How to Make Your AP Processing More Efficient in 2020

October 15th, 2019 by Brian Courtney

As we’re seeing more and more, the science fiction world of robots and artificial intelligence dominating our lives becomes less fiction and more science every day. In the business realm, the efficiencies and cost savings provided by process automation in virtually every aspect of your operations – especially in accounts payable (AP) – are simply too great to ignore if you want to survive into the real-world future.

AP EFFICIENCY

When (not if) your accounts payable department eventually transitions to AP automation, you’ll maximize the benefits of fast and accurate invoice processing. You’ll also improve vendor relationships and have the ability to capture early payment discounts. To help make the transition as smooth as possible, focus on these three key areas:

  1. Strategy

    Before you dive head-first into the AP automation pond, be sure to create a plan for your workflow transition, from electronic data capture to GL coding and PO matching; from AP posting and tax research to resolving discrepancies and remittance. In addition to helping ensure an efficient and effective system-wide implementation, proper planning will help you better prepare your personnel for the effects of a new system Both your digital and human resources will play important roles in a smooth transition. The more you plan for the eventual organization-wide impact an AP automation implementation will have, the smoother your transition will be.

  2. Paperless

    Paper digs its heels in and slows down the AP process. Paper requires a printing process and physical transportation. Then it piles up or is thrown away. It requires so much labor and so many steps to merely move a few bits of transaction data from one place to another. Over and over again. In today’s world, that makes no sense from so many perspectives that it really is not funny. It’s waste. The time to reduce paper dependency is, if not today, much sooner rather than later.

  3. Automation

    By electronically managing the documents and information that drive your accounts payable processes, you reduce manual work effort, increase visibility, and improve process controls and tracking. When your AP processes are fully integrated with your enterprise information platform, you can capture invoices electronically — whether fax, mail, email, EDI, etc. — and deliver them to the appropriate people for review, approval, and coding. The real world bottom-line benefits of AP automation are too significant to ignore.

DIGITALLY TRANSFORM YOUR AP PROCESS

If you’re an AP professional, we invite you to join us on October 24 at our corporate headquarters in Indianapolis (6430 E. 75th St), along with our partners from Hyland, to learn more about how their OnBase enterprise information platform will lead you down a path toward a more efficient, more profitable, and more competitive future.

With OnBase, you’ll decrease your dependency on paper, process invoices faster, increase transparency, and reduce costs in your AP department. That’s not science fiction. That’s a proven reality Van Ausdall & Farrar is actually able to bring into your organization today.

Please join us to learn how digital transformation is reducing cost, risk and processing times within accounts payable departments like yours. Come grab lunch and learn how to gain efficiencies on invoice cycle times and improve the experience of everyone you serve—both internal and external—in five (5) practical steps.

Posted in: Insights from VAF Blog, Information