If you’re wondering whether it’s time to automate accounts payable (AP) in your real estate business, maybe your current process doesn’t feel “broken” enough to warrant a change. But if you wait until something forces your hand—like a damaging check fraud incident or a missed payment that costs you a key vendor—you’ll be reacting to problems instead of preventing them.
Here at AvidXchange, we have over two decades of experience helping real estate professionals automate their AP, so we know the warning signs that usually show up before teams decide to make the switch.
This article will walk through the most common problems our real estate customers experience before they adopt AP automation to help you determine whether it’s the right time for your team to do the same.
1. Your real estate portfolio is scaling faster than your accounting team can keep up
Adding more properties to your portfolio is a win for real estate property managers—until your accounting team becomes buried in invoices.
With every new building or community, you have more utility bills, more maintenance vendors, and more approvals to track across departments or locations. Without AP automation, you have to hire additional AP staff to handle the volume, or else you might risk burning out your existing team.
AP automation eliminates the manual tasks of printing and mailing paper checks for the AP team. It also streamlines invoice approvals through customizable workflows—so instead of chasing down signatures across departments, invoices are digitized and automatically routed to the right approver, with reminders to keep things moving.
That said, if you’re only processing a few dozen invoices a month, it might not yet be time for you to automate your AP. Once you start consistently processing at least 50 invoices per month, the time and labor saved from automation starts to make a much more meaningful difference to your bottom line.
“I would recommend businesses move to AP automation as soon as the company is starting to grow, especially if you’re going to be more than doubling in size like we did. AvidXchange is worth the investment because you’ll be able to onboard additional properties with ease while keeping up with existing payables.”
2. You’re struggling to maintain strong vendor relationships
Real estate relies on vendors—plumbers, landscapers, HVAC techs, painters, electricians. And those vendors rely on you for on-time payment.
“When businesses fail, it’s often not because they’re late on taxes. They fail because they lose their vendor relationships,” said economist Anirban Basu in a recent webinar with AvidXchange.
If you’re paying checks late or losing invoices, some vendors might stop prioritizing your jobs. Others might stop working with you completely.
So if you’re struggling to maintain strong vendor relationships—or if you’re just looking for ways to improve vendor satisfaction—it might be time to automate your AP. That’s because AP automation enables your vendors to get paid when and how they want, and it gives your vendors more visibility into their cash flow. All while simplifying the process for you, too.
"AvidXchange offers a great product that makes our team happy. Our suppliers are paid on time, so they’re happy. And they’re providing services for our tenants, which makes them happy."
3. Your real estate finance team is facing burnout and career dissatisfaction
AP professionals often find themselves stuck in repetitive, manual work: chasing down signatures, stuffing envelopes, and tracking receipts. And in an uncertain economy, you can’t afford a disengaged finance team.
According to the latest data from the Institute of Finance and Management, job satisfaction among AP professionals has steadily declined since 2023.
Percent of respondents who said they are “very” or “extremely” satisfied with their role in AP:
And the correlation with manual processes is clear. Among AP professionals who reported being “not at all satisfied” in their roles, 67% work in environments that are either fully manual or only partially automated. In contrast, 0% of those who said they are “Not at all satisfied” with their role work in fully automated environments.
If you’re seeing signs of burnout in your real estate finance team, it’s time to take a look at AP automation. Software like AvidXchange allows your team to do more with less. Instead of stuffing envelopes, they can focus on higher-value work that actually grows your company (and makes them happy in the process).
And it’s not just about keeping your current team, it’s also about attracting the next one. Today’s job seekers expect modern tools, not paper-based processes. AP automation shows that you’re serious about giving your team the tools they need to succeed.
4. Your real estate team is too decentralized to keep chasing paper
Real estate is inherently decentralized. You’ve got site offices, regional managers, off-site maintenance staff… and invoices moving between all of them.
Without automation, those paper invoices get mailed from one office to another. They’re easy to lose—whether they disappear in the mail or get buried in a filing cabinet.
If someone’s out on vacation, they can’t approve an invoice, which creates a bottleneck for everyone else. And without a centralized system, it’s hard to know what’s been paid and what’s still waiting in someone’s inbox.
So if you’re struggling with a decentralized real estate office—and especially if you have remote teammates—it’s time to consider AP automation.
With AP automation, every invoice lives in one digital workspace. You can easily give controlled access to remote staff, corporate accounting, and approvers. No more waiting on mail or digging through storage boxes for backup.
And as a bonus, when audit season rolls around, having everything in one place makes a big difference. You’ll have instant access to digital records, approval histories, and payment timelines. You can also give the auditor view-only access.
“Without remote work capabilities, our whole process would come to a standstill when someone was out on PTO. Personally, I was constantly leaving PTO unused at the end of the year due to our workload.”
5. You might already have the tools to make AP automation work in real estate
If your company is already using an established accounting software, you may be closer to automation than you think. AP automation platforms like AvidXchange integrate with over 240 accounting systems. So if you’re already using accounting software, you’ve likely laid the groundwork to start automating your AP.
But if your team is still relying heavily on Excel, email folders, or physical filing cabinets, it might not be time (yet) to consider AP automation. Instead, consider adopting some form of accounting software or ERP system. Automation works best when your tech stack can support it.
So if you’ve already invested in digital infrastructure, now might be the right time to take the next step toward AP automation.
Something to keep in mind: AP automation isn’t meant to take the place of your ERP or accounting system. It’s designed to enhance it. While some ERPs offer basic AP functionality, dedicated AP platforms bring deeper automation, payment flexibility, and industry-specific expertise.
Is it time to automate your real estate AP?
If you resonated with some—or a lot—of these signals, it’s time to start seriously thinking about automating your real estate AP. And it’s better to be proactive than to wait until you’re backed into a corner.
Whether you’re scaling your portfolio, struggling to pay vendors on time, or watching your finance team burn out, manual processes eventually hit a wall. AP automation gives you the structure to grow without chaos.
Now that you understand whether it’s a good time to consider AP automation, the next step is to consider the pros and cons, especially within the real estate industry. Download our eBook to gain honest insights on AP automation for real estate leaders so you can make a more informed decision as you evaluate potential providers.
The information presented on this page is based on research and intended for educational purposes only. Anyone seeking to follow the information contained herein should consult their own advisors and conduct their own research prior to doing so. AvidXchange, Inc. and its affiliates disclaim any and all liability resulting from reliance on the information contained herein.