5 Benefits of Automating Government Invoice Payments
When an organization operates on taxpayer funds, you know how important it is do more with less. While making the most of what your agency currently has may appear fiscally responsible, outdated tools and technologies are costly, inefficient, error-prone, and can cause frustration among employees.
One big area in which agencies don’t take full advantage of digital solutions is managing and processing their accounts payable system. If state and local government officials understood just how expensive old-school AP processes can be, they would think twice about relying on the status quo.
The Association for Image and Information Management (AIIM) found that the cost to process just one invoice is, on average, between $13 and $25. When you add another $7.15 to process a single paper check, as well as hidden costs tied to errors, poor visibility, and fraud, it’s easy to see how costly paper-based AP systems can be. And how quickly these costs can spiral out of control.
SAP Concur partnered with StateScoop to uncover and quantify the costs of using manual AP systems. The report also explored how an integrated, automated, cloud-based AP management system can lay a strong foundation for regular software upgrades, offer access to valuable data, and help government agencies retain top IT talent.
Here are five big benefits agencies can see when they automate government invoice payments:
1. Increase productivity and improve employee satisfaction: Automating invoice payments means your employees waste far less time on tedious, manual tasks and can devote more time to work that delivers on your agency’s mission.
2. Get more visibility into spending: Integrating your invoice, ERP, and other accounting systems gives you a complete view of spending and allows leaders to make informed, data-driven decisions as they plan and strategize for the future.
3. Manage invoice payments from anywhere: With employees now working largely from home, it’s more important than ever that they have tools that will help them working remotely. Going digital allows your AP team to do their jobs quickly, easily, and from anywhere.
4. Be more efficient and generate revenue: When your AP process is fast, streamlined, and error-free, your agency can take full advantage of vendor discounts and rebates.
5. Reduce audit and compliance costs: Automatically create a paperless audit trail and eliminate the chance that documents will be lost, misfiled, or stolen.
For CFOs and other government leaders concerned with the optics of investing in a high-end software system, the report concluded that automating invoice payments can pay for itself in less than one year. To see more benefits and get expert opinions on AP automation, download the full StateScoop report. Or give the Concur Invoice demo a try and see how easy it is to use.