Invoice Processing

Finance teams lack the digital skillset to embrace the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, causing a negative impact on revenue growth, according to a new study from the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association) and Oracle.

Invoice automation solution provider Wise-Sync has announced a new integration with Datto Autotask PSA as part of their strategic partnership with Datto, a provider of MSP-delivered IT solutions. Wise-Sync specialises in accounting automation for Xero and Quickbooks Online.

Accounts Payable (AP) is often the first initiative when it comes to Business Process Automation projects, and it’s easy to understand why.  AP directly effects how much money leaves an organisation, it’s a business process typically fraught with manual steps, and it’s a process that crosses almost every industry so vendors tend to focus on it first. 

It is estimated that as many as 1 billion invoices are exchanged between businesses in Australia on an annual basis; however only 10-15% of those invoices are e-invoices, with the rest remaining paper-based. So, why has the adoption of e-invoicing been so slow in Australia and APAC? What opportunities does e-invoicing offer businesses in Australia?

Codeless Platforms has announced the integration of its Business Process Automation (BPA) Platform with Concur Expense and Concur Invoice from SAP Concur, the travel, expense, and invoice management solutions, allowing users to automate processes between SAP Concur and ERP systems such as Microsoft Dynamics, Sage, SAP and more.

One of Australia’s largest private hospital groups has deployed Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in tandem with ABBYY FlexiCapture technology to overcome a major headache with processing over 30,000 supplier invoices per year.

The Australian operations of the WD-40 Company, makers of the famed lubricant spray, wanted to reduce the amount of paper used in its Australian business. As a manufacturer and distributor in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, WD-40 Company typically processes around 100 invoices per week. These have traditionally been paper-based, with physical signatures required for each invoice to be approved.

Esker has announced the launch of a new PunchOut catalogue feature for its Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) automation solution. Esker’s new functionality enables users to “punch out” from their procurement application to select online catalogues so that they can order anything online without leaving Esker’s P2P solution. As a result, users save time while purchasing at contract-negotiated prices.

It’s an interesting question and one that many business leaders don’t take the time to ask. Many businesses take the approach that the cost of an invoice is the value of the figure on the bottom of the last page. Unfortunately that is just the amount that comes out of your bank account, it is not the cost I’m talking about. I’m talking about what it costs you over and above the value of the invoice to process, approve, code and pay that invoice.

In many ways, it’s well-deserved. In a recent survey conducted by the Institute of Finance and Management (IOFM), controllers unloaded about the aspects of AP they found most burdensome and backward. Compared to accounts receivable, payroll, tax and audit, AP was considered by controllers to be the most time and labour-intensive function of all.

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