Three Reasons Why You Should be Automating Your Invoice Process

Is your finance team still sifting through stacks of paperwork, even after you’ve automated your employee expense management? A closer look will show you those are vendor invoices in various stages of approval and payment. If your gut reaction is that there is something wrong with this picture, then you are on the right track. Why stop at automating just employee expenses, when you can also automate your invoice process? Not sure if this for you? Here are three good reasons why you should be integrating this technology today:

1. Automation Saves Time and Money

You've already learned this from the first time you automated a process, but it's worth a refresher. Using an automated invoice solution allows you to eliminate paper invoices and streamline both receipt and payment. Your AP team doesn't have to filter through paperwork trying to discern which is the most up-to-date invoice needing to be paid. In addition, moving away from paper invoicing reduces risk of error and fraud. Auditing invoices can happen quickly and more accurately. All those hours that would have been used to track down and fix any errors are now essentially saved.

Saving money when it comes to paying bills is always a good thing. The Association for Image and Information Management (AIIM) found that companies that use invoice automation experience a 29.2% reduction on processing costs.

2.You Will Improve Vendor Relationships 

It goes without saying that paying on time, or even early, improves your relationship with your vendors. Not to mention, it eliminates late fees, which add up over time. A good vendor-client relationship has its perks. With your account consistently in good standing, vendors are more apt to offer better financing deals, sneak peaks at new products or services, or additional discounts.

To lay it all out there in numbers, companies that use Concur Invoice, for example, experience 67% fewer late payments to vendors. That adds up to a whole lot of savings and many happy vendors.

3. You Get Better Financial Visibility

Is your team still reeling from year-end reporting? Automating your invoice process opens up a world of opportunities when it comes to visibility and accuracy. Data is updated in real time, giving you what is needed to make informed, strategic financial decisions. You and your team can pull reports quickly, reducing hours of manual data entry and number crunching.

This visibility into spend makes it easier to spot errors and pinpoint instances of fraud, allowing your teams to resolve any issues before they grow into bigger problems.

If improving invoice reporting was one of your 2018 resolutions, you are not alone: Ardent Partners research shows that 40 % of finance executives identify improving payables reporting and analytics as a top priority.

Start the Invoice Transformation Process Today

Why wait any longer to automate your invoice process? Join SAP Concur and CFO.com for a free webinar, Best Practices for Streamlining Invoice and Expense Management, and learn how finance leaders can gain greater visibility into corporate spend, while increasing invoice processing speed and accuracy. By automating both your employee expense and AP processes, you open up the opportunity for more growth and overall positive financial health.