And the Survey Says Automation s the Key to Succe for Accounts Payable by Sam Gopal

On the game show Family Feud, two families go head to head to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people. Sometimes the questions are funny and everyone laughs at the answers, but there are times when the questions actually make you think. Have you ever caught yourself shouting out your answer at the T.V. as if the game show host could hear you?

Well in this case, no need to shout. The Institute of Financial Operations (IFO) 2013 Accounts Payable Automation Survey Results have just been released and they hear you loud and clear. This report benchmarks companies' plans, trends and results in invoice and payment processing; technology use, satisfaction and spending all based on your answers.

According to the results, the majority of organizations like yours have yet to fully automate their process despite the fact that your error rate has not changed in the last 18 months. And you're not alone in the fact that your budgets haven't changed since 2012. The majority of companies like yours are spending only 2.5 % of your budget on automation and I get that. You have other priorities which top your list when it comes to where dollars are spent. But you could have more available dollars if you automated how you receive, match, approve and pay your invoices. The survey results revealed the cost to process a manual invoice is at a rate of $25 per invoice for some organizations. When using automation the cost was gaged at less than $2 per invoice. Who wouldn't want to save $23 per invoice?

So what can you do to enhance your current workflow solution? Get the survey results and use the information to your advantage. Make the case to your management team that the cost of doing nothing is costing you plenty. Have you considered a SaaS AP automation solution which can meet both your budget and resource requirements? You should.

This is one of the IFO's most eagerly anticipated research reports of the year because it gives your Accounts Payable department a glimpse into how your peers and competitors are reshaping their operations using emerging technologies.

At the end of the day this survey will help you to better understand what the best in the industry AP departments are doing to reduce errors allowing for more time to focus on core business initiatives.

You'll see how companies like yours are unlocking the value of accounts payable for your organization with AP automation. Don't get left behind holding a stack of invoices Automation is the way to go.

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2013/service-lines/document-imaging-and-...
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