When it comes to accounting and accounts payable automation, most companies are still taking a piecemeal approach that leaves some serious gaps between what’s technically possible and what really happens once a purchase order goes out or an invoice arrives.
While majority of enterprises have solutions in place to capture and scan documents, route them automatically, and get them in the approval workflow pipeline, only 41 percent of businesses currently use complete procure-to-pay (P2P) automation according to the “2020 State of ePayables” report by Ardent Partners. The good news? Market researchers see some encouraging signs that the adoption of electronic B2B payments is rising based on information from about 43 percent of the finance departments they surveyed in 2020.
That increase is driven in part by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically since improving cash management has become the focus of attention. As Ardent puts it, “There is significant untapped value in the financial supply chain, particularly the supplier payment operation, which is available only to the enterprises savvy enough to take advantage of the tools and capabilities to unearth it.” It’s a learning process, and more enterprises are seeing the need to start focusing more on B2B payments.
Enterprises large and small have good reasons to go for a seamless procure-to-pay technology solution. Simply put, getting rid of paper invoices and paper checks is a surefire way to streamline work tasks by increasing efficiency, reducing costs, reducing the chance of fraud or error, improving control, and driving new revenue streams.
The key to success at automating your AP from procurement to payment is software that plays well together, such as Yooz and its new ERP payments partner Corporate Spending Innovations (CSI). The Florida-based fintech platform has partnered with Yooz to provide a simple yet powerful payment solution that plugs right into the Yooz AP Automation platform. Companies can use this combination to save time and money with a holistic approach that lets them manage B2B payments across verticals and company departments.
With Yooz and its payment partners, all it takes is a simple activation in the cloud to start receiving benefits. All this with minimal disruption to your existing AP workflow and which almost instantly pays for itself. Depending on what a vendor prefers, you can now process all your payables in one place, whether it’s by virtual card, ACH or - if truly necessary - by generating a good old check.
Overall, p2p automation increases efficiency and reduces approval processing times from an average of 28 days to just 3 days. It also lowers operational costs by up to 80 percent compared to manual and/or paper-based payment systems. What’s more, companies can now create new income by paying their suppliers electronically, earning cash-back rebates by using a virtual card.
Streamlining and enhancing the cumbersome steps of managing payments has additional benefits for the bottom line. It allows organizations to prioritize payments to lock in early-pay discounts, it frees up teams to spend time on more strategic projects, and it improves vendor relationships as your partners have better visibility into what payments are coming their way. It’s safe to say that it pays to play the end-to-end game in AP Automation.
Want to find out how you can increase efficiency, reduce costs, and drive new revenue streams?