Why Backups Are Critical in AP Automation Solutions

In any organization, accounting departments are likely to benefit the most from increased productivity, centralized data, and financial savings—all of which can be achieved with accounts payable (AP) automation.

In fact, more and more businesses are turning to cloud-based AP automation solutions for a cost-efficient way to improve risk and cash management, free up internal resources, and enhance security.

But while automation technology is generally reliable, there’s no way to tell when a cyberattack, natural calamity, or some other disaster will disrupt a business’s operations. Therefore, it’s wise to adopt an AP automation solution that comes with robust backup features to protect critical data from theft, damage, and loss.

Fortifying your records is a must

Having complete records of your payments and billing is important for your accounting team to monitor how much money your business is earning and spending. However, it’s not enough to simply log purchase orders, invoices, and receipts; it’s also important to ensure that these documents are always available.

Many businesses forget to consider redundancy when it comes to AP records, and this can cause serious repercussions. Organizations of all sizes are bound to encounter hardware failure, severe weather, malware, human error, and other challenges that can lead to AP documents being lost for good.

Without a comprehensive backup strategy, businesses are compelled to spend extra time and resources to try to salvage any information they can.

Fortunately, one simple step you can take to ensure the availability and retrievability of your AP records is to invest in a solution with a secure, automatic, and continuous cloud backup feature. PairSoft, in particular, keeps your critical AP documents safe in the cloud while enabling anywhere access for authorized users.

It uses geo-redundant storage (GRS) to back up your data consistently to multiple locations to significantly reduce the risk of loss. PairSoft stores three copies of your data in a primary location, then stores three more copies at a secondary location that’s hundreds of miles away from the primary location.

This industry best practice ensures the integrity and security of your AP documents.

Backup frequency matters, too

Performing routine data backups will save your accounting staff from having to recreate days or even weeks of lost work. However, how frequently you perform these backups will depend on what type of documents you handle and how you use them.

As a general rule of thumb, dynamic, mission-critical data should be backed up as frequently as possible. And because your accounting team processes proprietary information and vendor records, it might make sense to schedule daily or even hourly backups.

Conversely, weekly or monthly backups might suffice for documents that are rarely edited or changed.

With PairSoft, you won’t need to regularly create digital versions of your files and then manually store them on a backup tape or hard drive. Instead, your files are automatically saved in a secure cloud platform as often as necessary. All you have to do is plan your backup schedule, then the system takes care of the rest.

Don’t forget data compliance

Regulations such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) stipulate how organizations must manage information and data in the cloud. If you’re in an industry covered by these standards and laws, you must make sure that your cloud backups are compliant.

You may need to retain records for a specific period of time or safeguard your data by implementing advanced encryption or other specific security measures. Whatever compliance requirements you have to meet, it’s best to implement a solution that can be tailored to your unique needs.

PairSoft not only protects your data with industry-standard security technologies and procedures, but it can also help you meet compliance requirements with its enhanced data encryption capabilities.

What’s more, its redaction features allow users to permanently block sensitive information within imaged documents, which is helpful in protecting sensitive information against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.

Manage your digital assets without having to worry about accessibility, reliability, and security with PairSoft. Call us today or sign up for a free personalized demo to get started.