Using Automation to End Invoice and Spending Frustration

The invoice rolls in from the caterer for a company party. Marketing ordered big banners for a customer event and now the specialty printer wants a check.  

They’re probably legit expenses and justified choices. But they involve vendors outside your procurement system and supplier network, so extra care is needed to ensure the expense complies with policy and the right business and amount get paid at the right time.  

The process – or lack thereof – makes managing spending, controlling costs, and gaining confidence that much more difficult. 

Invoices arrive in so many ways, by paper, PDF, or email, that it’s hard to capture them all. And capturing them – and wrestling them into compliance – costs time and money better spent on other tasks.  

Businesses can benefit from technology that incorporates pre-spend authorizations, automatically captures all those varied invoices, and turns them into useable and verifiable data. It then compares the purchase order, receipt, and invoice to make sure they match. Then the data flows into your accounting system. 

It’s reality, not just a dream 

If that sounds a bit like fantasy, it shouldn’t, because those solutions are available. The advantages to the company and the finance team are many. 

By automating and streamlining invoicing and payment processes, the speed you gain ensures you’re taking full advantage of supplier discounts. And not getting dinged for late payments. 

Invoicing and payment are just part of the process. Integration with your company’s ERP can provide a more comprehensive picture of spending, a picture top executives and others can use to plan and make decisions. It’s information securely flowing back and forth instead of hiding in silos.  

You gain confidence and control, because the when, who, how, and what of each spending decision is readily available. You can further company goals by seeing savings and cost-cutting opportunities and making better forecasts. 

I’m convinced, but what about the boss and the board? 

OK, maybe you’re on board with the technology solutions. But you likely need to take the case for greater automation to others at your company. And there is a case. 

First, statistical evidence: Organizations running SAP Concur Invoice earn a 505% ROI over five years. Second, moving a company forward involves persuasion and strategy. Terminology is important, as top leaders might not understand the difference between a simple digitized process and a completely automated one with mobile features and nearly real-time access to data via the cloud. 

Seek allies across the organization. Reach out to the managers who review invoices, AP personnel who process them, and IT people who manage data. Connect over shared frustrations with manual tasks, cumbersome processes, and late payments.  

Those talking points should resonate with the wider finance team, because they can tally lost time, money, and opportunities. The IT department might only see additional work and costs. Discuss with them how an automation solution can connect with existing systems without new integrations. Or how cloud-based technology simplifies software updates. And how end-user training and support accompany the solutions. 

Having built an automation team, together you can address the concerns of finance and business leaders. Those discussions can include ROI, implementation, employee satisfaction, scalability, and data security. You can, of course, readily discuss how a strategic investment manages spend, ensures compliance, and supports business growth. 

And when you hear the argument that the company doesn’t have the resources to automate, you can – with confidence and allies – counter: “We don’t the resources to not automate.” 

Learn more 

• If you’re convinced of the need for a fully automated invoice process, read about strategies to persuade others in our E-book Building a Business Case for AP Automation.