Every day, accounting teams face a deluge of data – invoices, purchase orders, vendor details, and more – and they need to process all of it to keep a business’ financial engine running. Faced with this volume of information, and the fact that approximately 86% of accounting teams still enter data manually – it's not surprising that many AP teams spend most of their time on tedious, manual tasks.
Not only do manual processes take up a lot of time that could be better spent on more strategic endeavors, they’re also prone to human error. In fact, an astounding 88% of finance professionals identify manual data entry as the primary cause of payment errors.
So how can accounting teams better manage this challenging scenario? Well, artificial intelligence (AI) is perfectly positioned to empower accounting teams and help reduce manual errors, accelerate workflows, and protect accountants from the ever-present risk of fraud.
In this blog, we'll explore why AI data capture is one of the strongest value propositions for accountants, and why it should be embraced as an essential aspect of Accounts Payable automation.
The value of AI in AP workflows
According to Deloitte’s State of AI in the Enterprise, 5th edition report, 94% of business leaders surveyed agree that AI is critical to success over the next five years.
It's important to remember that AI and humans do not have the same abilities. Instead, when combined, the two can work in tandem to make the financial arm of a business more productive and efficient. AI-enabled systems remove repetitive work like data entry, so accountants can redirect their time to perform high-value, high-impact tasks.
The value of AI in AP workflows
AI-enabled AP automation solutions like Quadient Accounts Payable Automation by Beanworks can eliminate much of the manual data entry required during the AP process. Quadient AP provides AI-powered technology to extract invoice information with more than 99% accuracy, helping to eliminate errors and mitigate the risk of accounting fraud.
Quadient's proprietary tool SmartCapture automatically picks up the header information from invoices, simplifying the day-to-day challenges in data entry. In addition, Quadient's proprietary GL smart coding feature called Line Item Capture extracts line item information, such as descriptions and unit costs — meaning this information no longer needs to be entered manually.
Taken together, these AI solutions empower accounting teams with single-click invoice coding at 99% accuracy, reduce manual data entry by 80%, and deliver 9X faster invoice processing speeds.
A real-life success story: Radisson Blu Hotels
Before implementing Quadient AP, Radisson Blu hotels were spending 40% of their time on data entry and keying invoices. With rapid growth on the horizon, they knew they needed to make their AP workflows more efficient and effective.
Radisson Blu implemented Quadient AP and achieved their stated goal of reducing the time spent chasing approvals, providing the AP team and department heads with the time they needed to focus on higher-value activities. In addition, they found that Quadient AP presented them with opportunities for additional cost savings, while reducing errors in their workflows.
"Before Quadient AP, our AP clerk was spending 30-40% of their time doing data entry and keying in invoices. The whole process was time consuming and Quadient AP has eliminated a lot of that. We're saving at least 50% of our time in accounts payable."
- Dean Olevson, Director of Finance, Radisson Blu Minneapolis Downtown
It’s time to use AI to your advantage
Quadient’s AI-powered AP automation solution is the key to modernizing your AP workflows. You’ll increase productivity and collaboration while gaining visibility into your processes, and reducing your risk of fraud.
When you’re ready to invest in Quadient AP to automate your AP workflows, we're here to help. Book a demo today!
