Manual accounts payable processes are universally known to be very involved and resource heavy, often resulting in some amount of error along the way. With effective AP automation these concerns can be alleviated, creating opportunity for a range of benefits. The perks of automation have resulted in its implementation among AP professionals for the last couple of years, and are beginning to inspire a more widespread acceptance within the industry. Though there are several benefits to AP automation including decreased costs, reduced errors, and a streamlined process, we want to highlight the boost to productivity it will undoubtedly provide.
According to the 2014 Automation Study conducted by The Institute of Financial Operations, respondents including finance executives, shared services directors, and AP managers, reported a range of automation use within their process scaling from less than 10% to 90%. One of the conclusions this study provided, was the discovery of a trend towards more efficient and time saving processes with the use of automation. “While 72 percent of respondents said it takes them five days or fewer for data entry, validation, and approval of an invoice, 10 percent reported completing the process in less than a day – and 9 percent said they do it in less than an hour.”
This meaningful time saved by eliminating routine tasks is unprecedented, and can be re-distributed for any number of projects or new initiatives, or even inspire members of your team who were previously bogged down with labor intensive tasks. Company resources can be maximized when there are fewer people and physical supplies needed to process invoices. Staff are consequently left with more time to spend streamlining process and focusing on decision making. In return the elevated economy of company resources will result in increased savings, and even increased profits.
AP automation has lead to a notable decrease in data entry errors and misplaced invoices, which is another large reason for the boost in productivity it provides. Reducing errors and the manual labor involved in correcting mistakes leaves even more time and energy for your team to spend on additional advantageous efforts. Whether it is due to this increased quality in results and process or the amount of time saved eliminating manual tasks, AP automation will lead to a more efficient process and inspired team, boosting productivity company wide.
Interested in discovering ways in which your company can boost productivity and unlock success through AP automation? Contact us at Logicon, and our industry-leading professionals will provide your organization the ability to do so, leaving you with much more time to unlock the most beneficial options for the complex decisions you face.
