The two sides of Accounts Payable success

‘Successful companies seek ways to consistently improve efficiency, while increasing output.’ That’s the claim of the Aberdeen Group’s recent report on ‘reaping the benefits of invoice excellence with AP automation’.

It’s a useful way of thinking. Success isn’t merely about streamlining processes and doing more with less, it’s simultaneously about increasing productivity.

The report explores how accounts payable (AP) automation solutions in particular can help deliver these two sides of business success, based on a survey of AP automation use among businesses. It throws up some striking statistics.

For example, of the businesses surveyed, those with AP automation in place processed an average of 24,172 invoices per month, as opposed to 5,887 for those without automation. And while those using an automation solution were able to process invoices from an average of 2,282 suppliers per month, those without averaged 1,298.

So, automation of purchase-to-pay not only streamlines internal processes, but also helps to fuel business growth. With automation in place, businesses can process more invoices and deal with more suppliers.

Such efficiency links directly to business productivity. With a wide range of healthy and smooth-running supplier relationships in place, it is far easier for organizations to grow organically, and even to diversify.

Automation of the full purchase-to-pay process, using solutions such as PaletteArena, should not just be viewed as a step towards greater efficiency and fewer mistakes – it should also be viewed as a step towards greater productivity and business growth. It delivers both sides of success.