Enhancing Microsoft Dynamics: How AP Automation Boosts Efficiency, Reduces Costs, and Improves Financial Visibility
While Microsoft Dynamics offers robust functionality, it can fall short in fully optimizing accounts payable (AP) processes, particularly when manual and paper-based workflows are involved. This is where automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) make a significant impact. Quadient Accounts Payable integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics GP and NAV (365 Business Central On-Prem) — leveraging these technologies to streamline your organization’s AP process.
The advantages of MS Dynamics
With tools including recurring payables, vendor invoice entry, and batch processing, Microsoft Dynamics helps improve your AP management. The ERP even offers some approval workflows, simplifying one of the most complicated and time-consuming aspects of AP.
With that in mind, it’s easy to ask, “If it’s not broken, why fix it?” But when it comes to your company’s finances, good can be the enemy of great, and relying solely on MS Dynamics’ built-in features can limit your potential for greater accuracy and efficiency. By integrating advanced automation like Quadient AP, you can take your process from acceptable to exceptional.
Integration – in a nutshell
The integration of Quadient AP with Microsoft Dynamics connects Quadient’s automated invoice management system with Dynamics' Accounts Payable module. Invoice data is captured automatically and transferred into Dynamics, where invoices can be reviewed, matched with purchase orders, and prepared for payment. This connection enables a traditionally manual process to be automated, improving accuracy and making AP management simpler.
“The integration tool is very helpful as we can use it anytime to integrate approved invoices from Quadient AP to Microsoft Dynamics GP, or upload new vendors and reports from Microsoft Dynamics GP to Quadient AP. It has streamlined our AP processing significantly.”
- Allendale Y, Accounts Payable Specialist, Harbour Air Seaplanes Group
More efficient data entry
Data entry is potentially the most tedious and labor-intensive task in AP. MS Dynamics mitigates this through general financial tools, but users must still manually enter invoice data into the system when they select a vendor, type in an invoice number, add the amount due, and code the invoice into the general ledger (GL). The interface is designed to allow users to enter line items, specifying details like quantity and unit cost.
This requires a high volume of manual work that leaves the door open for errors that can result in exceptions. An automation solution like Quadient AP enhances your capabilities by making use of tools specifically designed for the payables process. This includes optical character recognition (OCR) that scans incoming invoices and captures vital invoice data, importing it directly into the system.
SmartCoding features allow invoices to be coded with one click, based on what was entered previously for similar invoices. When integrated with Microsoft Dynamics, an automation solution like Quadient AP extends the functionality of your existing accounting software to create a powerful, digitally optimized process.
Workflows tailored to your needs
While MS Nav offers some approval workflows and payment processing, they are limited in scope and require add-ons and customization if you want them to match your organization’s unique needs.
Quadient AP allows you to fully customize your workflows, setting up pathways for handling approvals and exceptions. For instance, you can tailor it so that invoices over a certain amount require approvals from multiple team members and establish rules for specific situations, such as an approver being out of the office. In addition to this, duties can be easily divided to ensure process security, such as approving and issuing payment.
On average, companies lose 5% of their annual revenue to fraud.
With greater control and customization choices for your approvals, you can greatly reduce the risk of payment fraud. These workflows are digitally documented, so that you have a clear picture of every person who has touched an invoice on its journey, making fraud and irregularities simpler to spot.
The ability to customize rules, such as re-routing an invoice when a specific approver is out of the office, also ensures approvals are handled promptly. This helps create better vendor relationships and ensures that your organization does not miss out on opportunities such as early payment discounts.
A comprehensive view of your AP
While Microsoft Dynamics provides you with a user-friendly interface, it’s designed for a broad array of financial tasks. That means it isn’t tailored to the specific needs of your accounts payable team. While you are granted a level of customization, the features are not tailored to highlight AP-specific tasks or metrics.
Quadient AP’s interface has been specifically designed for the payables process, making it easy to handle responsibilities like invoice processing, approval tracking, and reporting. Customization capabilities in display and reporting allow you to view the KPIs and metrics that matter most to your business, all of which are updated in real-time so that you’re always working with current data.
“We’re processing invoices 50% faster with Quadient AP! Being able to see what stage our invoices are at in the approval process has helped us to become more efficient and compliant.”
- Lee Schofield, Financial Controller, Eagle Eye Solutions
Not only does this allow you to strategically plan your payables process, ensuring that you pay no earlier or later than necessary to optimize cash flow, but it allows your management to make better spending decisions. Leveraging AI and machine learning, reports can give you a picture of your future cash flow, make suggestions on the ideal time to process payments, and identify where bottlenecks exist in your process.
A perfect fit to support greater growth
Adding AP automation to your MS Dynamics ERP is a bit like giving your financial team superpowers. They go from good to great with the ability to automate your purchase orders, invoices, payments, and expense processes. All while eliminating data entry, making your processes more efficient and reducing risk and costs.
Watch our on-demand webinar to discover how AP automation creates measurable value for users of Microsoft Dynamics GP and NAV (365 Business Central On-Prem).
