As more businesses begin to realize the impact AP has on cash flow, working capital, and supplier relationships, it’s clear that transforming AP from a manual process to an automated one has several key benefits including the following.
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Improves Invoice Accuracy
Using automated invoice processing eliminates the need to enter invoice information manually, which is prone to human errors.
Increased accuracy also reduces duplicate payments or other common payment errors such as missed payments or late payments.
As an added bonus, you’re likely to see a reduction in late fees or other supplier-imposed penalties.
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Improved Vendor Relationships
Keeping your suppliers happy is important. With reduced invoice processing time and more accuracy, your relationship will thrive.
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Reduced Labor Costs
Manually entering invoices, manual three-way matching, and printing, signing, and mailing checks are all labor-intensive tasks.
Eliminating these tasks by automating invoice processing increases productivity, freeing your employees to work on more important tasks.
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Reduced Invoice Processing Costs
According to Ardent’s State of ePayables 2022, the cost to process a single invoice manually starts at $10.18, with automated processing costing a mere $3.12 per invoice, a difference of $706 if you’re processing 100 invoices per month.
You’ll also need to consider the associated costs of processing invoices manually including postage, paper, ink, fax machines and printers, file cabinets, and in some cases, additional storage space.
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Better Insight into Spending
Budgeting and forecasting become more accurate when you use automated invoice processing.
Having access to spending in real time can helps you make more informed business decisions, and ensures that you won’t be surprised by the sudden appearance of an invoice not previously accounted for.
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Ability To Take Advantage of Discounts
Do your vendors offer an early payment discount that you haven’t been able to take advantage of?
Using automated invoice processes eliminates approval bottlenecks, allowing you to pay earlier and save a few dollars in the process.
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Eliminates Overspending and Fraudulent Activity
Automating invoice processing eliminates the need for human intervention, thus also reducing the occurrence of accounts payable fraud.
With every invoice being sent through an automated system, those considering engaging in fraudulent activity will find it more difficult to do so. The same goes for unauthorized purchases or chronic overspending.
If your finance department is tired of missing out on discounts, paying late fees, and using AP staff for manual tasks such as data entry and filing, why not make the move to invoice processing automation software?
Doing so can accelerate the payment process, eliminate fraud and overspending, reduce manual data entry, and give you better insight into your company’s financial health.