How to Get your CFO to Switch to AP Automation
The benefits of Accounts Payable Automation are numerous with more AP departments making the switch from manual to automated. They are finding that making the change may not be quite as simple as anticipated. Choosing an AP Automation solution and implementing a major project involving electronic invoicing takes some planning for it to be successful.
The first step is to get upper management on-board and in full agreement with your AP Automation initiative. Without their approval your project could be dead in the water and your department could continue to be stuck in the past without EIPP. So, if you’re wondering where to start with building your case for AP Automation, here are a few facts and helpful hints.
Important matters like regulatory compliance, growth management, cash forecasting, risk mitigation and financial analytics are always on the minds of upper management. They want to streamline all of the functions of the business. That’s why you need to convince them that Accounts Payable Automation makes sense because it can help with modernizing your department, while also benefiting the entire company.
So, your argument for AP Automation should be:
- It saves money and makes jobs easier for everyone from the finance department on up to upper management and stakeholders as well.
- It requires no new changes in the finance department’s infrastructure.
- It also requires no changes that would affect staff or vendors.
In spite of their reticence to embrace AP Automation, the majority of upper management is slowly but surely changing their perspective when it comes to EIPP. This should make it easier to convince them that E-Invoicing will add value to the company as a whole. AP departments are very influential when it comes to the company’s financial health. They are no longer relegated to just plain old data processing, but serve a critical function in financial analytics and the overall business strategy of the company.
Manual AP invoicing methods have drawbacks such as extended processing time, low visibility and higher costs overall. If ignored, they could greatly hamper the forward progress of a company while also impeding its chance of gaining an advantage over the competition.
E-invoicing can solve many problems facing most AP departments today, including:
- Overall reduction in spending.
- Reduction of expenses for archiving and transporting of paper.
- Accurate capturing of data.
- Reduced staff expense with automated handling of paper invoices.
- Superior reporting, analytics and audit trails.
Armed with the benefits of Accounts Payable Automation, convincing upper management should be easier. Now you can show them how to be more efficient with the tools Accounts Payable Automation can offer right in your own company’s AP Department.