How automating accounts payable (AP) transforms procurement

Manual invoice processing is a common cause of delays to procurement processes. Data entry and approval processes can take hours, supplier relationships suffer because of delayed payments and procurement teams lose their time to repetitive tasks that don’t add value to your organisation.

Accounts payable (AP) automation addresses these challenges in a single solution. It streamlines your daily workflows reducing data errors and aligning procurement with finance through enhanced shared visibility and control which enables smarter business buying.
 

What is AP automation in procurement?

AP automation refers to the use of digital tools designed to simplify the accounts payable process. It replaces data entry done by hand, paper-based invoices and email-based approvals with automated workflows. AP tools intelligently capture invoice data, route approvals to the correct approvers, process payment transactions and match supplier invoices with your receipts and purchase orders.

AP automation software transforms manual tasks into digital workflows that handle the complete invoice lifecycle. In practice that means:

• Extracting critical invoice data including vendor details, amounts and line items

• Validating invoices against purchase orders and vendor receipts

• Automatically routing approvals based on predefined rules

• Scheduling, sending and processing payments according to contract terms

• Enabling suppliers to submit invoices directly through electronic invoicing.

Manual entry of invoices into enterprise resource planning (ERP) or accounting systems has dropped from 85% to just 60% between 2023 and 2025. The efficiency gains this change represents are evident: 52% of accounts payable professionals now spend fewer than ten hours per week processing invoices compared to 62% in 2024. 
 

Common challenges AP automation solves

Traditional AP processes steal time away from more important work bogging finance and procurement teams down with additional administrative tasks that can result in higher error rates and slower approval processes.

This has consequences. Slower approvals mean delayed payments, damaging supplier relationships and sometimes losing the organisation money through missed early-payment discounts. Manual data entry can lead to more errors that require time-consuming corrections. A lack of real-time insights skews forecasting accuracy.

Without an AP automation solution at your disposal these challenges only intensify as your organisation grows. Key areas including compliance, visibility, accuracy and productivity are affected.
 

Why AP and procurement integration matters

When AP and procurement systems are integrated your organisation gains insights into spending patterns, compliance and supplier performance. This enables three-way matching between purchase orders, receipts and invoices, which automatically validates that orders received match delivery expectations and documentation.

This collaboration transforms procurement by giving AP teams accurate data on committed spend while ensuring procurement professionals understand payment cycles and supplier reliability at a glance. As a result teams that integrate AP with procurement are better placed to make smart decisions that align with core business goals.
 

Key benefits of automating accounts payable

Faster invoicing is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to AP automation. When used intelligently it can become an invaluable way to achieve cost savings, increase compliance and support data-driven decision-making.
 

Reduction in processing time and human error

Accounts payable automation solves two challenges simultaneously: slow invoice times and data entry mistakes. Modern solutions eliminate manual data entry, reduce the time needed to correct errors and allow you to handle higher invoice volumes without the need to increase staffing.

These benefits aren’t just productive – they’re profitable. Automating approval workflows, invoice data capture and electronic payments has been shown to reduce processing costs by up to 80%.
 

Enhanced compliance and audit readiness

Without automation audits can be costly and tedious. AP tools create comprehensive audit trails that document every action on every invoice. Automated invoice approval workflows ensure compliance with internal controls and prevent teams from making unauthorised payments.

Consequently fraud and maverick spending decrease alongside reduced invoice payment delays. The AP automation system maintains accurate version history and relevant documentation creating complete records for auditors to review.
 

Improved forecasting and visibility on spend

AP automation systems feature real-time dashboards that provide granular visibility across company spend, cash flow and upcoming payments. Finance leaders can understand spend and financial flexibility at a glance enabling faster, more informed decision-making.

With the ability to drill down into categories, departmental spend and supplier relationship data, organisations using automated AP software are better equipped to accurately forecast future cash needs and budget accordingly.
 

How AP automation helps managed spend goals

Traditional accounts payable workflows create silos that hinder teams from working together and lead to issues like data duplication, rogue spending and inconsistencies. Conversely, automated AP processes help you align finance and procurement with broader organisational goals.
 

Linking finance and procurement data

Connecting accounts payable with procurement creates a single source of truth for purchasing activities. It means finance teams see the same information updated in real time as procurement does.

