Using AP automation to Boost Control Over Finances

One of the finance personnel’s top priorities and responsibilities is to ensure proper monitoring and control over your payments. Control over finances is undeniably the most significant responsibility of any finance professional. Therefore, the thought of utilizing accounts payable (AP) software and subsequent AP automation can seem quite daunting to finance professionals.

Are you one of those concerned finance professionals? Then this article is relevant to your concerns. It discusses the top advantages of AP automation and the utilization of AP software for facilitating better financial control. Keep reading!

The significance of AP automation for improved financial control

How automating AP processes can improve control over the finances of businesses have been listed as follows:

1. Greater visibility and control

One of the pertinent myths associated with automating AP processes and using AP software is the lack of control and visibility over financial payments. However, the reality is the opposite. When you automate the AP processes, the concerned department will have greater visibility and better control.

How?

When businesses automate payments and invoice processes, they can oversee and manage them more organized and detail-oriented. Data is in a digital format and is available across the system and over many devices. This granular level of control over finance-related matters is not possible manually.

2. The frequency of occurrence of mistakes is reduced

Automation of AP processes and incorporating AP software are also great for avoiding the frequency of mistakes committed. These are the mistakes related to duplicate payments, inaccurate payments, as well as other costly errors. Through automated AP processes, you can detect such errors swiftly. Detecting errors is possible because more individuals will have the opportunity to review invoices and payment data due to information availability. Therefore, these errors can be identified and fixed faster in comparison to using paper checks.

3. It is cost-effective

Not only will AP and invoice automation reduce the occurrence of costly mistakes, but it will also prevent these mistakes from happening. AP automation lets several people check and evaluate the same payment-related and invoice data that has approval workflows and gets processed seamlessly. Since human beings do not handle the calculations and processing, the scope for errors gets primarily reduced and prevented. A study by the Institute of Finance and Management in 2010 indicated that 3.6% of supplier invoices have errors due to human intervention.

4. Internal controls are better

There are specific categories of internal controls in AP automation. These internal control systems play a fundamental role in minimizing financial data losses. They also strengthen the security of valuable financial data. Such internal controls include:

•     Paying suppliers
•     Entry of payable data into automated the system
•     Verification of the obligation to make payments

These systems are more fine-tuned in automated AP processes than manual methods.  All the stages, as mentioned above, are controlled by balances and checks. Using AP software for these stages reduces risks, saves time, and reduces the cost. For example, you can save more time by downloading invoices automatically from various sources and improving your invoice collection processes.

5. Exceptions are handled better

Some exceptions may occur concerning the processing of invoices and payments. These are invoice situations or payments that are unusual. Therefore, they cannot be processed routinely. It requires special attention. AP software helps you to identify and control these exceptions very well. They can get dealt with in a faster manner.

These are the reasons why you should consider automating AP processes and utilizing AP software. So, if you are looking for enhanced control over finances, make AP automation a top priority!