As small businesses strive to grow and remain competitive, accounts payable (AP) automation is a powerful tool to help them reach their business objectives. This technology frees up your financial team’s valuable time and resources, streamlines their accounts payable operations, reduces costs, and aids in strategic decision-making.
An accounts payable automation solution offers forward-thinking small business owners multiple advantages designed to fuel organic growth and increase profits.
The Small Business Growth Challenge of Managing Accounts Payable
Many small businesses face significant challenges when considering adopting an AP automated solution, such as:
AP Workflow Automation
Workflow automation concerns include process complexity, integration issues, customization needs, and change management among financial teams
Invoice Processing
Business owners worry if the systems can scale when invoice volume increases, data accuracy, regulatory compliance, and whether their suppliers will be on board
Payment Automation
Issues such as payment security, approval workflow, cash flow management, and how these factors can impact vendor relations are also top of mind with corporate leaders
The good news for companies is that AP Automation addresses and solves these concerns while fostering organic business growth.
How AP Automation Supports Small Business Growth
Automated AP technology solves the challenges faced by small businesses by:
Streamlining Accounts Payable Processes
Small businesses often struggle with limited resources, including time and personnel. Traditional AP processes can be labour-intensive, requiring manual data entry, paper invoices, and numerous approvals. AP automation streamlines these processes, enabling small businesses to operate more efficiently and save valuable time.
AP automation allows businesses to set up automated approval workflows, ensuring that invoices are routed to the appropriate individuals for review and approval, reducing bottlenecks and speeding up the payment process.
Enhancing Accuracy and Compliance
Manual processes using paper-based invoices are prone to errors, such as typos and misinterpretations. AP automation software uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to extract invoice data automatically. This eliminates the need for manual data entry, which reduces the risk of human errors, eliminates duplicate invoices, and enhances data integrity.
In addition, small businesses must adhere to various financial regulations and tax requirements. AP automation helps ensure compliance by maintaining accurate records and facilitating easy access to historical data during audits.
Improving Cash Flow Management
Small businesses often operate on tight budgets, prioritizing cost control and cash flow management. AP automation offers several avenues for cost reduction, making it a valuable asset in maximizing cash flow.
Real-time access to financial data enables small businesses to manage cash flow more effectively, making investing in growth initiatives and seizing business opportunities easier.
Providing Real-time Insights
AP automation provides real-time access to financial data, making it easier for small businesses to monitor their cash flow, track expenses, and identify discrepancies or anomalies. As a result, financial teams can make timely payments to vendors sooner, take advantage of early payment discounts, and improve vendor relationships.
With access to data analytics and payment history, small businesses can also negotiate better terms and discounts with their suppliers, further reducing costs.
Supporting Scalability and Flexibility
As small businesses grow, their AP needs become more complex. AP automation solutions can scale alongside growth, accommodating increased invoice volumes and expanding supplier networks without adding significant overhead.
AP automation also reduces the need for manual data entry and administrative tasks, allowing small businesses to reallocate staff to more strategic roles as the business grows, optimizing cost savings and increasing productivity.
Implementing AP Automation in Small Businesses
For over 40 years, Ash Conversions International (ACI) has helped small, medium, and large companies adopt efficient, cost-effective, tech-based solutions that transform their daily operations, including their accounting processes.
We can implement an automated accounts payable solution into your accounting system efficiently and with minimal disruption to your daily operations. Here’s how it works:
Needs Assessment
ACI’s technical experts take the time to learn about your needs, identify your pain points, and set goals and expectations for the process
Recommend Solutions
Based on your needs, budget, and other factors, we’ll recommend either our APA Lite solution for smaller business or AP Assistant, a complete enterprise package
Implementation Strategy
We’ll help train your finance teams on our easy-to-use accounts payable automation software, which integrates seamlessly with most ERP systems
Solving All Concerns
Our experts will help you overcome common challenges such as data security, change management, and any other issues we solve using our vast experience
Add Fuel to Your Growth Objectives: Transition to AP Automation with ACI’s Expertise Today!
AP automation technology is a game-changer for small businesses looking to grow and thrive in today’s competitive business environment. By enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and cost control, AP automation empowers small businesses to free up valuable resources, make informed decisions, and strengthen their relationships with vendors.
As a result, small businesses can redirect their energy toward innovation, expansion, and achieving their growth objectives. By partnering with ACI, you can scale up without stress while driving increased efficiency and supporting sustainable strategic growth.
Our automation solutions provide complete AP invoice visibility, easy approval routing, one centralized cloud-based location for invoice processing and retrieval, robust workflow reporting, and many more features to help fuel long-term success.
For more information on how your organization can benefit by automating the accounts payable process, call us at 800-719-9621 or click the button below.
