It’s hard to believe that End-of-Year (EOY) is almost upon us. Aswe all know, the year-end closing process can be a tedious andtime-consuming task for AP professionals. Closing out business fromthe previous year, carrying forward balances from the previous year, andopening posting accounts for the upcoming year is a lot, especiallyduring the holidays, when AP staffers take time off. The pain createdby EOY can be alleviated, however, with AP automation.
AP automation has a significant impact on month-end and year-end closing! Withimproved controls and approval documentation, historical data, and regularapprovals, there aren’t any surprises at the end of the month. There’s no needto hit the panic button because you have 24/7 access to invoice and paymentstatus with approval rerouting functionality! Intoday’s blog, we’ll look at three reasons to automate your accounts payable andpayment processes before Q4.
45-Day Implementation
In anarticle byMaria L. Murphy, the author concludes that “inadequate systems and systemconstraints, including lack of general ledger interfaces, inadequate tools forquerying and reconciling data within the system, and the need for manualjournal entries due to lack of automation,” contribute to lengthy close times.
In ClosingExcellence, a study published by Ernst & Young, the international financialservices firm recommends automation processes as a way to improve month-end andyear-end closing. “Automation of existing processes in the form of ITintegration or automation of manual procedures and controls increases the speedof the process and reduces the risk of financial reporting errors,” the reportstates.
By rethinking the way the accounts payable department processes invoicesand payments, you can revolutionize the way your company does business.AvidXchange has a 45-day implementation guarantee, so you can start saving timeand money before 2017! Don’t let the next 45 days pass only to say, “Wow, wecould have already been automated by now.”
Better Audits in 2017
Audits can be as burdensome as outdated, manual processes. Often anauditor will spend 2-3 days with a company, searching throughdrawers spilling over with paper invoices.In an automated system, however,it may only take 2-3 hours for anauditor to complete their task. By providing an auditor read-only access toyour online portal, they can quickly search at random for any invoicesthey’d like to review and see the audit trail immediately. It isn’t exactly avacation for the auditor, but it’s an easy day at the office for both of you!
Accounts payable automation provides greater visibility into the entire audit process. There’s nosuch thing as a paper trail: you simply log into your portal to see the entirehistory of any invoice—from receipt through payment. It makes it easier on yourauditor(s), but more importantly, it makes it easier on you during the auditprocess. And with cloud-based automation solutions, employees canaccess all data and applications from anywhere, anytime, using any device.
Better Budgets for 2017
Cash management. Everyone throws the term around, but what does itreally mean? It refers to a broad area of finance involving the collection,handling, and usage of cash. Cash management also encompasses integral elementsof the revenue and expense cycle like market liquidity, cash flow, andinvestments.
According to IOFM, “Oneof the best ways to maximize cash and minimize risk is to increase visibilityinto where cash is going by increasing automation in AP.” With the timegained from automating accounts payable, AP professionals can focus onhigher-level tasks including in-depth analysis and keeping up with the latesttechnological and financial advancements.
AvidXchange’s AP automationsolution includesdashboards that offer a real-time view into all the metrics involved in yourcompany’s cash flow. You can focus on strategic tasks such as improving thedepartment’s productivity and championing new initiatives that will save thebusiness time and money, thus impacting the bottom line.