AP and AR automation has slowly become a norm around the globe in the last few years. The promise of benefits and affordability has led even small and medium businesses to actively consider shifting their AP and AR into a digital automation ecosystem – a welcoming sign for the accounting industry.
Shift to AP Automation & Mistakes Business Commit:
However, shifting to automation is no simple task. Choosing the right solution that aligns with the business to select the right features while keeping affordability and ROI in mind can be tough for businesses. The majority of the business tends to commit a few mistakes enroute to automation which further cost them time, money and even performance.
If you are a business that is considering AP automation then in a high probability you are going to run into quite a few problems and are bound to commit mistakes. If you are a business that is considering AP automation then the first step you can take to avoid them is to be aware of them.
As a remote accounting firm specializing in Outsourced Accounts Payable Services, Outsourced Bookkeeping has helped the business make this migration without any hiccups. To help businesses that adopt a DIY approach to AP automation, in this blog we identify 5 key AP automation mistakes they must avoid to make their migration smooth and seamless. Read on to know them:
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Shifting to Accounts Payable Automation:
Not completely thorough with the must-have features: Most businesses check out the AP solutions available then verify if they are right fit to their business when it must be another way out. Naturally, their selections fall short of their requirements and then will have to spend more money and time to get the necessary features on board.
Though every AP automation software has a set of core features that gets the job done, their USPs may differ from each other. A few AP solutions may revel in processing high volume invoices in less time, others may shine in providing faster workflow or reporting features. Each AP solution worth its salt will have a USP that when aligned with the requirements of an accounting department results in greater ROI and efficiency.
So every business will be well served by preparing the list of must-have features that an accounting department needs to cover the short term, if possible even long-term needs as well.
Lack of future vision: Though most businesses do have a set of must-have features, they falter at limiting the scope to only current requirements which can be a mistake. Especially small and medium businesses that grow at a rapid pace will have new requirements in place and being a long term investment, AP automatism software must readily cater to them (because ROI is a goal too).
So having a road map for the business to map the software requirements will be of great help to avoid this mistake. Can the software serve your business for the next 5 years? Is it scalable without an additional cost burden? The answers to such questions help you make the right selection.
Software integration and compatibility issues: Now that the businesses already have an ERP system in place, the prospective AP software must seamlessly integrate with the incumbent system to save time and delivery efficiency.
Having field-tested umpteen umber of AP automation software at Outsourced Bookkeeping, we must say that individual claims of the vendor may not align with the real-time testing. Data and technical compatibility issues, and integration problems are rife in AP solutions which may require additional data entry and operations. So we advise you to test ride the AP automation software with your current accounting and ERP system by performing your daily AP tasks.
Not accounting for automation mistakes: While automation does offer its benefits, they are not completely fault proof. For example, OCR of AP automation software does convert paper documents into electronic format but it is not free from issues and hence manual intervention is needed to oversee the process. So get to know the accurate details of the automation software to ensure the right manual intervention is in place for better performance.
Not training enough personnel: Businesses usually train only a few personnel in software which over time can come to hurt the workflow in case of emergency. It does create an extra burden on the select few personnel and makes multi-tasking difficult in the department. Even worse, it can be difficult to detect fraudulent financial activity. So always ensure sufficient personnel (at least 4) are adept in working the automation software to ensure productivity.
Mistakes are bound to happen while migrating to automated AP, especially without consultation. If you are new to AP automation & need additional help to choose the right AP automation solution for your business our Accounts Payable experts at Outsourced Bookkeeping will be happy to help.
In case you are in a consideration phase about the AP automation and would like to first try out the results it has to offer, you can choose to outsource Accounts Payable to accounting firms and then take the right steps towards automation. To outsource your Accounts Payable Services, you can contact us at: https://outsourcedbookeeping.com/
