Is your business ready to move away from manually processing invoices? Are you tired of the slow and occasionally error-prone approach to paying your vendors?
If you’re ready to upgrade to accounts payable automation software, DataServ may have the ideal solution. They provide businesses with AP software that simplifies the invoicing process.
The benefits, like improved accuracy, efficiency, and reduced costs, can’t be overstated. However, to get these benefits, you need to go with AP software that has all of the right features.
What is AP Automated Software?
AP automation software moves an invoice through a series of steps that are defined by a company’s business rules.
The digital system handles initial capture, secure archiving, and validation. This verification includes duplicate checking, confirmation of vendor status, and matching invoices with related documents such as purchase orders and delivery tickets. Then, the software routes the invoice for approval, GL coding, and payment.
AP automation software can be a component of a document management system (DMS) or a stand-alone solution. The best accounts payable automation software enables your accounting department to:
- Take advantage of a shorter purchase-to-pay cycle, benefit from early payment discounts, and improve vendor relationships.
- Reduce costs and eliminate errors caused by paper-based processes.
- Develop a clearer picture of cash flow for better decision-making.
- Provide documentation to auditors more easily.
Key Features to Consider in AP Business Software
Before you choose AP software, take a look at the included features. You don’t want to choose a software that isn’t capable of meeting your business’s needs.
Built-in controls
From phishing schemes and Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks to account takeovers and phony invoices, high-tech conmen are targeting AP departments to perpetrate fraud.
Mitigate your organization’s risk of falling victim to cyberattacks and payment fraud by looking for AP software with built-in controls such as user access permissions, automated separation of duties, systematic workflows, automatic logging of all actions taken on an invoice, advanced data encryption, and automated document retention.
Scan and Capture Data
Invoice capture involves transforming both paper and electronic documents into a digital format that can be indexed, organized, and stored. Advanced optical character recognition (OCR) technology reads and extracts data before the invoice is stored securely, along with related documents. Then, the invoice is validated and sent to the designated accounting team member for processing.
Efficient, accurate document capture guarantees improved consistency, security, and compliance. It streamlines business operations, minimizes reliance on paper, and enhances data accuracy by leveraging technologies like intelligent document processing.
Streamline Workflows
In a typical manual process, upon receipt of a paper or electronic invoice, a member of your accounting team verifies that the invoice contains all the necessary information and that it matches a purchase order before sending the invoice on for approval and payment.
If the accounting team member can’t match the invoice to a corresponding purchase order, or there’s a discrepancy in pricing, the invoice will be sent to the appropriate cost center manager for review and correction. This is just one way that invoice processing can be delayed due to reliance on human intervention. With automated approvals, a validation workflow can:
- Check for a valid vendor in the vendor master record.
- Flag duplicate invoices.
- Identify mathematical errors by ensuring invoice subtotal + tax + freight = gross amount.
- Validate the vendor master record for expiration date.
- Determine if early payment discounts apply.
- Identify vendors whose invoices are approved automatically if they don’t exceed a predefined dollar limit.
Easily Integrate with Existing Business Systems
Once an invoice is approved and paid, transaction data can be shared with other business software such as SAP Business One, SAGE, Microsoft Dynamics or QuickBooks. This improves accuracy and eliminates double data entry, greatly reducing errors.
The AP automation software should also provide a complete audit trail with transparent approval history, automatic document filing, and encryption to support compliance with state, federal, and industry regulations.
Get Real-Time Analytics
Improving the efficiency of accounts payable processes is an essential part of an effort to ensure steady cash flow. AP automation software can provide an accurate, real-time overview of monthly spending and outstanding payables.
You can easily track the amount spent with each vendor, control supplier costs by negotiating better rates, and never miss an early payment discount again.
Compliance and Security Features are Key
AP automation software should ensure that documents and data are captured, processed, and stored securely and protected against misuse or loss.
A robust rights structure can control which documents and data users can view, retrieve, edit, export, modify, and delete. This enforces confidentiality because the information is only accessible to authorized users. Defining access rights guarantees that invoices cannot be changed without authorization and that changes can be tracked.
If you choose cloud AP automation software, encryption can provide next-level security for cloud-based software. All documents should be stored with AES, the encryption standard that is used by the US government for documents with the highest secret clearance level.
Communication encryption is also important. Internet traffic should be sent through TLS, HTTPS, and HSTS. This protects against protocol downgrade attacks and cookie hijacking. Cloud software also mirrors your system and stores a copy in one or more off-site data centers to prevent data loss.
Digitalization ensures financial data is backed up regularly, reducing the risk of data loss. The enhanced data security and backup offers businesses the assurance that financial data is secure and easily retrievable in unforeseen circumstances.
Don’t Settle When Choosing AP Automated Software
Finding accounts payable automated software is usually pretty easy. There isn’t a shortage of options out there for businesses to use. However, not all AP software is created equal. The included features tend to vary.
Going with AP software that’s lacking key features can create more problems for your business and its vendors. Taking the time to figure out which features you need helps ensure you’re going with the right accounts payable solution. Chances are, you’re going to end up using AP software from DataServ.