Having holistic insights into spend helps enforce purchasing policies and ensure contract compliance while curtailing maverick spend. Finance can trace payments to original purchase orders while procurement can spot and address discrepancies before they become a bigger problem.
 

Supporting socially responsible procurement and responsible purchasing goals

Increased spend visibility doesn’t just help you resolve challenges quickly – it also allows organisations to measure and analyse responsible sourcing and purchasing initiatives. AP systems can track key metrics like sustainability, supplier diversity and local business designation as part of clear reporting so that purchases align with your organisation’s values.
 

Reducing duplicate or unauthorised spend

AP automation uses intelligent matching to flag potential duplicate payments before the duplicate transaction occurs. By comparing invoices against payment history the system proactively detects similar amounts, dates and supplier details.

These systems take compliance a step further by automatically blocking payments to unapproved suppliers and preventing teams from spending above approved thresholds. 
 

How to implement AP automation successfully

Successfully automating your accounts payable processes doesn’t happen overnight. Rather it requires careful planning and a phased approach to ensure you strike the right balance between user adoption and business continuity.
 

Audit your AP workflow

Before you start map out your entire accounts payable process. This means:

• Documenting the end-to-end invoicing process from receipt to payment

• Identifying common bottlenecks, error-prone activities and time-consuming processes

• Understanding the greatest AP-related frustrations affecting your teams.

This will give you a baseline for measuring the success of your implementation and help you prioritise which workflows to automate first based on where the biggest opportunities are.
 

Integrate automation with existing procurement tools

To benefit most from your implementation you must integrate your AP solution with your existing procurement platform, ERP system and accounting software. This facilitates data consistency across teams and systems and will save you countless hours down the line thanks to automatic updates that replace manual data duplication.
 

Train teams to ensure adoption and compliance

Success lies in adoption, not technology alone – the best system is useless if your teams aren’t properly trained on how to use it. For your AP department rethinking buying operations is only made possible through clarity and transparency.

Invest in comprehensive training that demonstrates both why and how your AP automation solution makes work easier for relevant stakeholders in the company. Create clear documentation for teams to refer back to whenever problems arise. Before full deployment gather as much user feedback as you can and address these concerns proactively.
 

Choosing the right AP automation partner

There’s no one-size-fits-all AP solution that works for every organisation. The needs of a growing small to medium enterprise differ from those of a complex, multi-entity global enterprise. To find the right solution for your organisation you must evaluate providers across functionality, integration, time savings, accuracy and scalability.
 

Prioritise these features

Depending on the needs of your organisation some AP automation features may be essential while others sit in the nice-to-have bucket. However there is some functionality worth prioritising if you wish to harness the biggest advantages of an automated system. These include:

• Automatic invoice data capture and approval routing

• Flexible approval workflows

• Comprehensive three-way invoice matching

• Real-time analytics dashboards

• Scalability without performance degradation.

While these features are important, the solution must also fit your organisation’s budget. Make sure to evaluate pricing beyond subscription fees. Additionally, consider the total cost of ownership by calculating implementation, training, support and integration costs.
 

Compliance and data security considerations

Unlike other business functions accounts payable deals with sensitive financial data and must therefore comply with rigorous security standards. Your chosen AP automation tool should follow best practices regarding access control and data encryption. 

Verify that the vendor is GDPR and SOC 2 Type II compliant before investing. Evaluate capabilities like role-based access, user permissions and audit trails. If you’re in a highly regulated industry ensure your chosen solution supports financial controls and retains records.
 

Integration with ERP and procurement systems

To maximise the benefits of AP automation choose a solution that seamlessly integrates with your existing ERP and procurement platforms. A reliable integration reduces time spent manually reconciling work and prevents errors.

Evaluate pre-built connectors by speaking to sales about integration capabilities and reading online reviews that specifically reference how well the software works with your existing systems.
 

Build smarter, connected procurement

AP automation has the power to transform how finance and procurement work together. It gives your teams more bandwidth to focus on growth-enabling activities like managing supplier relationships by eliminating slow, error-prone manual processes.

Solutions like Amazon Business help reduce processing costs, enforce compliance and provide the real-time insights needed to make informed buying decisions. By aligning procurement with finance, AP automation also places you in the best position to obtain early-payment discounts and put your  responsible sourcing initiatives into action.
 

Speak to one of our team members today to learn more about how Amazon Business helps organisations connect finance and procurement through smart automation tools.