I don’t write about them much, but if you and I had a personal conversation there is a very good chance that I will bring up the fact that I have four kids. My second child, a daughter, always has something she can’t wait to tell me… and I love it. So in that spirit there are four things I can wait to tell you about Accounts Payable Automation.

Thing 1

AP Automation is a business improving mechanism that has cost savings value. Notice my choice of words as well as where the words are positioned. Accounts Payable Automation will first improve your business and then will result in cost savings. Especially for those of you that are in a mid-market company. Automation creates positive change, as long as you plan for it, and then you will realize a reduction in your process cost.

Thing 2

Accounts Payable Automation will solve problems. They may not be the problems you are thinking about, but problems like, late fees, slow pay or missed discounts. Automation will speed up your approval process and speed will solve a lot of problems. You can also solve communication problems, like simply knowing where your invoices are and who is holding onto the invoice. Lastly AP Automation will give you better control of your cash, which is technically not a problem, but better cash management can solve other problems.

Thing 3

AP Automation will lift a burden off of your accounting system. This is something that is rarely discussed but can have a positive impact on your internal systems. The burden I am referring to is the number of people who are working in your accounting system. If AP Automation is done correctly people will be able to login to your automation system and get answers. Answer like:

• Where is the invoice?
• When was it paid?
• Why was it changed?
• Who is holding to it?

Thing 4

Thing four is one that gets great applause. People love it, but it never anything that people buy automation for, and that’s automation will eliminating the need for a filing cabinet. I asked someone why he disliked filing cabinets so much and he said, “it’s not the cabinets as much as filing”. Accounts Payable Automation will allow you to stop filing and stop going to a filing cabinet. There are a few other good things…. you don’t have to keep a central supply of invoices, everyone will work from the same source, and with permissions people can do their own searching and retrieval of invoices so you don’t have to always be on call for copying invoices.

Finally

I couldn’t wait to tell you about the four things. I hope it has either given you ammo or motivation to do AP Automation… you won’t be sorry.

Want to know more? Buy My Books!

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

The 8 Pitfalls of Accounts Payable Automation – click here to buy