Automating your accounts payable can be a significant move to optimize your business and make it successful. By removing human errors through automation, you get accurate invoices and save a lot of money and time. You don’t need to hire hefty laborers for these daunting invoice generation and checking tasks. 

However, finding the right AP automation solutions is not easy. There are a lot of software available, but if the one you choose doesn’t resonate with your business environment, then this software is of no use. Moreover, this software should capture invoice data correctly and exhibit the ability to automate your e-payment. If you are running a large agency, then any mistake in decimals can cost you thousands of dollars due to overpayment. 

Therefore, to make you find the best AP automation software for your firm, we have brought five useful tips. 

5 Tips To Follow  When Buying AP Automation Software

Partnering with AP automation is easy but if you want to get the best out of your software then you may follow these 5 tips. 

• Set Your Goals

To get the best AP automation software, you need to know what your office requires and then set your goals. Your office may require to automate a single step of invoice processing or the whole AP requires automation. For instance, you may add automation software for invoice reception only if you think your business is working properly for invoice processing with the current ERP system. You can also automate your supplier payments only. 

If you buy AP automation software for automating a single step and then later on think to extend the invoice processing i.e. adding sub-projects like supplier portal, e-invoicing etc then the same software will not be good for this. Therefore, it is suggested to know the work requirement of your business and then find the particular software which caters to all of your AP automation needs.

• Integration With Your ERP

Even if there are various AP automation softwares on the market, not all of them are compatible with your company’s financial system. When selecting software, you must consider whether or not it integrates with your Enterprise Resource Planning or financial system.

If the software integrates with your current ERP then the invoice processing will be faster. Therefore it is advised that automation software should be able to integrate with your office ERP system. It should also synchronize with other third-party apps including inventory control, accounting, and statistical analysis, along with project management and CRM (customer relationship management systems). 

• User-friendliness

If you believe that AP automation software can run on its own and that no human intervention is required, you are mistaken. AP automation software simply speeds up and eliminates errors in your accounts payable invoice and payment processes. Human interaction is still necessary to run this software.

Therefore, you need to look for software that has user-friendly dashboards and is easy to operate with integrated functions. This easy-to-operate software makes your staff identify any error instantly and manage accounts payable efficiently. 

• Look For Customization

Although AP automation software might help you automate the process of creating invoices, it does not mean you lose control of your financial system. To meet the needs of your business, search for software that allows you to modify each step of the invoice production process. This tweak improves the efficiency and smoothness of your organization’s workflow.

• Support System

When looking for AP automation software, you should also look for a good support system. This support system looks after your AP automation software. If you run into any technical difficulties or the programme begins to malfunction, the software’s designers can help you troubleshoot the problem. You won’t be able to find this type of support anywhere else because the program’s creators can only identify and correct vulnerabilities in the software.

Other Important Aspects of AP Automation

Other than the above-mentioned tips, you can also look for the following features in AP automation software. These features can help you to streamline your account payables in no time. 

• Orders and invoices should be accurately matched by the AP automation software. Any blunder can result in significant losses.
• The automation software should read the invoice from any kind of format and extract the correct data through an efficient OCR system. If the OCR system is not able to read invoice information from multiple formats then this software is of no use. 
• The software should be able to integrate with the supplier portal. This updating develops trust and your suppliers can update the portal on a daily basis. 
• The automation software should be secure. The software should come with such security features that they can avoid any hacking easily. 

Final Thoughts

You can simply select the best automation software to streamline your AP procedures if you know what you want to get out of Accounts Payable automation technologies. You must also examine your processes, establish your objectives, and determine your supporting details and costs. You may get rid of stressful manual AP operations and make your finances reliable and error-free once you select the right AP automation software.