Have you overlooked AP automation?
In these times, when almost everything can be done electronically and online, it’s hard to believe a majority of companies—big and small—still receive their invoices on paper and process them manually.
If you are shocked by this, you must be doing it right. But you are in the minority. According to 2016 research from the American Productivity & Quality Center, companies manually enter 58% of invoices into their financial system.
This means the billing information they received was on paper, not sent electronically. And then, someone had to physically collect the invoice, enter it into the accounts payable (AP) system, match it to a purchase order for verification purposes, and obtain approval to pay.
The cost of manual processing
Manual invoice processing increases the chance of data entry errors, which can take several days to be resolved. This can cause delays in getting invoices processed, and can also cost you the loss of an early-payment discount.
According to a 2014 report by the Aberdeen Group, the average cost of manually processing an invoice is $16.33.
So what is the cost of manual processing? According to a 2014 report by the Aberdeen Group, the average cost of manually processing an invoice is $16.33. And that doesn’t include the non-quantifiable cost of having the AP team dedicated to manual and repetitive tasks when they could be providing valuable insights to their functional partners in purchasing and treasury.
Save time and money with AP automation
If your company is still entering invoices manually, it’s time to take advantage of today’s technology -- and begin automating AP. A best-in-class automation solution for AP should include the following features:
- Accepting electronic submission of invoices from suppliers in various forms. That is accepting PDFs sent via email, electronic files manually uploaded to a website or automatically transferred server-to-server, or invoices manually keyed in by the supplier via an online portal.
- Automating the three-way-match process. With this automation, each invoice is automatically matched to the corresponding PO and to the receipt—if any.
- Approval workflows. With workflows, invoices that don’t have a corresponding PO can be verified and approved. A big advantage of workflows is that they provide excellent audit trails.
Options for AP automation
AP automation can be accomplished in a number of ways: by the internal IT team, by upgrading to an ERP solution that receives electronic invoices and performs automated matching, or by buying an AP automation solution that “talks” with the existing ERP.
You can automate the full procure-to-pay (P2P) cycle, or do it in pieces: receive electronic invoices, automate the matching to the purchase order, do electronic payments, launch a supplier portal, etc.
The right AP automation solution that acts as a bridge to take a financial and accounting system away from paper invoices.
Join Arxis Technology and AvidXchange for a 30-minute Webinar on Thursday, October 26th at 11am PT / 2pm ET to hear "The Scary Truth About Paper-Based AP Processes."
You'll learn:
- Why AP departments continue to face challenges around time, cost, and efficiency
- How AP and Payment Automation solutions are streamlining processes, eliminating paper, and reducing processing costs
- Why nearly 50% of all payment fraud can be tracked back to paper checks
- Real-life stories of businesses that have been victims of check fraud
If you are unable to attend the Webinar, sign up anyway and you’ll receive the recording via email.
When choosing the best path to AP automation for your company, work with a true business partner like Arxis, a company with the knowledge and experience to offer you the best solution so you can say goodbye to paper invoices.
