Return on Investment (ROI) from Accounts Payable Automation

PRLog (Press Release) - Jun. 27, 2012 - With nearly 70% of the world’s supplier invoices still being received on paper, the dream of an entirely paper-free accounts payable process is still a considerable way off for most organisations. This reality has driven proactive businesses to invest in invoice automation technology as a means of reigning in their accounts payable costs and inefficiencies.

For organisations with manual invoice processing, their reliance on people and paper create unacceptable risks as well as unnecessary operational costs to the business. With statistics showing that up to 20% of paper invoices go missing in these organisations, their ability to capture early payment discounts and ensure end-to-end visibility of organisational spend is significantly impaired. While this negatively impacts on the bottom line of the entire business, it reveals only part of the picture – with slow invoice approval processes and data entry mistakes adding further bottlenecks to business operations.

Automating the AP process can eliminate these problem areas and generate a strong Return on Investment (ROI) for organisations operating across any industry vertical. The level of automation can vary – from the implementation of intelligent invoice processing (IDR) technology at the capture stage and archiving of invoices in DM systems, through to complex AP approval workflows and ERP integration projects – with a combination of all 4 areas delivering a maximum ROI. The business benefits for AP automation are compelling and include:
Quicker invoice approval resulting in increased early payment discounts
Reduced late payment penalties
Improved employee productivity reducing processing costs
Improved visibility of liabilities and cash flow management
Better regulatory compliance (FASB, SOX)

These benefits have driven a significant upsurge in the adoption of accounts payable automation solutions over the last few years, with this trend set to continue into 2013. The resultant improvements from implementing these solutions have meant that companies of all sizes can now justify the investment in this technology.

About SoftCo AP
At SoftCo we understand that core to any Accounts Payable system is the need to improve organisational efficiencies and control, reducing the time spent on managing supplier invoices and availing of early payment discounts. SoftCo Accounts Payable Automation solutions deliver on these core requirements by streamlining the end-to-end Purchase to Pay cycle to reduce organisations' operational costs and assist in their management of financial risk. SoftCo AP can be delivered on-premise or via SoftCo Cloud.

Visit http://www.softco.com/ for more information

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