According to the Institute of Finance and Management, accounts payable (AP) professionals spend 84% of their time trapped in an endless cycle of manual and semi-automated AP processes, including data capture. That’s why accounts payable automation is one of the best ways to streamline your AP workflow, improve daily processes, and minimize the human element when it comes to data entry. However, not all AP automation software is alike, so here are some AP automation best practices to ensure you have a successful integration

Many companies are losing valuable time and money to manual data entry and the issues associated with the process. Implementing AP automation software can help you increase efficiency, reduce the human errors associated with manual data entry, and much more. 

But when implementing AP automation solutions, it’s important to keep some best practices in mind so you can have a successful integration and make the most out of your automation software. When doing so, it’s key to always:

The first step for a successful AP automation integration is to include your AP team from the outset. Doing so will ensure all team members are on the same page and there’s minimal resistance to AP automation. 

By involving key stakeholders in the integration and implementation process, your department can determine any issues and clearly identify what works best. Planning together across the board will help you make the most of AP automation - improving workflows, increasing efficiency, streamlining payment processes, and enabling staff members to focus on more value-added tasks. 

Implementing AP automation software can be complex, so it’s imperative you plan for the integration process by providing adequate training to your team members. There may be a learning curve to overcome, so it’s always best to plan for complexity. Helping staff familiarize themselves with AP automation tools can streamline the implementation process and make them feel much more comfortable using the features and tools that come with the software. Provide support for any technical questions and clearly outline how their role fits in with the AP automation process to eliminate any confusion. 

One of the primary AP automation best practices is employing the software you choose to automate workflows. However, when doing so, it’s important that AP staff have a clear idea of their responsibility and how to carry it out. There should be no question as to who is doing what, including approval deadlines, payment procedures, etc. 

Once these processes are in place, it’s easy to automate AP workflows using best-in-class software. One of the key advantages to automating AP workflows is that with the innovative data capture technology most software platforms contain, which combines optical character recognition (OCR) technology, you can benefit from 99% accuracy in automating the entry of invoice header data and more from AP invoices.

Another essential factor when it comes to AP automation is the user experience. It should be a main focus when implementing an automation platform in order to ensure adoption. This means that during the implementation process, you should be sure the software you choose employs UX design best practices and is easy to use. This means placing an emphasis on: 

• Mobile optimization: These days, many team members will be using mobile devices to perform tasks. This means your AP automation software should boast a sleek and easy mobile design and be optimized for mobile use. To make your AP workflows easier to use on mobile devices you can limit the amount of information on the screen and only include the necessities, present information in a single-column layout, and make areas that employ text big enough to be viewed on the screen without the need for scrolling.
• Thoughtful design: Good AP automation software will always include thoughtful design that places all the buttons in the same place on each workflow page, as well as clearly labeling each button so there’s no question as to its use. Additionally, always ensure labels are placed above form fields and employ placeholder text to reduce confusion as to what purpose icons serve.
• Performance metrics: For mobile AP software applications, it’s important to ensure that your vendor regularly tests the performance metrics to ensure everything is optimized or to make any tweaks when necessary. Any tool that operates as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution should be run out of fast data centers located as close to your centers of operation as possible to reduce latency and delays. 

When you implement AP automation software, there are a host of ways you can integrate your processes to streamline your daily workflow. Some of the ways you can leverage the power of integrations include taking advantage of:

• Auto-fill form data: Filling out the line items of important data, such as purchase requests or inventory information, can not only be time-consuming but also prone to human error. To take advantage of your AP automation software’s features by automating such processes. Doing so will integrate all necessary information with your database so it can be pulled up if needed or processed automatically.
• Auto-save data & documents: By automating your AP processes, all of the information entered into your system, whether it be purchase orders, supplier invoices, or other data, can be easily saved and stored all under one umbrella.
• Auto-login to save time: AP automation software includes auto-login and single-sign-on (SSO) solutions that can save valuable time and eliminate the need to remember complicated passwords by integrating with your current authentication platform. This makes it easy to gain access to information while still ensuring data security and the management of permissions and credentials.

Like many things, it may take some time and adjustments to get your AP automation software working precisely the way you want it to. That’s why it’s important to regularly assess its functions and communicate with staff members regarding any pain points they may have. You can then use this information to optimize your platform accordingly, in addition to analyzing how successful your automation software is for your organization. Also, it’s important that administrators and managers communicate these successes to executives to demonstrate how automation is benefiting the organization.

While tremendous workflow improvements can be realized by automating AP processes, not all AP automation software is equal.  Implementing best practices is crucial to the success of your automation project.  It is necessary to involve the AP team from the beginning, plan for complexity, focus on user experience, use modern software platforms, and prepare for integration challenges ahead of time.  Planning for these factors will yield better results in the long run.