As experienced back office accounting professionals who work with thousands of businesses, we have highlighted the top 5 automation features that your business needs. Check out the list below.  

1. Accounts Payable Workflow Technology 

Electronic data workflows simplify the AP processes, eliminate ambiguity, boost productivity, reduce waste, and provide you with more control over the method. Therefore, if you have already digitized your AP, using end-to-end workflow technology is the ideal approach to pick it up a notch.  

2. Electronic/Digital Document Management System 

A manual accounts payable system's main problem is physical records of purchase agreements or bills that get lost along the way. In AP, important documents frequently manage to disappear when they are most required. 

All of these issues can be resolved by implementing a central filing system, which offers consolidated platforms for data and record recovery at the precise moment you require them. To minimize a cost burden, make sure your AP automation software has the appropriate document management system. 

3. Intuitive Character Recognition Tools 

The ability to use dashboards, workflow technology, and digital document solutions depends on how well the documents have been digitized. Consider using OCR technologies to scan the records if you haven't yet made the switch from manual processing. 

An OCR program effectively recognizes the content from the scanned image or picture when supplied with handwritten or physical documents to transform them into PDF files. In this manner, the groundwork for digitization can be laid, saving hours of laborious manual labor in front of a computer. Imagine trying to back up and digitize thousands of pages of important documents. That can be a logistical nightmare. It is better to use OCR to do the work for you.  

4. Accounts Payable Dashboards 

The dashboards provide the most transparency, even though the workflow can be configured with an automated alert to guarantee that the correct invoice reaches the correct person. 

Dashboards provide a high-level, clear picture of payment and invoice processing to provide easy access to the status. Unlike in the past, when employees had to regularly bounce back and forth to learn that an invoice was stalled in processing, AP experts, managers, and accountants now have the necessary data at their disposal. To provide frictionless reporting and effective tracking to prevent obstacles, it is essential to have a strong dashboard in place.  

Small Business data report says that more than 50% of small businesses across the world are open to financial fraud due to their faulty AP systems. To avoid such severe financial horrors, make sure your system has a simple yet efficient dashboard. 

5. Payment Optimization  

For some firms that do not provide a variety of payment methods or do not use automation, transactions are a pain point for them. Payment optimization tools that analyze and deliver relevant insights for optimized payments and savings can benefit greatly from the extensive payment history of a business. Companies can even get paid for fulfilling their obligations and utilizing virtual credit systems with the proper payment optimization.  

Businesses can also take advantage of recurring payments with their automated AP system. The same payment to the same vendor or employee that goes out every month can be completely automated and save you a lot of time.  

1. Create a business bank account 

If you do not set up a separate business account, there is a high chance that you will find it very hard to close your books at month and year-end. Why? You will have to go through all your expenses individually to know which is a personal and business transaction. 

To avoid such situations, create a separate business account so that all expenses are directly accounted for, and you get instant updates about them. Month-end bookkeeping and accounts reconciliation work also become easy for your whole team.  

Along with this, you must also get dedicated business credit and debit cards. This helps the business get a line of credit scores along with all the transactions you make. Why do you need it? This will create a solid ground for you in the future when you want to get financial investments and credit from outside sources to grow your business.  

2. Choose between cash and accrual accounting 

According to GAAP standards, businesses which have annual turnovers of more than $5 million need to follow accrual accounting methods. The rest of the companies with below $5 million annual turnover can also follow cash methods. Both have their own sets of advantages and disadvantages, so if you are confused about which one is better, ask your accountant.  

If you do not have an in-house accountant, you can go for outsourced accounting services and get a consultation from experts at much cheaper rates. After you finalize an accounting method, start accounting for all your transactions and register and log them into a centralized office system. You should preferably also back up these data in a cloud-based backup system to ensure no transaction records and history is lost in transition.  

3. Choose a to automate back office accounting  

The back office accounting software industry is growing leaps and bounds and automating most of the repetitive and tedious work in accounting. Things like verifying invoices, sending payment requests, generating invoices, verifying transactions, and categorizing them can all be automated with the right software. 

But every industry has its own set of software options for back office accounting work, so before you choose, make sure you do a thorough background check. Since it provides a great level of automation, even many experienced accountants are also using a selection of technology to help in their work. A Sage survey and market research found that more than 58% of American accountants feel that their efficiency and productivity increased after they started software usage.  

4. Categorize all expenses 

When you are running a business, you must learn to categorize your expenses to help manage them better. You can categorize them by date, time, departments, expense type, etc. So, when there are any issues with any transactions, you can get quick updates on it if you look by category. You can ask the respective departments to get back to you and save the rest of the employees the extra hassle.  

Take a look at the dynamic and diverse benefits of using AI in your AP system to make back office work hassle-free and devoid of errors. Read on to know more. 

• Automation plans 

There are multiple daily tasks that your Accounts Payable team handles on a daily basis. These tasks are repetitive yet need high levels of accuracy. Things like invoice filing and retrieval, data entry, invoice routing, and much more can become automated with the use of AI. You can also add Machine Learning to this, and you will get data identification and extraction work done in minutes. It also helps you understand and categorize the data based on the findings and conclusions, making your life easier.  

This will help completely digitalize your accounting system and eventually make future data search much easier. This is exactly why more than 58% of expert accountants want to start investing in AI-based automation services to upgrade their businesses.  

• In-depth data analysis 

When your Accounts Payable system uses AI to process data, you can also use the findings for better accounting budgeting and forecasting. It will tally future revenue and upcoming expenses to help you understand your cash flow and expenditure abilities. AI will give you balance sheet forecasts to help better your future financial plans. Survey says that more than 51% of accountants believe that processing and analyzing data findings of AI automated systems will become the next big thing in coming years. Find that intriguing? That is exactly why you need to start investing in AI-based accounting automation plans. 

• Follow up on all compliances and regulations  

Analyzing big bulks of data to keep up with all compliances and regulations can be a back-breaking task. Even the smallest of human errors can become major setbacks during audits. The use of AI can simply process all these complex data to find all discrepancies. From flagging problem areas and high-risk documents, AI can be trained to do all of it. You will be further saved from all future legal and audit issues by keeping all documents in order.  

• Reduced errors and costs 

More than 80% of business executives believe that the use of AI in accounting gives them get better efficiency. From the loss of invoices to double payments, humans can end up making many small errors that can cost your business millions of dollars. These errors can be easily avoided with the use of an AI-based AP system. From cutting down costs on physical invoices to avoiding extra payments, AI can benefit you in multiple avenues and cut down on unnecessary expenditure.  

• Fraud detection  

Today, virtually all industries depend on digital implementation to recover from the pandemic. Many real estate firms still rely on traditional paperwork for lease agreements, accounting, and other processes, 

Tenant portals aren't the same as ERP software, but their advantages extend to numerous departments. For instance, remote communications keep your resources safe by aiding with social distancing.