Today’s most effective CPA firms are always looking for ways to add value for their clients while saving those clients money and making them more profitable. In today’s age of disruption, the best firms are laser-focused on offering strategic guidance in addition to general accounting services.
By doing so, they are able to set themselves apart from the competition and help their clients thrive.
When firms decide to transform into strategic advisors, one easy, low-hanging fruit to grab is educating clients on the value they can receive from automating their accounts payable (AP) department.
And when businesses decide to go in this direction, the potential for eliminating paper tends to be a big part of the conversation. While reducing reliance on paper is good from an affordability, productivity, and sustainability perspective, the benefits of AP automation don’t stop with eliminating paper.
Accounting Pain Points Shared Across All Industries
At a high level, clients in every industry have the same goals for accounts payable. Not only do they want to be able to process invoices and payments with as few people as possible, but they also are keen on optimizing their payment strategy so they can either increase margins by taking advantage of early payment discounts or extend cash flow by withholding payments until they are due.
On top of this, companies across all industries are also interested in improving the relationships they have with suppliers and increasing stakeholder visibility into transactions and supplier profiles for groups such as finance, treasury, and procurement departments.
No matter what industry a CPA’s clients are in, they can accomplish all of this when they automate AP the right way. By investing in modern, intelligent AP automation tools, you can transform your clients’ accounting departments, delivering the strategic advisory value-add that cultivates client loyalty.
While eliminating paper is one benefit of AP automation, it is only the beginning. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the ways AP automation technology can modernize operations and help businesses soar to new heights.
1. Eliminating Invoice Exceptions
Ask any accounting department, and they’ll tell you the same thing: Invoice exceptions—which occur whenever an invoice is received from a supplier and cannot be automatically approved and scheduled for payment without human intervention—are the biggest driver of costs.
In order to eliminate invoice exceptions, you need to be able to receive invoices digitally. Beyond that, you also need to be able to validate invoices based on business requirements in a way that ensures you resolve any issues that might seep into the process in an automated way.
For example, leading AP automation solutions can automate the general ledger coding process for non-purchase order (PO) invoices, and they can also automatically match PO-based invoices to POs to speed up the payment cycle.
With AP automation, CPA firms can help their clients achieve the ultimate north star: eliminating invoice exceptions. Once that occurs, it’s possible to overcome all of the aforementioned pain points that accounting departments experience.
2. Optimizing Cash Flow
In today’s difficult economic climate, every smart business is focused on what it can do to improve its cash situation. By reducing reliance on paper, AP automation can help decrease operational expenses, in turn improving cash flow.
Further, leading AP automation platforms enable businesses to automatically take advantage of early payment discounts while ensuring they pay other bills when they are due—and not a day sooner.
Taken together, this is an easy way to improve margins while strengthening the cash position—all without needing any humans in the loop to make it happen. Plus, you pay your suppliers on time, so they’re happy, too.
When firms decide to transform into strategic advisors, one easy, low-hanging fruit to grab is educating clients on the value they can receive from automating their accounts payable (AP) department.
3. Improving the Supplier Experience
Today, experiences are becoming a key differentiator among brands. While it might not be the first thing that pops into mind, accounting departments can play a key role in strengthening the supplier experience by investing in AP automation.
With an AP automation platform in place, suppliers enjoy deep visibility into the status of their invoices. Instead of having to call up the AP department to ask when they can expect payment, this information can always be self-served at their own convenience.
Additionally, AP automation tools enable suppliers to select their preferred payment option, choosing to get funds via P-cards, ACH deposits, or paper checks. At the same time, suppliers are able to send invoices in whatever format they prefer, which makes life easy.
Couple all of this with access to a centralized, easy-to-use interface that contains all payment status details, and it becomes clear how AP automation can have a truly game-changing impact on the way suppliers view their customers.
When faced with a choice between working with a company that offers a modern AP experience and one that doesn’t, the decision is an easy one for suppliers.
Modernizing AP Departments—It’s More Than Just Eliminating Paper
While eliminating paper is a common pursuit for accounting departments, it is just the first step in the journey to AP modernization.
By embracing AP automation and continuously striving to build a more efficient and optimized accounting function for their clients, CPA firms can go beyond the basics and become exceptionally helpful business partners their clients simply cannot operate without.
In today’s challenging economy, CPA firms that go the extra mile will have a much easier time winning business than those that still operate the same way they’ve been for decades. The sooner CPA firms recognize this, the faster they’ll be able to fortify their offerings and position themselves for long-term success.
Shan Haq is VP of Corporate Strategy and Development at Transcepta, one of the leading cloud-based AP automation platforms. Haq is responsible for shaping Transcepta’s strategy for new markets, products, and alliances. Through leadership roles in corporate strategy, marketing, and product management, He has successfully grown businesses within Microsoft, Deloitte Consulting, and Boeing Space and Technology.
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