Accounts payable departments have existed for just about as long as businesses have. They’ve
sometimes gone by different names, but their fundamental purpose remains the same. Sometimes, you’ll see technology improve the accounts payable process, and that has happened recently.
These days, you can look into automated accounts payable solutions that various companies can provide for you. We’ll talk about some reasons why you’ll likely want to automate your accounts payable in the following article.
You Can Customize the Dashboard
When you automate your accounts payable, you still need a human being to watch over it to ensure everything runs smoothly. However, you probably won’t need as many workers to fixate on every detail in this area since the software can handle much of the work.
You can also get an automated accounts payable solution where you can customize the dashboard your workers will use to monitor the entire payment process. These software solutions usually come to you as a software as a service setup, sometimes abbreviated as SaaS. You pay a monthly fee to use the software.
Your workers can figure out how to customize the dashboard in such a way that they can use it comfortably and easily. When they do so, it can save them a lot of time.
You Reduce the Number of Workers in Your Accounts Payable Department
We just mentioned how, if you automate your accounts payable department, you don’t need to have as many human workers there crunching the numbers. Usually, all you’ll need is a skeleton crew to learn how to use the software and make sure it’s running correctly.
Since you can probably eliminate several accounts payable jobs, you no longer have to pay those workers a salary. You don’t have to give them perks such as healthcare and a 401K.
Every time you can reduce your staff and continue functioning as a business, you should try to do that. You can’t offer as many individuals jobs, but you reduce your operating budget, and you can then allocate that money elsewhere within the business. You might use it to launch an aggressive new ad campaign, rework your website, or anything else you feel you need.
You’ll Get the Money to Your Vendors Faster and Error-Free
If you have regular vendors through which you buy, you want to maintain good working relationships with them. You might get shipments from them monthly or weekly. You want to pay them promptly to make sure they keep on giving you what your company needs to thrive, and you don’t want to make a mistake when you hand over the money they’re expecting.
You can usually get them their money a lot faster if you automate the process. Automated software payments don’t usually fail in their calculations, either. A computer program is not likely to pay your vendor the wrong amount, thereby either angering them or temporarily crippling your business.
A human worker is much more likely to make a mistake, so substituting an automated software solution is almost always to your benefit. Your few remaining workers in the accounts payable department can check to make sure your vendors get their money at the appropriate time. It’s more than likely that the system will run without a hitch.
You Can Get Suggestions for Better Operations Through Analytics
When you automate your accounts payable department by implementing SaaS, you can also usually take advantage of analytics-based suggestions for how to run that department smoother or even the entire company in some instances. Generally, the software you can get these days that automates your accounts payable can do much more for you than just adding up and dispersing the money you owe.
You can also look at data-driven analytical analysis that the software provides about the company, your vendors, how much you’re paying them, and so forth. When you look at that data, you may be able to make changes that will enable you to run the business more efficiently and cheaply.
For instance, when you look at the data, you might realize that you can go with an alternate vendor or use different transportation methods to get the raw materials you need to create your products. You may see that you can use a different bank and get more interest from it than the one you’re currently using. Any time you can use your accounts payable software to streamline your company, you should do that.
You Can Automate Your Email Workflows
You know that sending clients and vendors emails probably has to happen as part of your company’s day-to-day operations. You can automate this process with the proper software as well.
You can automate sending emails to clients with invoices every time you pay them. The software can do this for you instead of your workers needing to compose the emails and send them.
When you automate this process, you’ll always send out the proper emails, and you’ll know the automated system will get them to the appropriate addresses. You can retain records showing you sent those emails in addition to sending the correct payouts to your vendors. You can store those records and refer back to them if a vendor claims that you made a mistake or forgot to pay them.
This software also keeps meticulous records when any money goes out, so you can use that to double-check a payment and eliminate any possible redundancies. You will probably feel much more secure when you set up this software and start using it. Your accounts payable will run smoothly, and you’ll have one less thing about which to worry.
