Sage Intacct AP Automation
Accounts Payable is often one of the most time-consuming and labour-intensive areas of the finance world. Long processing times, human error and lack of traceability are among the challenges leading to late payments and damaged supplier relationships.
However, AP Automation can revolutionise this process by using AI (Artificial Intelligence) to quickly and accurately enter invoices into the system.
In this article, we’ll explore how automation transformed the AP process for a rapidly growing business with multiple entities.
The Client & Their Challenges
Our client supports and acquires smaller businesses, currently managing around 20 entities across the country, with more coming soon in France and Germany.
Each business comes with its own finance system and unique processes, which led to inconsistencies and complicated reporting and month end processes.
They wanted to prepare for expansion by bringing all the entities onto the same accounting system. Which would help them to increase efficiency and gain visibility of performance across the whole organisation as it continues to grow.
This was also an opportunity to streamline and standardise their processes to improve consistency. They chose Sage Intacct for its AP automation additional module, plus its ability to manage multiple entities and currencies with ease.
Typical Invoice Processing Times in Different Industries
According to a Stripe, the average amount of days it takes to process invoices in Retail is 3-7 days, Manufacturing – 39 days, Healthcare – 47 days and Business Services – 41 days.
It’s clear that many industries take a long time to pay invoices. This can be due to a variety of factors such as approval processes, errors and invoice complexity. Technology such as AP Automation is effective in cutting down the time it takes to process invoices.
How Does AP Automation Work?
AP Automation is an additional module for Sage Intacct which uses AI and ML (Machine Learning) to extract details from purchase invoices that are emailed or uploaded to the system. It uses this information to identify the correct supplier record and create a draft purchase invoice. It fills in the details for you, such as the PO number, date, line items, amounts and supplier details.
The system automatically attaches an image of the source document for future reference and alerts you to any duplicates. All you need to do is review the information, fill in any missing details and post the invoices.
You’ll also have the option to tell Sage Intacct to learn from your corrections, improving future predictions. Meaning the more you use AP Automation, the better it gets at handling invoices and suppliers you deal with frequently.
The Project & Results
Our Sage Intacct team worked with the client to migrate all their entities to Sage Intacct with minimal disruption to their day-to-day activities. Communication was maintained throughout the project to ensure a smooth transition.
With their new AP process, the client now has a centralised location for each entity’s invoices, preventing lost invoices and late payments. Each entity now forwards their purchase invoices to a dedicated email address which is linked to Sage Intacct.
By moving away from manual data entry and embracing technology, they saved a significant amount of time and reduced errors. Now, all the team needs to do is review the invoices, fill in any missing information and allocate the invoices.
This transformation has not only freed up time for more valuable and rewarding tasks. It has also prepared the company for future growth and acquisitions.
Take Advantage of AP Automation
If you’re interested in experiencing the benefits of AP Automation, get in touch with us. Our Sage Intacct experts are here to show you how AP Automation can streamline your AP process.
If you’d like to know more about AP Automation, please complete the enquiry form.
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