Most finance teams can admit that manual accounts payable processes are arduous, error prone and very time consuming. Audits are painful as mountains of paperwork must be sorted through, and paying invoices monthly is slow and tedious. That is where automated accounts payable comes in (AP automation).
We have spoken a lot on our blog recently about AP automation, but this simple all-round guide aims to go back to basics as we explain what AP automation is, how it works and the benefits.
Let’s start at the beginning. AP automation, as the name suggests, automates your accounts payable process by automating the manual processes involved. It means automating processes such as receiving invoices, coding, approval, payment and reconciliation. AP Automation software provide dashboards which allow you to see the entire journey of an invoice, and its status in real-time, and everything is stored electronically for easier audits.
Of course, different software will operate slightly differently so we are going to explain specifically how our own AP automation software will work, that is coming soon to Opera 3 SQL SE.
A unique email address is used to capture your invoices, which are then automatically converted into a digital format, including any attachments, invoice header and line details. The AP automation feature uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract all the relevant information from the invoices and Machine Learning (ML) is used to recognise repeated patterns and improve accuracy. Finance teams have complete visibility and control over the status of every invoice processed to allow for smarter budgeting decisions, and a duplicate invoice check ensures no invoices are paid twice. An automated bank account capture reduces the risk of fraud and the approval process can happen anytime, anywhere by the nominated approver. For security you can add as many approvers as you wish. Once approved the invoice will appear in Opera 3 SQL SE with a full audit trail and will be electronically stored for seven years to meet audit requirements.
Ultimately the biggest benefit of automating your accounts payable is to make the life of your finance team easier, however there are many other benefits too:
Automating accounts payable has become a must-have feature for many finance teams, big and small, as the numerous benefits speak for themselves. The ability to automate manual processes within the AP function such as coding, approval, payment and reconciliation is saving finance teams vast amounts of valuable time and money.
We are thrilled to be releasing AP automation for Opera 3 SQL SE soon. If you would like to learn more or register your interest in this exciting new feature, then please contact us today to be one of the first to see it in action.
Posted On: March 09, 2023
