Four Ways AP Automation Makes Your Accounts Payable Process Less Stressful

As the holidays approach, managing your accounts payable (AP) process will become harder for your AP team.

One of the most effective ways to make the coming months less stressful for them is by investing in technologies designed to lighten their workload, like AP automation solutions.

How does AP automation improve your AP process?

AP automation solutions such as PairSoft have features that improve the efficiency and flexibility of your AP team. These tools can help your team in the following ways.

1. Simplify and speed up data capture

AP automation software allows your team to quickly collect invoice data. PairSoft, for instance, supports data capture from images of invoices taken using the camera on your mobile phone or tablet. To do this, you just need to download the PairSoft app and install it on your mobile device.

Automatic data capture takes mere seconds to finish. Integrating it into your AP process helps accelerate your most time-consuming workflows and gives your team extra time to focus on more important tasks.

2. Enhance the accuracy of data entry

Encoding figures on paper invoices and manually filing them for storage are tedious and incredibly exhausting. These processes are also prone to errors, especially during the busy season when your AP employees are cramming to meet deadlines and accommodate other tasks.

Needless to say, correcting erroneous entries, misfiled documents, and other mistakes only take up even more of your staff’s time and energy.

AP automation software takes data entry off your employees’ already busy hands. In PairSoft’s case, invoice data captured with the app is converted into electronic documents and organized for easy retrieval. Because figures are captured straight from the invoice, you can be sure that they are accurate.

3. Reduce turnaround times

If your invoice approvers are not in the office, then your payment cannot be processed on time. Delays like this can be a source of stress for members of your AP team.

AP automation solutions resolve this problem by enabling approvers to approve invoices on the go. The PairSoft app, for one, supports approval through mobile devices. This minimizes the risk of delays and shortens the time needed to process payables.

4. Enable flexible working options

Some of your staff may feel the need for a change in scenery during the busy holiday season but cannot leave their tasks unfinished. AP automation software stores files in cloud servers, which means they can be accessed remotely using any computer or mobile device that’s connected to the internet.

This makes it possible for your AP staff to work from home—or anywhere, for that matter—and still be able to finish their tasks on time.

On a related note, cloud technology allows several users to work on a single document at the same time. When used alongside the right communication tool, this feature allows for smooth collaboration among your AP team members, even when some of them are out of the office.

What are the other ways to lessen your AP team’s stress levels?

Having tools take over time-consuming tasks is already a weight off your AP staff’s shoulders. To further help them manage stress, you can do the following:

• Encourage them to take a step back and set realistic goals for themselves. Have them write out a plan for what they should accomplish within the day and have them stick to it.
• Let them take a break when they feel like they need it. This is especially helpful when stress at work is leaving them burnt out or making them agitated.
• Encourage them to do something they like or get about a stress-relieving activity outside of work. This could be yoga, exercise, meditation, or a hobby.
• Encourage them to get a snack or drink water. Some people forget to eat or hydrate when they get too busy, leaving them exhausted.

Busy seasons are an inevitable part of business, but you can do something about the stress that comes with it. PairSoft speeds up your AP process, increasing your AP team’s efficiency while reducing the amount of stress they experience in performing their tasks.

Schedule a free personalized demo today to discover the many ways in which we can empower your team and your company.