With a new decade quickly approaching, we thought this was the perfect time to start talking about what's next for AP Automation. In this three-part series, we'll cover everything you need to know about the past, present, and future of B2B Payment Automation. So buckle up, put on your thinking cap, and get excited! The entire landscape of B2B Payments is rapidly changing, and the Payment Automation train is about to leave the station. This is your first-class ticket into the future. 

The adage “if it ain't broke, don’t fix it” really only works in specific scenarios. It’s a good rule to follow for things like lawnmowers, cars, and electronics, but what about B2B payments? What if something is functional but not optimal? What if your current processes work okay, but they cost you precious time and resources?

Financial technology, or FinTech, has been opening new avenues for electronic payments in business-to-business companies for years. Many companies have moved away from financially (and environmentally) costly paper checks to inexpensive and time-efficient payment automation, saving money in the process. Heavily depended on by investors, consultants, multinationals, startups, and entrepreneurs, FinTech exists to help solve these problems.

The technological revolution, dubbed The Fourth Industrial Revolution, has gained traffic in the corporate world by fundamentally changing the way many businesses interact with consumers. With the rise of digital currency and a surplus of investment options in payment automation technology, is the next Industrial Revolution really upon us?

Save Time. Cut Costs. Earn Money.

The world has changed a lot over the last 20 years. In 1998 cellphones were the size of bricks and analysts were making (considered at the time to be crazy) predictions that the internet would one day be accessible from a mobile device. Fast forward to the year 2019 and not only is the internet accessible from a mobile device, nowadays we spend our lives constantly connected to the internet and to each other. We go to sleep scrolling through news feeds and checking email, only to wake up and start the cycle over again. Easy access to the information combined with the speed of communication and data transfer have made the internet an integral part of our personal and professional lives. One of the fastest growing arenas of this new era is Finance. Technological advancements and new software solutions have vastly improved the efficiency of any Accounts Payable department.

According to a recent study only 42% of organizations are using paper checks for payments. That's down by almost 50% from 2004. With the incredible accounts payable software solutions available today and the positive impact these solutions can have on any ap department, experts predict that the number of companies migrating away from paper checks will increase exponentially over the next few years. 

Payments and the way they are made have always had a big impact on the business environment. Starting with a reduction in the labor hours it takes to issue payments, to the amount saved on supplies and materials, to an increased certainty of cash flow; payments processed electronically offer a substantial impact to your bottom line. Eliminating the manual nature of outdated payment processing methods, which put a strain on the efficiency of an organization, creates a significant improvement to the bottom line.

By moving your business away from paper check printing to electronic payments, you will experience many benefits including: freed employee time and much lower costs per transaction. There's even an opportunity for monthly cash rebates through Virtual Cards — creating a new revenue stream for your company. 

Skip to Save Time, Cut Costs, Earn Money.

If you're in Accounts Payable, you probably realize that things aren't quite as automated and streamlined as they are in some other departments in your organization.  This is true for even the most progressive companies.  It's for good reason, too.  Controllers want to maintain control of cash going out the door.  Cash is KING in any organization!

By converting to ePayments or digital payments, an organization can expect an immediate return on investment (ROI)

If you are using your bank’s treasury services for payment processing, you are reaping the benefits of having outsourced the process.  At the same time, you are tied to that one bank...meaning you are required to hold the cash to fulfill payments in their accounts, therefore, your bank portfolio may not be as diverse. You may not be aware that there is a better way to issue payments. 

Using a payment platform that is bank-neutral – meaning it can work with any bank – is a better option. 

Accounts Payable Automation streamlines the Accounts Payable Department resulting in reduced manual processes and improved operational efficiency while reducing the overall cost associated with the department.  There are two processes and two transformations that can occur.  One is much easier than the other to implement.