I would like to write that everyone loves something new. I don’t know if that is the case with all of the people who love Craig’s list, pawn shops and yard sales.

1 Place

There is one place that people like something new… time. Well, stick with me here. What I am trying to write is people in business are always wanting more time. If you are a consistent reader of my books and articles, you will know that I write a lot about time and how Accounts Payable Automation is only as good as the amount of time that it frees up.

8 Things

I feel a little like David Letterman with a top ten list  To get you thinking about time and how it can help your business, I have come up with a list of 10 places you can use more time that are better than the places you are using the now.

1. Do their job – In a paper world accounting staff has a tendency, over time, to take on task that they shouldn’t  be doing… Like having your skilled project accountant do filing… Automation will help you get that accountant back.
2. AR Functions – Because there are so many immediate tasked needed to be done in AP things on the Accounts Receivable side suffer. Additional time in accounting can be spent with more aggressive or creative collections.
3. Vendor Discounts – I have a hypothesis that vendors only offer discounts because AP professional don’t have the speed or time to capture them. With automation you will get both speed and time. I am concerned that when more companies become automated… we are going to see discounts go the way to the dodo bird.
4. Contracts – With more time you are able to negotiate and manage better agreements with vendors.
5. Customer Service – I know a lot of awesome accounting professionals. I also know that a lot of them feel guilty about not giving the best service to their internal clients (colleagues). With more time, you will be able to return more calls or emails faster.
6. Grow The Business – In my experience this is where most of the client’s that I work with apply the time that is freed up by AP Automation. Some that I have worked with have grown their business by four and even five times it size without adding staff thanks to automation.
7. System Administration – This one gets passed over a lot. In my book, The Argument to Automate I give an outline on how much time you can expect to apply to managing the newly implemented software that runs your AP Automation project. Depending on the service provider it may be more time than you think. I warn people, however, that if you are spending more time here than you saved, you have the wrong service provider.
8. Vacation – That’s right… give that poor old AP Clerk a well deserved break!

Want to know more? Buy My Books!

To buy the book – The Argument to Automate – How Innovation Can INSPIRE Not Fire – click here to buy

(Also) To get your copy of The 8 Pitfalls of Accounts Payable Automation – click here to buy