Accounts Payable News^®

Accounts Payable - End of the Road for The Paper Trail

In 1988, the paperless office was just a pipedream, an idea bandied around by senior level top brass, seemingly out of step with life at the coal face of Accounts Payable.  However, by 2008 you would like to imagine that the world had moved on, and yet a recent survey showed that up to 70% of Accounts Payable (A/P) Departments worked in much the same way as they had 20 years ago. 

In fact, the unfortunate reality is that corporate processes remain mired in paper and no-one knows that better than A/P professionals!  So, if that’s the case and it’s worked for twenty years, does this matter?  Well yes, because as we know, where there is paper there are many hands; where there are many hands, there are mistakes, and where there are mistakes there is an impact to corporate profitability and inevitably that leads back to accountability and potentially, you.

The Solution

So what we need are Accounts Payable automation solutions which streamline the invoice-receipt-pay cycle by enabling organisations to convert paper invoices to digital images.  These are then stored in a web enabled repository for rapid retrieval with data extracted from them to enhance approval processing.

So What’s the Benefit?

The most obvious benefit of A/P automation is efficiency.  If you have a highly efficient and effectively paperless system where back end imaging and archival solutions; accelerate transaction research, route out duplicate invoicing, and accelerate response times to suppliers, then the overall effect is one of a tight ship without the fear of money or time leaking away where it shouldn’t!  Overall, maximum efficiency is achieved when imaging and workflow are used together.

A Money Saver

Another way the system can save your company money is through front costs such as filing cabinets and the need for long term storage space.  In addition, in an ever more compliance lead, regulatory environment, A/P automation offers significant relief – enabling companies to both adhere to the tightening regulatory requirements, and control the costs of compliance initiatives in a centralised way.

Crucially however, a savvy organisation will see the implementation of imaging & workflow solutions not merely as a cost saving exercise but one which will support overall business planning and corporate decision making.  Over the next five years Accounts Payable teams will be seen less and less as merely an engine house for pushing invoices, but essential to the profitability of their organisations.