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Resources   /   Glossary

Automated Accounts Payable System

AP automation has become more prevalent among accounts payable teams across many different industries. There are many advantages to utilizing these platforms. Most notably, they could possibly save businesses time, money, and the frustration associated with vendors not receiving their payments on time.

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What does accounts payable software do? Automated accounts payable systems help reduce the number of manual tasks required for the AP process. Additionally, they can streamline the process as a whole. AP automation uses software that enables users to process invoices electronically. Then, the same software can pay suppliers electronically over the internet.

Accounting software provides efficiency and peace of mind to business owners by automating many crucial tasks. AvidXchange could provide an automated accounts payable system that can work well for many middle-market or larger businesses.

Moreover, AvidXchange is able to integrate with your current accounts payable workflow. This means that you can keep any existing systems in place without having to completely revamp how you manage accounts payable. Some accounts payable solutions may require changes to your current process. This is why it is so important to research the decision before moving forward with a provider. Platforms like AvidXchange allow you to simplify your accounts payable system while still enjoying many tools that you find valuable.

Best Accounts Payable Automation Software

Looking for the best accounts payable automation software for your business can be a challenging task. There are many different factors that are involved in devising a solution that is right for your situation. The best AP automation software for you will work alongside your current process to help expedite it as a whole.

Solutions that require a lot of adaptation and change are the main thing to avoid for most businesses. Some automation programs will require sweeping changes to your current way of doing things. While this can be okay for companies that don’t have a process in place, it is a massive time and resource drain for others.

This AP automation software could help your company take some of the guesswork out of managing accounts payable. They can plug directly into your current approval scenarios. AvidXchange improves approval processes by building automated approval workflows. This means that both invoice and payment reviews are faster, more efficient, and more secure than manual ones.

AvidXchange configures its AP automation platform to mirror your current approval scenarios. They can do this with their 210 major integrations. Because of this, there aren’t any major changes to your process—aside from speeding it up and making it more reliable!

A lot of variables can go into which AP automation solution is best for your company, but this one is likely the most important.

Accounts Payable Automation Best Practices

The benefits of AP automation could be numerous. AP automation with AvidXchange may streamline the accounts payable process overall. This allows companies to pay bills faster and more efficiently while potentially cutting processing costs. Not to mention, it could also reduce the risk of fraud and other security concerns.

Here are some tools to maintain accounts payable automation best practices:

Invoice Automation

Invoice automation like the one provided by AvidXchange could benefit a business. The most obvious reason is that it streamlines and improves the invoicing process for your company. Among the benefits are that it allows you to go paperless, it increases your visibility, it gives you control over your invoicing, and it keeps you organized.

Bill Payment

Through solutions like AvidPay, businesses can make fast, secure payments through an automated process. This means that bills don’t get forgotten and ensures that you are on top of your bills. Additionally, it allows businesses to cut costs. By eliminating check printing, envelopes, postage, and processing time, bill payment automation can make paying vendors online less of a chore.

Purchase Order Automation

Automating purchase order processes allows companies to maintain control while organizing their systems. Companies can gain financial control and real-time reporting through solutions like AvidBuy.

Utility Bill Automation

AvidUtility allows companies to automate paying their utility bills. Aside from the benefit of not having to worry about missing a payment, there are plenty of other positives for this. For starters, you gain 24/7 access to invoice status, energy spent, and other key metrics. Additionally, AvidXchange performs thirty separate validations to ensure that your bill is correct.

Finding a solution that works with your current workflow will ensure a smooth transition. With over 210 integrations, like the one with Sage AP Automation, AvidXchange could potentially be integrated with your existing systems.

Best Accounts Payable Software

Many factors go into determining the best accounts payable software for your organization, be it accounts payable software compatible with QuickBooks or another option. While the type and size of the business have a lot of sway on determining the best solution, there are some universal questions to consider. These questions are:

Is it Cloud-Based?

Cloud-based accounts payable solutions have many advantages over on-premises ones. They allow businesses to manage their accounts payable system from anywhere, anytime. Cloud-based accounts payable solution providers give more freedom and flexibility than their competitors.

Is it Compatible with Your Current System?

What if you are looking for an accounts payable software that is compatible with QuickBooks? Finding accounts payable solution providers that can plug into your current processes is crucial. Aside from the nuisance of having to learn a new system, it’s also costly and time consuming.

Can it Scale with You?

There is no shortage of accounts payable software options for large businesses—nor is there for small businesses. The real trick is finding one that can meet you where you are and scale with you from there.

The best automated AP solutions, like AvidXchange, reduce the number of manual invoice and payment processing steps. This saves time as well as the costs associated with a paper-centric process. Automating payments also provides opportunities to earn rebates from paying suppliers electronically, meaning there’s no need to wait on a check.

What Is Accounts Payable Automation

When considering the advantages of accounts payable, it is worth noting that accounts payable automation could take the manual tasks associated with AP systems and automate them. This allows businesses to improve efficiency and maintain greater control over their finances.

What is accounts payable automation?

Accounts payable (AP) automation software platforms will assist in processing your invoices and payments. This allows businesses to create an audit trail of the steps performed in processing their invoices, thus enabling users to work more efficiently and effectively.

How does Accounts Payable Automation Work?

Businesses that use AP automation software gain a tremendous amount of visibility into and control over their AP information and processes.

Software like AvidXchange displays all invoices posted to the platform for easy access. They control the routing of invoices for approvals based on the business’s current workflow. This provides an abundance of accounts payable analytics and enables users to set up accounts payable KPI benchmarks.

What is the best KPI for Accounts Payable?

Key performance indicators (KPI) can be used to help you effectively track and manage accounts payable systems. Different stages of business will change which metric is most important for you but some examples are:

  • the average cost to process invoices.
  • the average time to process invoices.
  • the average number of people needed to process invoices.

Reporting from providers like AvidXChange makes it easy to automate all elements of your accounts payable process while maintaining high levels of control and visibility.

Invoice Processing Software

Looking through a market guide for accounts payable invoice automation solutions can leave a person feeling overwhelmed at the possibilities. Invoice processing software is an important piece of any business puzzle.

There are two types of invoices: a PO invoice and a non-PO invoice. Many are familiar with the former, but what is a non-PO invoice? This is an invoice for which a PO is not created. Things like travel reimbursements and other indirect payments made by the business will fall into this category.

AvidXchange converts paper invoices to an electronic format. As a result, paper invoices get reduced from your process. AvidXchange becomes the central repository for all your invoices. All of these invoices are then stored online and easily accessible.

As a cloud-based solution, AvidXchange offers the further benefit of being accessible anywhere. The cloud-based invoice software allows you to manage your accounts payable system at any time. Moreover, their invoice processing software exists to streamline your workflow and improve efficiency.

AP Automation Workflow

Accounts payable automation software can revolutionize an accounts payable process for many businesses. More specifically, it could allow you to make your current system more efficient and reliable. AP automation workflow can help automate your entire AP process.

Platforms like AvidXchange are able to provide this service to business owners, but all AP automation companies are not created equal. That is why observing accounts payable metrics examples could be valuable.

It is important to ensure that you are working with a platform that understands the intricacies of your business. One way to ensure this is to find one that respects your current workflow. Not doing so could change the way that your accounts payable system operates and bring the operation to a grinding halt.

AvidXchange can automate your existing AP workflow, no matter how complex. AvidXchange works with a variety of industries, including handling the AP complexities of banks. AvidXchange can also integrate with your accounting system, meaning you may not have to change anything about the way you currently manage your AP process.

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