What is AR Automation? How to streamline your accounts receivable process

What is accounts receivable automation? In this blog post, we’ll explain what this concept is all about and how it helps you streamline your AR collections process. You will also get some helpful tips on what to consider when choosing an AR automation service provider.

What is Accounts Receivable Automation?

Most people will agree that getting paid on time is vital for your operations. Even so, a lot of companies, of all sizes and across industries, face frequent hurdles when invoicing. Slow and tedious distribution and failing to fulfill customer invoicing requirements take time from your accounts receivable team, directly affecting your cash flow. That’s where Accounts Receivable Automation comes in.

AR Automation is, simply put, a way of automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks for your accounts receivable team. It can also help you increase the probability of immediately approved invoices that will be paid more quickly by your customers. It helps you save time and avoid mistakes that are frequently found on invoices – most of which occur either due to human error or not being aware of the invoicing requirements of the customer. Some perks of automation come from switching to and enjoying the benefits of e-invoicing.

Beyond checking articles for accuracy, pricing and company information, there can also be requirements from customers, such as specific means of distribution or purchase references to help them approve the invoice. Any mistakes in this process can lead to delayed payments, credited invoices and other disruptive and burdensome issues.

The benefits of AR Automation solutions

AR Automation helps you streamline your AR collections process, comply with local invoicing legislation, and distribute all your customer invoices electronically – regardless of your customers’ digital capabilities. You set up rules according to each customer’s needs so you can automatically fulfil requirements while maintaining a fully digital workflow.

Benefits at a glance

• Faster internal invoice handling

• Reduced DSO

• Faster payments

• Improved cash flow

• Greater security

• Increased accuracy

• Better customer relations

• Reduced distribution costs
  

Streamline your workflow

By reducing the time spent on each invoice and making the entire workflow more efficient, your AR team can concentrate on handling overdue payments or forecasting cash flow. In other words, by alleviating staff of the most tedious tasks, they can instead focus on ensuring that the company thrives.

Easily comply with legal requirements

An increasing number of countries have mandated e-invoicing, implementing systems such as Italy’s SDI. And since different countries have different requirements, it quickly becomes complex – especially if you have customers in many markets.

In these cases, some AR Automation solutions help you comply with local legislation. It gives you a single touchpoint for all of your global invoicing and lets you get paid across markets.