It has now been more than a decade since the conversation around automation has taken flight in almost every industry. Now, we all know what automation means- turning your manual work into smart, self-regulating and autonomous software.
Let’s talk about accounts payable. Account payables are possibly one of the most prominent departments of any company, but what even are they? It is the money that a company owes to the stakeholders and it includes the invoices, pay orders, sales orders, and a lot more. However, it is quite different from the debts.
Now, the balance sheet is usually managed manually in many places. Yes, even after automating everything, the balance sheet can still be left behind and kept manual. It’s a shame that some organisations are still stuck with outdated tools for finances and accounting when they don’t need to be. Manual bookkeeping takes a lot of time to complete and if you want to stay at the top of the market, these systems need to be made far more efficient. To help businesses achieve efficiency and automation comes AP Automation in Australia which helps organisations become their best.
What is AP automation?
As the name suggests, AP Automation manages all of your processes of accounts payable through its easy to use software. By automating your software, you can manage submissions and approval of purchases, access proficient invoice management, and eliminate all needs to enter data manually. With AP Automation you will need fewer resources and tools to get your jobs done fast.
Why AP Automation?
AP Automation services help you process faster than ever before while simultaneously reducing the risk of making errors. There is software like Microsoft Dynamics 365 that can help you ease the setup process, improve visibility and let you gain full control of your company’s financial data. The most significant benefits of automating your accounts payables are:
You’ll save time
Errors will reduce or cease to exist
Documents automatically digitise
Productivity and efficiency increases
You’ll have access to AP from anywhere.
Can contact teams quickly
Now those are convincing AP automation benefits.
How does AP automation work?
AP automation process can help you with processing both supplier-based invoices and expense-based invoices. The application works through code and can automatically assign invoices for approval to a manager or any relevant person. Furthermore, any best AP automation software automates the match of supplier-based invoices regarding the purchase orders and GDRs (Goods Delivery Receipt). Once the verification of the invoice is done, then it is just a touchless process for approval of payments.
Here, is the most common and widely used tool for the AP automation, Microsoft Dynamics 365 FO. Before we had a discussion and learning about the AP automation in general, let’s see how the invoice matching or the Dynamics FO originally works.
Invoice matching in Dynamics 365
When it comes to invoice matching, there is a lot more in it that you must know before setting up the system. There are multiple validation options that can be used for it and you have to determine which one is right for your system.
Line level matching
Invoice Totals matching
Charges matching
Price totals for line-item matching
All these levels have their own working and functionality. Once you establish your chosen level, you will need to set the parameters for matching the validation of invoices. You can find the complete step-by-step process in the Microsoft documents. Once you go through the details you will understand every feature and how it works in an instant.
Streamline your AP process with Finance and Operation (AP invoice Automation)
With Dynamics FO you can automate your invoices by implementing the system in your company. The dynamics FO helps you track the invoice entire time frim submission till the approval. The control of all the invoices is in your hands and you can also manage the status of it accordingly. Usually, the process is automatic, but you can still take control of it on your part.
The process for automating requires validation and approval as the system needs to run the way you need it to. You’ll soon see how manually doing these tasks causes issues such as redundancy and doubling up on paying for one invoice or approving a single invoice more than once. The Dynamics FO system saves you from this hassle by matching and validating invoices for you.
The Dynamics FO system also holds onto repeated invoices and matches them with the right contacts and sends details to manages for approvals of payments. You can also set the alerts about the expiration of the contract.
Each and every transaction is automatically recorded which makes the auditing process quite easy as all the records are ready for you in the archive.
How much does AP automation cost?
There are standard, premium, and custom plans. The price can vary according to the plan you will be choosing for your company. However, for a rough estimate plans can start from $595.00 to $995.00 “per user”, depending on your solutions and needs for the organisation.
Integration with d365 FO
DHRP is providing you with the complete AP solution and can help you with the integration whenever you need it. When you invest in Dynamics 365 FO (see the latest updates), you will get the features like:
Intelligent OCR – No more paperwork, only electronic files scanned and stored.
Invoice Processing – Invoices are viewable in a central dashboard, once approved can be sent to Dynamics.
Approval Workflow – Automated workflow to the concerned people in the company.
Intelligent 3 Way PO Matching – Multiple ways of patching PO and matched POs are sent to the dynamics automatically.
Recurring Invoices – Repeated invoices are matched to the relevant contact numbers and then approved for payments.
Archive and Audit – every transaction is in the archives that make auditing or tracking easy.
Bottom Line
Automation is now a very necessary part of any functioning organisation. If you have been delaying to automate your AP system, you must do it now. DHRP is helping with all the solutions based on your requirements and business needs. Just reach us out anytime and discuss further Microsoft dynamics 365 for finance and operations integration with AP with the team to get your answers and solutions.