“Do more with less.” It’s a mantra that accounts payable (AP) leaders know all too well.
Capturing invoice data, chasing down approvals, ensuring payment accuracy, and safeguarding against cyberattacks and payment fraud – all while working with limited resources – has become a monumental task. For AP teams already stretched thin, the challenges can feel overwhelming.
But what if you could turn these challenges into opportunities? What if your AP team could not only meet rising demands but exceed expectations – working smarter, faster, and more securely than ever?
This article reveals the most common hurdles AP leaders face, details the transformative power of automation, and shares a step-by-step roadmap to reimagine your AP processes in 2025.
Overcoming the Most Common AP Hurdles
AP teams face challenges that are as frustrating as they are persistent.
Manual and semi-automated invoice-to-pay processes are not only slow but also error-prone, supplier inquiries overwhelm staff, and the pressure to mitigate the risk of payment fraud never lets up. These inefficiencies don’t just affect your team – they have ripple effects across the entire organization.
Here’s how invoice-to-pay automation directly addresses these challenges:
- Streamlined workflows. Manual processes, like keying invoice data or matching invoices to purchase orders (POs), can take hours – or even days. Invoice-to-pay automation transforms these steps into a seamless, digital workflow. Invoices are digitized, validated, routed for approval, and posted to a system of record in a snap, ensuring faster processing and payment.
- Fewer errors. Humans make mistakes, especially when under pressure. Typos, transposed numbers, and mismatched or misrouted invoices can lead to payment delays, incorrect payments, or even strained supplier relationships. The best invoice-to-pay solutions use technology to detect and correct errors before they escalate, ensuring accuracy every time.
- Time savings. Responding to supplier inquiries about the status of payments or which invoices a payment covers often takes up a significant portion of an AP team’s day. Automation provides suppliers with self-service portals where they can track their payments and view remittance details in real-time, freeing your team to focus on strategic initiatives.
By addressing these persistent challenges head-on, invoice-to-pay automation empowers AP teams to operate more efficiently and effectively. Streamlined workflows, reduced errors, and significant time savings don’t just alleviate the daily frustrations of AP staff – they also strengthen supplier relationships, improve cash flow, and position AP as a strategic partner within the business.
The Benefits of AP Automation: Real-World Examples
Automation doesn’t just solve problems – it unlocks opportunities. Here’s how:
- Improved decision-making. Traditional AP processes leave leaders in the dark, with no clear visibility into cash flows, corporate spending patterns, or payment statuses until it’s too late. Invoice-to-pay platforms provide real-time dashboards, drill-down capabilities, and reports, giving AP leaders a clear and actionable picture of invoice data. This level of insight enables better forecasting, improved budget alignment, and smarter financial decisions.
- Faster cycle times. A typical manual invoice process can take weeks, especially when approvals stall or errors occur. Automation eliminates these delays by automatically routing invoices to the right approvers, sending reminders, and flagging exceptions. This ensures suppliers are paid on time, improving relationships and securing early payment discounts.
- Enhanced fraud protections. Payment fraud schemes are growing more sophisticated, and manual processes are ill-equipped to combat them. Invoice-to-pay platforms include built-in tools that enforce segregation of duties, authenticate users, encrypt payment data to prevent breaches, provide audit trails for compliance, and support virtual card payments to suppliers. These features protect your organization from costly financial and reputational damage.
The benefits of invoice-to-pay automation extend far beyond efficiency gains – they drive smarter decision-making, accelerate processes, and fortify defenses against payment fraud. By leveraging automation, AP leaders can transform their departments into strategic hubs that not only streamline operations but also contribute to the financial health and resilience of the entire organization.
Creating an Action Plan for 2025
Transforming your AP processes doesn’t happen overnight, but a clear plan can make it manageable.
Here’s how to start:
- Assess your current processes. Begin by mapping out every step of your AP workflow, from invoice receipt to payment. Identify bottlenecks, such as manual keying, slow approval cycles, or frequent errors, and pinpoint where payment fraud vulnerabilities exist. This analysis will highlight the areas that will benefit most from invoice-to-pay automation.
- Set clear goals. Are you looking to reduce invoice processing times by 50 percent? Cut errors by 90 percent? Capture more cash-back rebates on qualifying payments? Establishing measurable goals will guide your automation journey and help you choose the right tools.
- Choose the right technology partner. Not all invoice-to-pay solutions are created equal. Look for platforms that capture invoice header and line-item details with 99.5 percent accuracy, automatically match invoices to POs, integrate seamlessly with your existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, provide advanced security features like multi-factor authentication, and offer intuitive interfaces that make adoption easy for your team.
- Engage stakeholders and train your team. Change can be met with resistance, especially if it’s seen as disruptive. Involve key stakeholders from the start, communicate the benefits clearly, and provide thorough training to ensure everyone is confident using the new system.
- Monitor and optimize. The work doesn’t stop once the system is in place. Track results, gather feedback from users, and adjust your workflows to maximize efficiency and ROI. Regularly review your processes to ensure the system continues to meet your goals.
With a thoughtful and strategic approach, transforming your AP processes becomes not only achievable but also highly rewarding. By assessing workflows, setting measurable goals, choosing the right technology, engaging stakeholders, and continuously optimizing, AP leaders can unlock the full potential of invoice-to-pay automation and position their teams for success in 2025 and beyond.
Ready to Elevate Your AP Processes?
2025 presents an incredible opportunity to reimagine AP – and Edenred Pay is here to help. Join us on January 15th for an exclusive webinar, “Empowering AP in 2025: Smarter, Faster, More Secure.”
During the webinar, you’ll gain practical strategies for overcoming AP challenges, explore real-world success stories of automation, and walk away with an actionable plan to transform your processes.
Register now and take the first step toward smarter, faster, and more secure AP operations in 2025.
