Creating the support structure
You want a more efficient accounts payable department. You’re looking to not only help the bottom line but you also want to give your staff (and selfishly, yourself) the opportunity to achieve greater value-add efforts towards your organization’s goals.
That’s excellent! Because you’ve already done the hardest part already and started researching AP automation that can help you achieve your goal.
Pillar One: Efficiency
Manual efforts are time consuming and can be rife with errors (we are only human after all). We’ve heard from many customers and partners that by moving from manual to automated they can save hours during the week.
This pillar is probably the one most felt by your staff since those hours are going right back into their day. Time they now have to dedicate to other tasks. Tasks that can align with organizational goals.
Also, when we talk about efficiency and value we aren’t just talking about the time spent on processing invoices. Think about the cost of disengaged employees. Folks who for one reason or another just don’t believe there is any value in what they are doing. According to a research study conducted by IBM 80% of employees feel more engaged when their work aligns with company values and mission.
Additionally, the cost of disengaged employees can cost 34% of their annual salary according to a Gallup poll. That roughly equates to $3,400 for every $10,000 they make.
The TLDR for pillar one; efficiency is more than just hours spent on a task or ROI.
Pillar Two: Security
Because you’re livin’ in a digital world and you’re a digital girl–that’s not quite right. In any case, because of the ever growing digital world we live in, security is becoming ever more crucial.
The financial security of your organization is at risk. Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams that involve the impersonation of a C-suite executive is at 12% while the impersonation of vendors or business associates has risen to 39%.
Having two-factor authentication segregation of duties, and payment limit alerts are all pieces of security you want to have in place.
The TLDR for pillar two; the best security is an offensive security. Stop threats before they become problems.
Pillar Three: Optimize Working Capital
Control. You have it, you love it, you want to maintain it. Having the ability to prevent incorrect invoices and avoid late payment fees makes the accounts payable process smoother for everyone. Streamlining invoice processing reduces friction and saves approximately $15 in cost per invoice.
The TL:DR for pillar three; greater control and visibility means your organization won’t leave any money “on the table”.
Building Certainty & Trust with end-to-end AP automation
The three pillars of AP automation. Yes, they help with ROI. Of course, they strengthen both your workforce and your security. Absolutely, you maintain control and gain greater visibility of your business.
But what does it all mean?
Just like the header of this section not-so-subtly eludes to, certainty and trust. These two cornerstones are what strong relationships are built on. And you truly cannot have one without the other. To have certainty allows you to have and maintain trust.
A way to ensure certainty is with end-to-end automation and as you may have noticed, there are quite a few products running around using that term. When you are looking for end-to-end AP automation you want a solution that is going to get you from invoice capture all the way through payment with ease.
Don’t settle for less. Your relationships are riding on it.
