As an automator one of the most frustrating things that I have to combat is the notion that a company’s Accounts Payable process will become less secure if the paper is gone.

I Understand

I get it… I have talked to people who have been running the AP process for thirty years with paper. The thought of the paper being gone puts those people in a bit of a panic. If all you have ever known is paper then it is difficult to understand life without it.

Not So Bad

It took me many years before I was able to communicate the need for AP Automation. My first swing at convincing was to help the organization realize how bad their current process was… you know… drill for pain. I couldn’t find it, for the most part, because the processes people put in place were good. Plus it has never done me any good to let someone know their professional life’s work was terrible.

Paper And Risk

Changing to AP Automation is perceived as a risk because it takes something that you have known and making it something you don’t know. Automation looks and acts different so it requires the users of automation to do the same. The problem is, if you want the most secure and risk free process you have to automate.

Why?

Accounts Payable Automation makes the invisible – visible. With automation you are able to track and report against:

• Who is doing what, when, where and why
• How long invoices are being held by which person for what reason
• With permission making sure not one or even two people have the ability to add vendors, process invoices and approve payments
• The history of all invoices can be referenced years after the fact.

All Together

Looking at the short list above the thing that makes AP Automation so powerful and therefore limits risk in accounting is visibility. People are unable to hide or stuff things into draws with automation.

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

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How about a children’s book? The Princess and the Paper – click here to buy