It is one of the things I ask when evaluating software… do you know my industry? That’s when the software provider say, “So, what is Accounts Payable Automation anyway?”

Important?

People, generally, believe their Accounts Payable process is unique. If you look at it from a high level, there are only so many ways to open, route, approve and enter invoices into an accounting system. The unique understanding they have tends to come from their internal pain as well as the pain they feel from their vendors. I get those responses a lot where the people evaluating AP Automation say, “There is no way your other clients have the inattention to detail like our users…” or ” Our vendors are so unorganized, there is no way we can automate with them.” Last but not least, “our process has so many twist and turns that I can’t possibly see how Automation would work for us.” With these messages, I can see where someone would gravitate towards a service provider that has knowledge in their industry, but it’s not the most important factor. Consider these three things.

Thing 1 – Problems:

There are some problems in AP that are universal and have to do with the paper and not the company. Problems like, lost invoices, slow process, no visibility to the process, and lack of defined approvals (just to name a few). There are also process problems like spending too much time on certain tasks like filing or data entry as well as skilled employees doing unskilled things like entering consumption information into spreadsheets. My advice when looking for an Accounts Payable Automation service provider is to concentrate on the things I listed first. Find the service provider that solves the problems paper creates… and find the one that does it the best.

Thing 2 – Experience (Period)

If you are looking for experience, industry knowledge should rank belong years. What I mean by that is it is more important (in this day and time) to have more years as an automator than industry knowledge. I wrote “in this day and time” because I wanted to make a point about AP Automation software and service as being early in its development. What I mean by that is AP Automation is still a new idea, and as time goes by there will be more experienced users, leaders and companies. (However) At the moment a company that has 2 years of experience with industry knowledge versus a company with 10 years… the company with 10 years should be more valuable to you than industry knowledge.

Thing 3 – Now!

When it comes down to it and you have two or three evenly matched AP Automation service providers and one has experience in your industry, that’s a plus…. I would recommend choosing that provider.

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