Steps to Assess if AP Automation Is Right for Your Business

Accounts Payable (AP) automation gives businesses the tools to be more effective, now and in the future. But automation isn’t just about modernizing, it’s about transforming a cost center into a strategic advantage — helping to increase productivity, reduce expenditure and free up resources for revenue-generating projects. These five steps can help you take stock of your current position and determine if automation can improve your AP processes.

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graphic depicting the percentage of businesses that experienced fraud in 2023. For full description, activate the "Show text version" link."

Source: AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report, 2024.

Assess resource constraints: Make a list of your AP teams’ manual, time-consuming tasks and what takes up the most time. Are you still heavily reliant on checks? Do you have a team that spends a large amount of time handling one issue, like notifications of change or responding to payment inquiries? What’s your process when onboarding a vendor?
Examine organizational risk: Look at how you collect, store and manage client data and payment information. Are payments to suppliers being delayed? Are manual or paper-based processes taking resources away from more strategic projects? Could this impact employee retention and satisfaction?

Look at your current state: Are your AP processes fully automated, partially automated or completely manual? Are there areas where things could be done more efficiently? Document the tasks assigned to different roles when it comes to payment execution, approvals and reconciliations.
Assess your reliance on paper: One way to accomplish this is to conduct a rudimentary audit to see how many steps — and time — it takes for one invoice or check to move through your organization.
Think about your systems: Do you use multiple systems? There are ways to consolidate and integrate these, saving time and resources and reducing the risk of errors.
Document what you discover: Where do bottlenecks exist in your payment workflow? Are there duplicate payments? Are you overlooking discounts or rebates? Could you be missing opportunities for enhancing working capital? For improving supplier relationships? Anything you uncover can help provide a clearer picture of your current position.

Assess the tools you have already put in place: Detail your vendor authentication process and what audit trails exist. How do you currently remediate check fraud?
Consider employee readiness: Are employees trained to proactively identify fraud attempts? Where do they report these, and who deals with them?
Prepare for evolving threats: Technology innovation has introduced new payment fraud risks, like deep-fake voice and videos — how are you combatting these and future threats?

Examine whether automating now aligns with your short- and long-term goals: Will the kinds of efficiencies it can bring help you deliver on your five-year plan? Could it shorten the time it takes to achieve some of your objectives?
Review whether you can afford not to automate: While there will be upfront costs, automation can pay dividends over time, both in terms of efficiencies and financial benefits. Eliminating repetitive manual work will save time and free up resources for more value-added work, positively impacting efficiency, employee satisfaction and vendor relationships.
Assess the expected return on investment: Will automation make a difference to your bottom line, and is it scalable for your future growth?

Identify the stakeholders: Talk to people — from the chief financial officer and chief technology officer to the AP manager and support staff — to establish shared short- and long-term goals.
Gain management buy-in: You’ll need to highlight value, address concerns and align back to a corporate goal.
Document the friction points: Map out the workflow and collect data on processing times. Benchmarking against industry standards can not only tighten controls but also unlock potential.

graphic depicting percentages of companies automating processes versus issuing checks. For full description, activate the "Show text version" link."

¹ Gallup Workplace Report, 2024.

² AFP Financial Operations Guide: Automating Accounts Payable Processing, 2024.

The tasks highlighted here will help you determine whether automation can improve AP processes for your business. The next step will be devising a roadmap for getting started and building a business case that highlights the value of AP automation. But you don’t have to do this alone — Bank of America offers expert guidance and best-in-practice solutions that take a comprehensive approach to payments and AP.

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Five steps to assess if AP automation is right for you

1. Find the friction points

2. Evaluate your end-to-end payments process

3. Examine your fraud mitigation processes

4. Consider whether it’s the right time to automate

5. Create your business case