Of all the departments in your company, Accounts Payable it among the top two that stand to gain from an automated system. The vast majority of the tasks that need to be done can be repetitive, which makes them ideal for automation. Whether or not you have had issues with Accounts Payable in the past, there are seven very good reasons to make the switch to automation.
Reduces the Amount of Time to Complete Tasks
From locating documentation to executing payments, automation reduces the amount of time it takes to complete regular tasks. One of the most painful aspects of managing documentation is how long it can take to find it; automation removes this frustration because it will find things in a fraction the amount of time.
Increases Productivity
Since your employees are spending less time having to look for things or complete repetitive processes, they are able to get a lot more done. This means that they can spend more time on one-off issues and other problems that they may not usually have time to tackle. It also means that they can start getting to backlog problems or solutions.
Improved Accuracy
As long as it is set up properly, automation can be a lot more accurate than human calculation. While you are always going to need people to review it, automation can provide you more accurate results for them to verify. It is also more likely to spot major discrepancies and require verification. So if someone mistypes an amount, the system will be able to see that and will ask for verification before the employee can progress with any transactions.
Reduces Paper Work
Automation not only tends to be more accurate, it definitely requires less space that hard copies. You can save a lot of space by making the switch. Even if you have requirements to retain hard copies, these can be moved to a storage facility so that you don’t have to use up valuable office space. It is also more environmentally friendly, and less of a fire hazard.
Better Means of Budgeting
Automation can go through the historical payments and invoices to determine a much more accurate budget. Wit all of the historical information and transactions in one place, a lot of the guesswork is removed from your budget.
Improved Decision-Making
Automation gives you everything you need in one place with a wealth of tools to pull the details you need for a wide range of decisions. You can see the entire picture or focused snapshots with a few clicks. Decision making is already difficult enough, but when you don’t have all of the necessary data points, it is more likely to move things in the wrong direction. Automation has already made the data more accurate, which means that you have a better chance of making the right decision based on current growth and projections.
Improves the Bottom Line
For many business decisions, the bottom line is what determines if something will move forward. For Accounts Payable, the bottom line can be significantly improved because automation reduces costs almost across the board. Employees are more efficient and productive. There are fewer mistakes, so time and fees will be reduced to fix them. By significantly reducing paper, you are saving on the cost of having to constantly buy paper and other supplies. The more time passes, the more money you save through an automated process. 