Top 5 Benefits of Automating Procurement Card Payments

Paying vendors can be tricky – especially procurement vendors. When it comes time to pay, It’s not uncommon to see approved POs require secondary approval. And that can take time. Maybe your boss is on vacation, or your approval request is just on the bottom of the pile. Either way, it can have a major impact on your ability to do business – from field events to inventory shortages, even full product shut down (Did you pay your AWS bill this month?!). 

Most big companies automate the A/P process in some way. But what about when you need to pay with a card? Automating card payments will not only save you time and eliminate approval hassles, it will also ensure your events team can pay the caterer and vendors don’t shut down critical services or infrastructure, among other issues that would make you cringe.

So, what does it actually mean to “automate procurement payments”? Let’s find out. 

What is Procurement Payments Automation Software?

Any software that removes the manual aspect of procurement payments falls under the category of procurement payments automation software. As we mentioned earlier, this includes solutions for A/P, as well as card payments. 

This can be software that’s integrated directly to a procurement system, or to an ERP, but either way, its core function is to automatically issue payment to vendors based on the terms of the purchase order or contract. It streamlines data capture so that a transaction or check is automatically linked to a specific PO, and links that back to the accounting software speeding up month-end close, and can even automate additional, pre-payment approvals – not to mention reminding that busy approver to click “APPROVED”.

Ideally, the entire PO to payment process for cards is just as painless as automated A/P payments – perhaps even more! 

5 Benefits of Automation

1. Save Time

Manually reading and entering information from an invoice or purchase order is slow and time-consuming. And despite checking (and double checking) documents, when errors are made additional time is needed to correct mistakes. Automation software speeds up the process and makes accounting practically instantaneous. 

2. Improve Accuracy

With manual data entry comes the possibility of human error. By automating the procurement payment process with software, manual errors are eliminated. OCR technology can reliably scan and interpret invoices, purchase orders, and receipts instantly and accurately.

3. Easily Access Documents

By automating the procurement payment process, documents no longer need to be physically shared or stored. Digital receipts and invoices are much quicker and easier to send and store, and are also easily searchable for specific information.

Automated software allows the finance team to securely store documents, while also making them easily accessible to team members who need to review them.

4. Save Money

We all know time is money. So, saving time by using procurement payment automation software means that you are also saving your company money. Employees no longer need to spend lots of time on data entry, so payroll can instead be put towards employees who can contribute high-value work for the finance team.

Additionally, automated software allows you to store documents in the cloud, which eliminates the need for expensive filing systems or storage space, as well as the cost of ink and paper.

5. Increase Productivity

Manually managing the procurement to payment process involves tasks like creating purchase orders, getting approval, contacting suppliers, invoice approval, and finally, paying vendors. All of these tasks can be eliminated with automated software. By removing the burden of these manual tasks, your finance team can focus on more valuable functions like strategic planning and analysis.  

Final Thoughts

Companies of all sizes should consider adopting procurement payments automation software as a modern, cost-efficient solution for your business. For a low cost, it offers high returns, as well as increasing productivity so your finance team can better use their resources for high-value work.

Learn more about how Mesh Payments can help your organization automate processes from procurement to payment.

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