Global Report: Accounts Payable Automation Trends
Webexpenses sponsored the 2019 Automation Trends Survey in partnership with The Association of Certified Accounts Payable Professionals (ACAPP).
For any business, time is a valuable resource that cannot be replaced. Learn how an automated AP process can save your business time and money while streamlining the entire workflow through a study Webexpenses recently conducted.
In this white paper, we will identify some of the challenges caused by an outdated AP process, including
- Invoice processing workflow
- Main challenges of AP processes
- Consequences for a slow AP process
How automated is the AP process?
It was found that just 5% of AP teams have moved to a fully automated process for handling invoices and payments.
For most businesses (70%), automation of AP is partial and for nearly one-in-five (19%), there’s none at all.
How long does invoice processing take?
For two-thirds of AP teams, invoice processing is taking up more than five days per month. Most businesses (48%) are having to handle up to 500 invoices each month.
What are the main AP challenges?
This continued reliance on printed paperwork and manual processing was reflected in these responses. AP professionals were asked to name the biggest challenges they faced. The number one problem (38%) identified was ‘too many paper documents’. This was followed with more than a quarter (28%) identifying ‘too much manual data entry’.
What are the consequences of a slow process?
Inefficient AP processes were found to have significant business consequences. The main issues raised by more than a third (34%) was the levels of stress it created for AP teams. A quarter (25%) said that slow payments were damaging relations with suppliers and causing delayed delivery of goods and services.