Accountants Are Returning “Back to Normal” And That’s a Problem
Change is hard. And the bigger the change, the harder it can be to embrace. Older, more traditional professions with legacy processes can be particularly change resistant. A great example of this is accounting ― a profession that dates to 300 BC. So it’s no surprise that many accounting teams still find themselves mired in manual, paper-based workflows.
But change is happening all around us, whether we like it or not. Companies that don’t change with the times tend to be left behind ― so your best path forward is to embrace it, and set yourself and your organization up for success.
In this blog, we’ll explore why traditional, manual accounting processes aren’t equipped to adapt to the future, and discuss how embracing the change delivered by AP automation solutions like Quadient AP will help you empower your accounting teams and future-proof your AP workflows.
Out with the old
Incredibly, 86% of accounting teams still rely on manual invoice data entry. That’s hours and hours every day where highly-qualified accounting professionals manually match POs to invoices, key and re-key invoice values, verify accuracy and chase approvals. And although many CFOs recognize these limitations, they’re too overwhelmed by the prospect of change and what that might mean (budget, time, technical resources, etc.) to consider implementing new and more efficient AP workflows.
Transformation with a big “T”
In today’s AP landscape, the “new normal” sees many organizations facing entirely new paradigms, including:
- Employees who seek out remote employment options
- Employees who set firm boundaries against burnout and overtime
- Employees who believe AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning) are the future and prefer to work for organizations who feel the same
Adopting a fully-automated AP solution like Quadient AP can help your organization stay relevant in this competitive landscape.
Here’s how to get started.
Choosing the right solution for you
In recent years, the market has seen an influx of SaaS (software as a service) AP automation solutions. With so many options to choose from, it’s important that you choose the one that is right for you.
Your ideal AP solution should provide the following key capabilities:
- Invoice automation with AI technology
- Automated payments
- Purchase order (PO) oversight
- Expense management workflows
- Cloud-based data storage
In addition, it should be flexible enough to work seamlessly across any industry, and customizable for companies both large and small.
Quadient AP offers all of these functions and customizations, and more. Let’s take a closer look.
Invoice automation
Invoice automation is non-negotiable when it comes to choosing the right AP automation solution. Levvel Research estimates that it can cost upwards of $15 to process a single invoice manually, whereas organizations that use AP automation save 60-80% of their manual invoice processing costs and spend an average of $5 or less.
And let’s not forget the benefits of AI-enhanced invoice technology. With Quadient AP’s GL Smart Coding solution, your team can process invoices with 99% accuracy, while improving your invoice processing speed 9x versus manual workflows.
Automated payments
An automation payment solution enables digital payments between you and your vendors, helping your team save time and increase payment oversight to mitigate risks of fraud, manual data-entry errors, and double-payments. Not only that, but automated payments help ensure you always meet or exceed your vendor’s payment dates, which can open up opportunities like early payment discounts.
Quadient AP also delivers two-way syncing with your existing accounting software, and a one-to-one reconciliation between your software and your bank. You’ll know the exact status of all your payables, at all times.
PO oversight
Today’s economy demands that companies are fiscally responsible, with control and insight over their planned spend. Harness the visibility you need with Quadient AP’s advanced PO oversight functionality. You can track your committed spend, set and manage spending limits by department, project, or vendor, or set manager budgets to control department spend.
You’ll also speed up approvals and reconciliation with 2- or 3-way match. Reduce spreadsheets and duplicate data entry risks by creating purchase requisitions directly in Quadient AP and automating the approval process, all in one place.
Expense management
Accountants everywhere have seen the increase in expense fraud over the past several years –– making now more than ever the right time to gain oversight into expense approval and management.
Quadient AP’s workflows provide end-to-end visibility with the ability to upload receipts and create expense reports from anywhere, through a web browser or a mobile app. Your team can create robust approval channels to ensure compliance with expense policies; helping eliminate your risk of expense abuse while accelerating approvals and reducing reimbursement delays.
Cloud-based data storage
A crucial component of a remote workforce is the ability for teams to work collaboratively and efficiency from anywhere, at any time. And that’s where cloud-based data storage comes in. This accessible-from-anywhere solution also facilitates audits and anytime access to financial insights.
Quadient is one of the few AP automation providers that integrates all AP workflows (purchase orders, invoices, payments, and expenses) in one system, while synching with your company’s existing ERP. This delivers a single, holistic view of all things AP, stored in the cloud, and accessible anywhere at any time.
Making your case
Adopting an AP automation solution isn’t a single-person decision. Once you’ve selected the right solution for your team, you’ll need to demonstrate value for your entire organization, and create a strong argument about your preferred tool’s ROI (return on investment).
Here’s how to build your case:
- Create a robust business case that explains why your team needs an AP automation solution and why Quadient AP is the best choice for your organization.
- Review Quadient’s use cases to see how other organizations just like yours have found success with Quadient AP.
- Use Quadient’s ROI Calculator to determine exactly how much value Quadient AP will deliver to your team.
Taken together, these outputs will help you secure the commitment you need to adopt Quadient AP.
It’s time to adopt your new normal
There’s never been a more important time to empower your AP team and find more efficient and effective ways to automate your AP workflows. Quadient AP delivers everything you need in an AP solution, including support and existing software integrations to make it even easier to embrace the change.
Book a demo now to find out how Quadient AP can revolutionize your AP workflows.
