ActiveWorx's innovation and leadership in the business process automation space go back to the beginning when it started as a consulting company. For the past eight years, we have focused on the financial automation space because we saw a massive opportunity for all types of companies to improve their systems and processes. In that time, I have seen how incredibly valuable accounts payable automation really is for organizations of all sizes.
The benefits of accounts payable automation truly go beyond AP departments to benefit every area of the business. With the vision of more companies benefitting from these possibilities, my team and I have set the goal to become the leaders in financial transaction automation and digital transformation for Fortune 5000 companies.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Lance Adams, Digital Business Automation Specialist at IBM. We discussed the opportunities for AP automation in government and how agencies can benefit from this technology. Check out the YouTube video below to see our conversation:
Benefits of Accounts Payable Automation for Agencies
More agencies are adopting automated accounts payable solutions and for good reason. Automating AP increases efficiency across all business areas, improves vendor relations, simplifies supply chain management, and gives your organization better compliance posture.
Getting Started with Accounts Payable Automation
Many organizations don't realize that implementing an automated AP solution doesn't have to cause business disruptions. These solutions can work complementary of your existing ERP and can be implemented using a phased approach. I see examples of companies that immediately benefit from seemingly small changes every day.
For example, before automation, a company that receives AP invoices in its manual form and enters data manually could have a cycle time between 30 to 45 days before it actually gets ready to pay. This is because it might be sitting in somebody's email inbox or physically on their desk. There is no insight into these liabilities. With automation, we can get cycle time down to five days. You may not pay in five days, but the invoice is ready for payment in five days, and you can take advantage of the terms without worrying about missing details.
I have also seen drastic cost savings almost immediately. For example, the cost of processing a single manual invoice can range between $15 to $17 per invoice. For an agency that's processing 30,000 invoices a month, this gets extremely expensive. Automation can lower the cost per invoice to $2.
Additionally, AP automation gives organizations increased negotiating leverage. For every supplier, agencies are negotiating discount terms that are based upon the turnaround of payments. With a long cycle time and no visibility into those transactions, AP departments may miss discount structures. Consequently, they're paying full price because they didn't process it in time. These costs can add up, especially for large agencies.
More companies are leveraging the power of AP automation to streamline processes, improve compliance, and boost the bottom line each day. So if you're ready to get started, send me an email and let's talk about your AP challenges!