True AP automation for Microsoft Dynamics

Over the past decade, the increase in availability of automation solutions for accounts payable (AP) has revolutionised the way companies process invoices and manage the cash flow in and out of the payables process. Yet so many companies, including those operating on Microsoft Dynamics enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, still struggle to pay vendors on time and face sluggish invoice processing times due to manual or inefficient processes. There’s good news: companies can take simple steps to change the way they think of AP and take control of their organisation’s finances. 

No doubt, if you’re involved in any facet of corporate finance or supply chain management, you’ve seen the swell of automation providers flooding the market. With all these various solutions, it can be difficult to navigate the different offerings and the values they claim to provide. Of course, there are the trendy technologies that dominate the headlines, tools like AI, robotics, and blockchain. But when looking for tangible, business critical results, the automation solutions that focus on the core business functions, including accounts payable and the invoice process, are where businesses should rest their attention. 

Accounts payable traditionally faces problems when it comes to handling paper and/or struggling with manual steps in an inefficient invoice workflow. The AP team becomes reactant to the invoice and the debt, rather than helping manage the cash flow. The organisation feels the pain of not being able to get invoices approved on time, since AP spends too much time keying invoices and chasing down approvers throughout the organisation. There’s no clear escalation route, and AP managers have little insight or resources to find and fix the problems.  

It’s here that the immediate benefits of AP automation come into play. The leading solutions provide invoice automation and matching capabilities, allowing invoices with corresponding purchase orders and goods receipts to be automatically approved and posted for payment, without any necessary intervention by the AP team. And non-purchase order-based invoices can be easily – often automatically – routed to the correct approver and managed via any device, at any time. This not only dramatically improves the efficiency of the process, increasing lead times and unlocking early payment discounts, but it also frees up significant time savings for the AP team and the business staff involved in approving invoices. The expression “time is money” has stuck around for a reason!

But for AP, it’s about more than simply ending the paper chase. Creating a digital workflow and a standalone AP system unlocks a view into business-critical data that directly supports the chief financial officer’s financial dashboard. The AP and finance teams now have access to the metrics around their company’s financial status, as well as key performance indicators (KPIs) to track their process efficiencies and drive continuous improvement, both in your organisation and across your supplier network.  

MediusFlow, a solution for almost two decades, has redefined the meaning of true AP automation for the Microsoft Dynamics user base. As a standalone AP solution with a packaged connection to Dynamics 365, AX and NAV ERPs, it offers touchless invoice processing levels. 

Medius will be holding a webinar on 21 February that will cover the topics mentioned and more. Can’t make the live session? Register anyway and you’ll receive a copy of the recording.   

Register for the webinar.

Meredith Grace is the Field Marketing Manager at Medius.