Small businesses are vulnerable to the ever-changing financial situation. Automation allows businesses, whether large or small, to eliminate unnecessary expenses and reduce the time used to make data entries and approvals. Investing in a good accounts payable automation solution will present your business with ways to cut costs while optimizing your business processes.
AP Automation is a cloud-based platform that helps you automate your accounts payable invoice processes. Organizations that embrace this technology can eliminate manual AP processes such as payment reconciliation, invoice processing, and PO matching. It not only saves on time but also improves the efficiency and accuracy of your financial processes.
Being tech-savvy is a critical tool for any business to harness in the 21st century. While embracing automation can be a nightmare to most small business owners, more of them are progressively turning to AP Automation to reap its various benefits. Consider automating your business processes to reap the advantages described below.
AP Automation Is a Time Saver
As the old saying goes, time is money. This saying is particularly true for financial organizations and businesses. By eliminating manual checks and integrating with your existing ERP platform, AP Automation allows your firm to save precious time and focus on making essential business decisions.
By standardizing your approval workflow, your AP department can efficiently move invoices to the payment phase much faster and with no errors.
Saves on Costs
While most small business owners may view AP Automation as an expensive venture, it is a worthwhile investment. Manual processes require more people and often necessitate reconciliation because of human error. However, AP Automation allows your firm to complete its financial processes much faster and with fewer errors. It will also cut down on the workforce and is 100% paperless, saving many costs for your firm. AP Automation can cut down on as much as 70% of your financial costs.
More Accuracy and Efficiency
With AP Automation, your small business can complete more financial processes in a shorter period. The platform allows all your processes to be accurate and flawless. You can view the status of all your firm’s invoices in real-time, relieving you of the inefficiency of manual processes that inhibit accuracy and efficiency.
Real-time Data Decisions
Your decisions should be based on accurate real-time and historical data for your small business to make significant strides towards growth just like the Apromore process mining software that allows you to analyze business processes to get accurate data results. The on-demand reporting capabilities that come with AP Automation allow your business access to accurate real-time invoice data. This gives you more control over your business’s cash flow, an essential feature of any growing enterprise.
Buying Annuities
With the troubling financial headlines on the looming retirement crisis, it is only human for you to expect carrying most of the responsibility of your financial wellbeing during your golden years. However, small business owners often miss income annuities in their list of possible retirement savings options.
It would be best if you considered covering your lifetime income, cost of care during your retirement, or financial protection by investing in an annuity. AP Automation allows you to save money for your annuity and keep up with the payments efficiently and accurately, avoiding any missed payments or disagreements between you and your insurer.
What Is an Annuity?
Many small business owners are oblivious of how an annuity works. An annuity is an agreement between you and an insurance firm to cover you for life. You will be required to deposit a specific amount of money with the insurance company, either in a lump sum or in agreed installments.
When the agreed time is due, the insurance company begins sending monthly, quarterly, biannual, or annual payments to you for the rest of your life. For business owners, an annuity is one of the best options for a retirement plan to consider. While there are several annuity types, variable and fixed annuities are the major options.
What Is a Variable Annuity?
With variable annuities, the payouts you will receive from your insurer depend on how your sub-accounts perform. Your sub-accounts could either be bond or stock products. Lest your sub-accounts perform well, your payouts will increase. However, it could be disadvantageous for you if your selected products do not perform as expected. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority regulates variable annuity.
What Is a Fixed Annuity?
Unlike variable annuities, fixed annuities guarantee a fixed payment from an agreed date to the time of your death. With fixed annuities, you could opt for monthly, quarterly, biannual, or yearly payments.
Annuities may not be the right investment plan for everyone. If you are Warren buffet or Elon Musk, you likely have enough savings and investments to cover your retirement years. If you expect to live over 20 years after retiring and are in search of reliable regular payments, fixed annuities may be your best bet.
Automate and Get Going
Whichever is your preferred financial or retirement plan, you can count on AP Automation to take care of real-time digital transfers. It will help you eliminate extra costs and cut on the time you would use to check all your invoices and make scheduled payments manually. It is recommended that your small business automates its financial transactions for better integration with the supplier’s designated bank. That way, yours is not only a fast and efficient business but also a fraud-free firm.