Processing invoices within a timely manner is a task that reputable organizations don’t take lightly. Invoice processing is typically performed one of two ways, manually or automatically. There may be many reasons why your business prefers manual invoice processing to automated invoice processing systems. Perhaps new technology makes your payroll or AP department uneasy, or maybe it’s just unclear how you could benefit from shifting to automated AP. While you may be inclined to stick with your manual AP process, there are big benefits to automating it instead.

Manual vs. Automated Invoice Processing

What’s an Automated Invoice Processing System?

An automated invoice processing system is a software program that seamlessly extracts and verifies the information from invoices needed to settle payments. 

This type of system is different from manual invoice processing because it eliminates many of the steps involved in making sure the right parties receive payment. With manual invoice processing systems, you’re forced to rely on individuals to ensure invoices are accurate and that payment reaches the right hands without sensitive information or funds being stolen. Organizations that rely on manual payments also increase the risk of information leaks and invoice fraud. Manual processing also relies on AP staffers to ensure bills are being paid on time and payments aren’t duplicated. This often requires extensive back and forth, which can make verifying important details like payment due dates, purchase order numbers and delivery receipts vulnerable to human error. 

Organizations that rely on automatic invoice processing don’t worry about these issues. Instead, they rely on software to validate invoice amounts and track payments thus eliminating the manual tasks that often fall through the cracks. That’s because automatic invoice processing makes it easy to get the proper approvals and communicate important data to the appropriate parties with just the click of a button. Ultimately, automated systems save time and can help you avoid costly mistakes. Making the switch from manual to automated AP could also help improve your bottom line.

How Does Automated Invoice Processing Work?

As you can imagine, the steps involved with automatically processing invoices are much different than they are with manual invoice processing. Automated AP software works by allowing users to upload or approve invoices from anywhere. The simplicity of AP software has the potential to completely reinvent the way your organization processes payments. Here’s how it works:

  • Upload the invoice. 
  • Review the invoice to make sure that it’s consistent with the purchase order, along with the receipt of delivery. If there are discrepancies, they can be identified and reviewed with just the click of a button.
  • After ensuring that the invoice is correct, seamlessly facilitate payment safely and securely using a virtual credit card, ACH or check. 
  • Vendors can easily log into the vendor portal to confirm whether or not the payment is received, allowing them to receive status updates without having to reach out to members of your staff. 

Using an automated invoice processing system also provides you with the benefit of receiving reconciliation details back to your ERP or accounting system. Automated invoice processing makes it possible for you to receive rebates for payments made using a credit card. Essentially, automatic invoice processing systems have the potential to provide a frictionless experience for everyone involved in a transaction.

What Makes Automated AP More Effective?

There are many reasons why businesses are shifting away from manual invoice processing in favor of those that are automated. The undeniable benefits that come with making the change from manual invoice processing to automatic have the potential to positively impact multiple other areas of your business. Some of those benefits include:

  • Automatic invoice processing gives you tools to validate the accuracy of invoices so you only pay for goods or services you’ve actually received.
  • Automatic invoice processing clearly identifies who’s been paid and who hasn’t.
  • Since your AP or payroll department no longer has to spend time correcting human error, they can focus on more pressing responsibilities. 
  • Automatic invoice processing software offers much needed transparency throughout each level of the payment fulfillment process. 
  • Automated invoice processing also allows you to get better, more accurate insights on the vendors you do business with on a regular basis. 

Using automatic AP comes with dozens of other benefits that have the potential to improve your operations for the better.

Start Using PaperTrl to Automate Your Invoice Processing

When it comes to automatic invoice processing systems, PaperTrl is second to none. PaperTrl simplifies the most stressful aspects of working with payments and purchases. As a fully integrated, cloud-based AP automation software solution, PaperTrl helps businesses just like yours cut down on the amount of time it takes to process payments. PaperTrl does that while minimizing the opportunities for human error along with the costs associated with managing transactions related to payments and purchasing. For more information, contact us today!