How to Prioritize AP Automation for Optimal B2B Payment UX: A Guide for Payment Leaders
In B2B payments, automation is the key to reducing operational bottlenecks and human errors. But with so many potential tasks to automate, how do you know where to start?
The secret lies in identifying the tasks that will deliver the greatest impact when automated.
Accounts Payable (AP) is an ideal area to begin. AP processes involve a lot of manual work and constantly need to juggle efficiency, accuracy, and compliance. Automation can solve many of these challenges—but not all tasks are equal candidates for automation.
In this article, we’ll walk through how to prioritize tasks for automation and how mapping your workflows can reveal exactly where automation will deliver the best results.
Criteria for Identifying Automation Candidates
To get the most out of automation in your AP workflows, you need to focus on tasks that meet certain criteria:
- Repetitive: If a task is done the same way every day, with little variation, it’s a prime candidate for automation. The fewer variables, the easier it is to automate.
- High-volume: The more often a task occurs, the more time you save by automating it. Think about the hundreds or thousands of invoices processed in a given week or month.
- Prone to errors: Human error is inevitable in manual data entry. If a task has a history of mistakes, leading to delays or compliance risks, it’s a great candidate for automation.
- Creates bottlenecks: Some tasks, like approval routing, may be time-sensitive and cause delays if not handled efficiently. Automating these tasks can speed up the entire workflow.
The goal is to eliminate mundane, time-consuming tasks from your AP process so your team can focus on higher-value activities, like relationship-building and strategic vendor management.
Mapping Out the AP Workflow
Let’s break down the typical steps of an AP workflow: invoice capture, data entry, approval routing, and payment processing. Each of these steps presents an opportunity for automation.
Step 1: Invoice Capture
Vendors submit invoices via email, mail, or through an EIPP (Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment) system. Manually processing these invoices can be a bottleneck. Automating this step can streamline the capture and digitization of invoice data.
Illustration:
[Vendor Submits Invoice] --> [Automated Invoice Capture]
Step 2: Data Entry
After capturing the invoice, the next step is entering that data into your accounting system. Manual data entry is not only slow but prone to errors. By automating this task through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) or EIPP systems, you can eliminate human mistakes and speed up the process.
Illustration:
[Automated Invoice Capture] --> [Automated Data Entry]
Step 3: Approval Routing
Once the data is in the system, invoices need to be routed to the appropriate people for approval. Manual routing often causes delays if people are unavailable or if the process isn’t clear. Automating the approval workflow ensures that invoices go to the right people at the right time, based on predefined rules (e.g., amount thresholds, vendor categories).
Illustration:
[Automated Data Entry] --> [Automated Approval Routing]
Step 4: Payment Processing
Finally, once invoices are approved, the last step is payment processing. Automating this ensures that payments are made on time and that compliance checks are completed automatically, reducing the risk of human error or oversight.
Illustration:
[Automated Approval Routing] --> [Automated Payment Processing]
Here’s the complete workflow with automation:
Illustration of Entire Workflow:
[Vendor Submits Invoice] --> [Automated Invoice Capture]
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v
[Automated Data Entry]
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v
[Automated Approval Routing]
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v
[Automated Payment Processing]
Each stage builds on the previous one, using automation to reduce errors and speed up the workflow.
Automating Key Tasks
Now that we’ve mapped out the process, let’s get practical about which tasks to automate first.
1. Invoice Capture
Invoice capture is the most labor-intensive part of AP because invoices come in various formats. Automating this step with an EIPP solution or a tool that converts paper or PDF invoices into digital data can make a massive difference. Your team won’t need to manually review or input invoice data.
Key Takeaway: Automating invoice capture reduces errors and speeds up the time from receipt to processing.
2. Data Entry
Manual data entry is another time-consuming task that’s prone to mistakes. Automating data entry through OCR or an EIPP solution ensures that information is accurately transferred from invoices into your accounting system.
Key Takeaway: Automating data entry minimizes human error and allows for faster processing.
3. Approval Routing
Approval routing is often the most significant bottleneck in AP. With multiple departments involved, manual routing slows everything down. By automating this process, you can configure rules that send invoices to the right approvers based on vendor type or invoice amount.
Key Takeaway: Automating approval routing ensures timely approval and reduces bottlenecks in the process.
Example: Automating High-Frequency Vendor Invoices
Consider your high-frequency vendors—the ones that send you invoices every week or even daily. These vendors likely represent a large portion of your invoice volume, and automating their processes can save significant time. By automating their invoice capture, data entry, and approvals, you can drastically reduce the time spent on these routine tasks.
Here’s the visualized automated workflow for high-frequency vendors:
[Vendor Submits Invoice] --> [Automated Invoice Capture] --> [Automated Data Entry]
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v
[Automated Approval Routing] --> [Payment Processing]
By prioritizing these high-frequency vendors for automation, you reduce both errors and delays, allowing your team to focus on more strategic tasks.
The Role of a UX Consultant in Automation
As your UX advisor, I go beyond suggesting which tasks to automate. I focus on mapping out your current workflows, identifying pain points, and designing automation solutions that are easy for your team to use.
For example, I can work with you to map out your AP workflows (just like I did above) and pinpoint areas where automation will have the greatest impact. Most importantly, I’ll ensure that the automated tools you implement are user-friendly, so your team can easily adapt to them and realize the full benefits.
Final Thoughts: Clear Criteria for Better Decisions
Automation can transform your AP workflow when done right—but only if you approach it strategically. Focus on repetitive, high-volume tasks that are prone to errors or bottlenecks, and you’ll see the biggest gains in efficiency.
As always, the user experience should be at the heart of these decisions. If you want to ensure your automation efforts lead to real, measurable improvements, it’s essential to map out your workflows, identify pain points, and implement solutions that are easy to use.
WDIR, Your Partner In User-Centric Automation
If you’re considering automating parts of your AP process but aren’t sure where to start, I can help. Let's discuss how to implement EIPP solutions, improve your workflow automation, and ensure your automation efforts are secure, efficient, and user-centric.
Together, we’ll ensure that your AP workflows are built for clarity, compliance, and efficiency, with a strong focus on delivering an exceptional user experience for your team and your vendors.