Audits are a common happening in the business world. It’s nothing to worry about, if you are running a successful business, an audit is just natural, but neither is it something to scoff at. It can get the company to lose its status in the market if the audit doesn’t go well. Taking care of how your company works is a big responsibility, and one essential part of it is the accounts payable workflow.
Automating your AP workflow can thoroughly impress your auditors and set you up on the path of success. The following article talks about AP automation, how it affects invoice compliance, and how it all affects an audit.
What is AP automation?
Accounts payable are the most important part of a company’s ledger. These are the accounts that the accountants maintain to look at the cash inflow and outflow, the accounts of all the suppliers. This used to be done manually or in a partially-automated way, where the human element was still present. Such a system has its drawbacks. When humans enter the data into these databases, they tend to make mistakes, like duplication of data, not entering some data, or even incorrect data that doesn’t match with the invoice receipts.
To get rid of such errors, AP automation is one of the best ways. It automates the entire process, from the data entry to the payment ledgers; everything is maintained safely and permanently by software. All we need to do is make a few tweaks here and there, and the perfect AP workflow is ready. Automation has become quite essential in the past few years with the idea that companies should go paperless and human interaction needs to lessen.
What is invoice compliance?
What is compliance? It is following the rules set by the authorities and, in this case, the invoice. Once the invoice receipt is generated by the AP workflow, it needs to be followed, lest there is some error. Once automation is done, though, the chance of any error occurring tends to zero. This means that any invoices generated should be complied with; otherwise, it will lead to the company losing all its trust among all suppliers. To avoid this from happening, the best way is to follow invoice compliance.
To follow invoice compliance efficiently, there shouldn’t be any errors in the invoice itself. In the manual method, the invoice goes through multiple checks. This can be a herculean task, getting to sign the approval from multiple departments just to get a single invoice through. There can still be some errors that make it through to the final approval and get passed. In such a case, compliance is still necessary; this is bound to tarnish the name of the business. To avoid such errors, automation can help out a lot.
How does automation affect compliance?
Automation is a process that drastically reduces the errors that can occur at a very basic stage of the invoice. It doesn’t let the invoices get duplicated, which can cause major harm to the company or misinterpret the data to be entered. Everything is done through software that eliminates any kind of human error that can happen. Another perk is that everyone shares the same system, which makes sure that all records are concurrent throughout the company. This makes sure that the compliance with the invoice is universal and everyone involved in the decision-making process is aware of the changes or the invoice itself.
This makes sure that invoice compliance occurs smoothly. It would pose a problem if the final invoice was riddled with errors or, even worse, was a duplicate. Duplicate invoices are a major source of problems for such companies; they can cause huge losses. This is all eliminated by automating the AP workflow. Automation is a lengthy process and can be a hassle at times, but it is worth it in the end.
How audits are affected.
Audits in the business world are quite common. They are not fun for anyone; they are an internal assessment of the business processes of the company. Automating the entire process of the accounts payable workshop gets the work done in a matter of seconds. The hassle of showing all the receipts can be lessened by sending all the digital files. These processes happen in a matter of a few clicks. Anything that makes business easier should be welcomed with open arms, making automation a top priority for a lot of companies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you are a firm looking to expand your profits and still are using the manual method of AP workflow, you need to upgrade to AP automation. It makes work a lot easier, minimizing the manual effort put into the workflow and making management a lot simpler.