so you to get more from your current infrastructure. Our digitization and outsourcing services further eliminate processing inefficiency and expense. We also provide all imaging hardware, software and data center equipment service.