How to Cut the Cost and Time of Invoice Processing with Automation

If asked what finance function eats the most time, labor, and paper, you might echo the answer many industry peers give

Here are some examples of why AP comes up often and is a target for automation:

• Organizations implementing an automated AP solution report an average of 20% decrease in invoice processing costs.¹

• On average, organizations with automated AP solutions engage 2.5X more vendors than those without automated AP solutions.¹

The downsides of handling invoices and payments with outdated processes and tools extend beyond lost productivity. Work is more tedious, making jobs less attractive. Your company has less visibility into where dollars went or are going, hindering decision-making and agility. Control and compliance are harder, raising the chance of fraud and penalties.

All those bad keystrokes, data trapped on paper and PDF, time spent chasing approvals, and other error-inducing and efficiency-sapping factors add up. That’s lost opportunity at any time but especially when budgets are tight and competition is relentless.

Streamlines processes to improve efficiency

With automation, employees access a single platform that manages invoices, payments, and overall spend. Businesses of all sizes can process invoices from email, supplier portals, or other sources, with data pulled automatically and consolidated. Because the process is mobile-enabled, managers and the AP team can perform their roles from anywhere. Your business can readily see links between purchase orders, invoices, and payments – and gain a better audit trail, too.

Vital statistic: Organizations with automated AP solutions process 64% more vendor invoices per month than without automated AP solutions.

Improves cash flow visibility

With a clearer picture of cash flow from a timely and better capture of spending, your business can make better-informed decisions about where and when it allots its dollars. The finance team will be able to provide leadership the data and insights they’re asking for – because manual work is no longer clogging their days. And with the whole process moving faster, you can take advantage of early payment discounts.

Improves back-office productivity

Automation certainly cuts the amount of keying – and related errors – that employees perform. It also can accurately extract data from emails, PDFs, and other sources and match it to receipts and purchase orders. Businesses can integrate data from multiple processes and systems, including ERPs, and consolidate information on cash flow, spending, and operations. With better information and less back and forth for numbers and answers, you can improve both collaboration and productivity.

Vital statistic : 43% of organizations not currently using an automated AP solution will likely switch to an automated AP solution in the next two years. Lower subscription fees, better integration with existing ERP systems, better support of international support, and ease of use are the top four drivers to switch to a new AP solution.¹

Strengthens controls and compliance

Automated processes can provide greater clarity and accountability than paper ones. Controls allow a business to limit access by role, prevent alterations and deletions that allow fraud, and meet regulatory requirements from tax authorities or other government entities. With real-time reconciliation, you can identify problems quickly. And by paying electronically instead of paper check, you’re reducing the risk of fraud.

Vital statistic: 71% of businesses report some sort of financial loss due to fraud in the past three years.²

Delivers more accurate and timely spending data

Have an employee who regularly overspends or a budget out of whack? Automation allows you to drill down into spending quickly and accurately and stop or adjust it before serious damage is done. You also can see patterns that give the company leverage in supplier negotiations. With one platform integrating AP and travel expense, you gain a view of employee and company spending that lets you manage and learn from it with consistency.

Better understand the costs of outmoded processes

As accounts payable becomes increasingly recognized as a key driver of strategic value, leveraging industry benchmarks to track AP performance presents organizations with significant opportunities to enhance efficiency and identify cost-saving measures. Learn more by exploring the latest report from Ardent Partners, sponsored by SAP Concur, which provides valuable insights and key metrics to help businesses transform their AP operations and improve financial performance.

1. Building Efficiency, Targeting Growth, Phronesis Partners, 2024
2. Finance Leaders Fraud Report, Insitute of Financial Operations & Leadership, 2025