Thinking of how to shave thousands of dollars off your organisation’s budget? A digital transformation project that pursues accounts payable workflow automation is a step in the right direction. Many businesses cite accounts payable workflows as a drawback. An AP workflow involves multiple copies of each document that’s circulated for approvals and record-keeping. It can be a long, arduous process that’s vulnerable to mistakes. Since accounts payable departments deal with money, any miscalculations would surely cost your company.
Furthermore, typical accounts payable departments handle several issues daily. There’s the risk of faulty data entry, inconsistent management of invoices, and ineffective storage of documents. All these can lead to dysfunction in your finance department and losses for your organisation. Fortunately, you don’t need to let costs continue to add up because of a series of mistakes or inefficiencies. A digital transformation project streamlining your AP process is all you need to fix workflows, improve productivity, save money, and future-proof your processes.
Counting the numbers
Organisations across industries agree that managing finances is better with the aid of technology. Adopting a workflow automation tool, of course, involves expenses too. However, accounts payable workflow automation comes with benefits that can save you more than it costs in the long run.
Research performed by APQC on accounts payable process productivity, found that labour costs typically consume 62% of total AP costs. This percentage is brought about by errors that require humans to step in and fix the data orders and invoices. An accounts payable department employing a digital transformation project lets their teams save an average of one hour per day.
The APQC survey further posits that “top performers” spend an average of $4.98 per invoice versus $12.44 spent by “bottom performers”. The difference between these numbers lies in the amount of time spent per invoice and the determinant of these numbers is the amount of manual intervention needed to complete an AP process.
Additionally, 39% of accounts payable professionals recognise their total invoices increased as much as 10% over the past year. This number effectively illustrates how accounts payable workflow automation can let organisations save $16 per invoice or more, depending on their size.
How a digital transformation project saves the day
There is no doubt that accounts payable workflow automation generates an acceptable amount of savings for any organisation. One of the highly unnecessary costs companies shoulder usually comes from the manual processing that occurs in accounts payable departments. Manual processes do not only cost you money; they also cost more processing time and a higher probability for error.
A workflow automation tool can let organisations manage late payments, duplicate payments, and lessen document storage costs. Let’s look at some examples of what your organisation can prevent when you roll out an automation project for your AP workflow:
Missing payments on time
A lengthy approval process sets you back from paying invoices on time. If 38% of companies with annual revenues under $30 million have an average of five to ten days of approval time, tracking the invoices alone can be quite cumbersome. Not to mention the amount of time spent on correcting any errors and repeating the approval process.
Furthermore, a digital transformation project for your accounts payable process means faster invoice processing that eventually leads to higher savings. These savings can come from fewer heads working on a single operation. You can redirect talent to other functions in your organisation once they are free from overseeing invoices and correcting errors.
Accounts payable workflow automation ensures that your invoices are issued on time through smooth transitions in the approval chain. It helps you track the progress of your approvals to let you efficiently manage payments.
Paying invoices more than once
Overpayment due to duplicate invoicing is another issue that can arise from a manual AP workflow. Imagine paying for an invoice multiple times because of sparse record updates or worse, lost documents. An organisation is at risk of losing thousands of dollars from paying double and remedying these errors. Moreover, relationships with contractors and vendors can suffer without reliable accounts payable workflow automation.
Employing a workflow automation tool organises your AP workflow by carefully sorting pending invoices from completed ones.
Stressing over proper document storage
Access control, calamity protection, and space can weigh on your mind without a digital transformation project to systematise document storage. Moreover, a workflow automation tool also ensures the security of your documents. AP workflow automation protects sensitive information that accounts payable departments often handle. Unlike the manual process, accounts payable workflow automation secures your documents while also enabling easy access and better disaster recovery.
Figure out your digital transformation project with the experts
Organisations across sectors seek to control costs and drive growth. Transforming an AP workflow strategically through automation leads to the right path. A workflow automation tool optimises the AP process to prevent missed or late payments, overpayments, and storage troubles.
Set your digital transformation project in motion through a partnership with Digital Transformation Solutions (DTS). No matter how complex your existing AP workflow is, working with DTS will keep you aligned with the right automation tools to future-proof your operations. Chat with our experts today and begin your accounts payable workflow automation journey with DTS.
