For businesses, efficiency and accuracy in accounting is important for maintaining competitiveness, especially since handling invoices, payments, and financial records properly is integral to their financial health.
In this guide, we will delve into the world of automated accounts payable (also known as AP automation), exploring how it works, the benefits, and how to implement it into a business.
AP automation works by digitising and streamlining accounts payable using technology. This helps to transform how businesses handle invoices, payments, and financial data.
The three main features of accounts payable automation are:
With accounts payable automation, businesses will receive invoices over digital channels and convert them to electronic form rather than paper. Electronic invoicing methods include Business-to-Business (B2B) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) connections, PDF invoicing, or receipt via a supplier portal. These digital methods facilitate the seamless flow of data.
For paper invoices, technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is employed to scan, extract, and store data in the cloud so businesses can access their paper invoices more efficiently.
After capturing invoice data, automation matches them to purchase orders and goods receipts and then sends them for review or approval by the right teams. Once approved, the invoices are sent to the company's accounting system so they can make a payment.
All invoices, digital or paper, are stored safely in the business’s digital system. An audit trail is kept for easy access to past records during financial audits carried out by the ATO. This makes finding invoices easy and accessible from anywhere and anytime.
AP automation has many advantages that can massively improve a company's financial processes and overall efficiency. Let’s take a look at the main benefits of automating accounts payable:
As a business advisor or accountant, you have a role in helping your clients become more productive when it comes to their accounting practices. Automated accounts payable can make a big difference for your clients. Let’s take a look at the benefits of automated AP:
Here’s an easy process you can use to automate your business clients' AP:
Selecting the correct AP software is important to ensuring a smooth transition to automation.
QuickBooks provides a centralised platform for tracking, managing, and paying all accounts payable in one place. Advantages include:
QuickBooks Plus goes a step further in organising your client’s bills, providing valuable insights into their financial health. Here's what QuickBooks Plus offers:
QuickBooks Plus also automates the billing process, making it efficient and time-saving. Features include:
As an accountant, introducing your clients to automated accounts payable can go a long way in improving their financial operations. By implementing automation for your clients, you can improve the financial health and security of your clients while giving real-time insights into their cash flow.
If you’re looking for AP software, try QuickBooks. QuickBooks can help your clients maximise the benefits of accounts payable by offering a paperless solution to save time and resources. Sign up for QuickBooks Online today to start your clients on their automated AP journey.
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