Times are always changing. But this year they seem to be working overtime! Finding ways to future-proof your company is top of mind for every business leader.
But finding solutions to survive these uncharted waters is no easy task. So it’s important for businesses to be as agile and responsive as possible.
Automated electronic payments allow businesses to modernize and streamline their accounts payable (AP) department. They save time, money, and resources, and are significantly easier to manage than cumbersome, outmoded, paper-based approaches.
After all, paperless processes are swiftly becoming the norm, and this trend is unlikely to change any time soon.
Additionally, COVID-19 has seen us make unprecedented shifts in how we live and work. Businesses are reassessing the way they manage invoices, as work from home becomes increasingly more commonplace.
It’s hard to underestimate the value of AP automation when dealing with a remote workforce.
Our full end to end procure to pay automation makes remote invoice processing and remote approvals easy, allowing you to stay ahead of the curve. And then automated remote ePayments allow your staff to make no-touch payments.
In this article we’ll cover the benefits of leaving paper behind, analyze the latest developments in invoicing, and explain how businesses can best prepare for an uncertain future.
Leaving Paper Behind
Processing your vendors paper-based invoices is unsafe, tedious, and labor-intensive.
Sifting through piles of paperwork is a thankless chore compared to having data available at the touch of a button.
Paper invoices also invite potential forgery, loss, or other costly inconveniences.
Working with paper invoices also creates a logistical bottleneck. If payments have to be approved or signed-off in person, this leads to delays. This is especially relevant at the moment, with so much of the workforce working remotely.
It’s no wonder that paper is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
Think about it – many people today will struggle to even remember the last time they wrote a paper check!
So why do businesses continue to use paper invoicing?
The key factor appears to be familiarity, and an unwillingness to change. Changes on this scale may seem daunting, but the benefits speak for themselves.
With CoreIntegrator’s AP automation and payment automation solutions you’ll be able to handle everything remotely, and never miss a payment.
We capture invoice data with 99.9% accuracy using our Verified Data Capture Service.
We reduce successful invoice fraud attacks by 85%.
And crucially, we free up your workflow – you’ll never have to plow through piles of paperwork again.
Don’t waste your AP department’s time by clinging to outdated paper processes. Future proof your business today!
Recent Invoicing Trends
What are the recent trends in how people work and get paid?
And what can they tell us about the future of invoicing?
One huge change this year is the massive shift to working form home.
Microsoft is currently reporting a dramatic increase in virtual meetings. Between March and April of 2020 they saw a 200% increase in daily meeting minutes, peaking at 2.7 billion, compared to the previous high of 900 million.
Working flexible hours from home used to be considered a luxury, or only for the minority of workers. But as both the workforce and businesses get a taste of working from home, it’s more and more likely to stick around as a trend going forwards.
Working remotely cuts down on the need for office space, makes for happy workers, and is a sensible step in combating COVID 19 (which, according to Harvard, is likely to be effecting us until at least 2022).
In the face of these changes, which all require a modern, digital approach to life and work – it’s no wonder that interest in no touch and remote payment is surging.
Remote payments are tailored to the needs of a remote workforce. So why not use the best tool for the job at hand to future proof your organization?
Predicting an Uncertain Future
Few things are certain in times like this, but we can observe trends to make educated predictions.
Current events, COVID included, may well prove to be the death knell for paper-based invoicing and payments.
When this change finally happens and the paper check dies for good, paper-based businesses will have to rush to adapt. Prepare early and avoid getting caught in this scramble to keep up.
A recent article on the impact of Black Swan events by PYMNTS.com indicates that the ability to move money or approve an invoice at the press of a button will become increasingly popular in the coming months, and more companies will move to no-touch B2B payment methods. It certainly should become part of every company’s disaster recover or business continuity plan.
And according to Finance Online, 91% of business executives expect to see their partners and vendors playing an ever larger roll this year. Easily tracking and approving invoices and payments via full end to end procure to pay automation will help businesses and their vendors work efficiently together and protect each other from future disasters.
Embrace The Future – and Profit! -with Virtual Card ePayments
Moving to AP automation and ePayment automation is not just a matter of saving time and money, streamlining processes, and adapting to the challenges of 2020.
Payment automation can also make money all on its own!
It’s not often that the Accounts Payable department gets to be a profit center, but virtual card payments not only automate the payment process, they can improve your company’s bottom line.
With virtual credit cards, your company can earn cash rebates while paying your vendors or suppliers. For every dollar of virtual card payments, you have the potential to earn a cash rebate when you select the CoreIntegrator Payment Automation via OnPay Solution. The more virtual credit card transactions, the more you earn back.
It might sound too good to be true, but your AP department really can generate profits – just by doing it’s job.
Why turn this benefit down when your competitors could already have embraced it?
Conclusion – Future-Proof Your Business with Electronic Payments
The future has rarely been so uncertain.
But businesses can take some sure-fire steps to protect themselves.
Paperless transactions, electronic payments, and AP automation will future-proof your business in the face of uncertainty.
Now more than ever, it’s important to get ahead of your competitors by converting to no touch payments.
The benefits pay for themselves, especially if you’re smart about generating extra profits with virtual cards!