Metafile's Alyssa Putzer shares how the technology make accounts payable process more accurate
Caspar Herzberg |
At Metafile, we talk a lot about how a paperless automation solution can benefit your enterprise. But we also know that, when it comes to convincing your staff and executives that it’s worth the investment, you need the numbers. So we’ve laid out the perks of a paperless solution, complete with some of the hard numbers that are sure to motivate your team to take the paperless plunge.
The first benefit is that automated document management saves you time. An Aberdeen Group study showed that respondents with workflow systems took an average of 4.4 days to process an invoice, much less than the 14.4 days it takes for companies without these systems, or the 34.4 days it takes bottom-tier enterprises. In addition, 43% of accounts payable departments surveyed by the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) reported faster invoice processing cycle times as a result of implementing automation. Plus, 42% said automation has provided their department with better monitoring and visibility into the status of invoices, allowing them to make data-driven decisions faster.
The second benefit is a better return on investment. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has determined that the average billion-dollar company processes 12,500 invoices per accounts payable employee annually at a cost of US$3.55 per invoice. That’s a total cost of US$44,375. In contrast, the world’s best finance and accounting departments that are using an automated system are able to process invoices at a cost of only US$0.35 each, for a total cost of only US$4,375. The difference between good and great is a 98% cost reduction that amounts to US$40,000 in savings per accounts payable employee.
AIIM also found that 39% of companies report payback on scanning and document capture investments in 12 months or less. Meanwhile, 29% of accounts payable departments surveyed by AIIM reported a 50% reduction in invoice processing costs as a result of automating their accounts payable processes.
The third benefit of automated document management is accuracy. A study by Prism International shows that 2-7% of documents are misfiled at an average cost of US$120 per document, while executives spend 150 hours per year looking for misplaced documents. However, according to Aberdeen Group research, organisations that have high levels of automation report more than four times the rate of visibility into overall organisational cash flow on a daily basis. They also achieve a 13-day improvement in days ayable outstanding.
The proof is in the numbers when it comes to the benefits of replacing your legacy system with a modern, up-to-date paperless automation/document management solution. While companies will have differing return on investment, we are confident that you will see substantial return – as are the research and analytics firms that have studied the results of companies who have implemented intelligent automation. We encourage you to take one for the team, check out the numbers and make paperless a priority.
Alyssa Putzer is a marketing specialist at Metafile Information Systems