Beyond AP Automation: The Forgotten Documents That Don’t Make It Into Dynamics

Your ERP knows what was ordered, but does it know if that order was properly fulfilled?

It knows what a customer purchased, but does it have the latest order change? It tracks inventory, but can staff easily find the inspection report explaining why certain items shouldn’t be shipped?

For organizations using Microsoft Dynamics 365, these gaps can make it harder to get a complete picture of what’s happening across the business.

AI-powered invoice capture and automated approvals help accounts payable teams reduce manual data entry and process invoices more efficiently. But invoices represent only a fraction of the documents that support daily operations.

Packing slips, receiving reports, bills of lading, delivery tickets, inspection reports, and order confirmations contain information that directly affects purchasing, inventory, and fulfillment.

Too often, that information never makes it into Dynamics in a usable form.

Why AP Automation Gets the Attention While Other Documents Get Overlooked

Accounts payable is a natural starting point for automation. Invoices follow relatively consistent processes, contain recognizable data fields, and can be costly to process manually.

But what about the documents that arrive before an invoice? Or those that never result in one?

• A warehouse employee receives a packing slip.
• A delivery driver submits a signed ticket.
• A quality manager completes an inspection report.
• A customer sends an updated purchase order.

These documents come from different departments, locations, vendors, and customers. They may arrive by email, through scanning, on mobile devices, or on paper.

Without a way to capture and connect this information, employees may struggle to find the context they need to make informed decisions.

When Your ERP Is Accurate, but Your Operations Aren’t

An ERP can only reflect the information it receives.

Consider a distributor expecting a shipment of 1,000 units. The purchase order in Dynamics shows 1,000 units ordered, but the supplier delivers only 950.

The packing slip documents the actual delivery, but it remains in a warehouse folder instead of being connected to the appropriate receiving record.

Until that discrepancy is identified and recorded, employees may make decisions based on outdated inventory information. A sales representative could promise stock that isn’t available, or purchasing could delay replenishment.

Capturing and validating receiving documents helps businesses identify these discrepancies sooner and keep operational records aligned with what actually happens.

How Intelligent Document Processing Extends Microsoft Dynamics Automation

Intelligent Document Processing can classify documents and extract relevant information, making it usable in business processes. Unlike traditional capture methods, IDP accurately lifts information across all document types and data fields with minimal setup and maintenance.

When combined with workflow automation and ERP integrations, the information it extracts can support processes within additional business systems like Dynamics.

While ERPs like Dynamics are incredible at managing business transactions with the right data and context, they often rely on documents that originate outside the ERP.

By structuring document data and making it accessible across systems, IDP helps drive purchasing, inventory, fulfillment, and financial decisions.

The Business Value of Going Beyond AP Automation

Extending document automation beyond accounts payable can help organizations improve operations across departments.

More Accurate Inventory and Fewer Exceptions

Capturing receiving documents and identifying discrepancies earlier helps employees resolve quantity mismatches, missing information, and other issues before they affect fulfillment, invoicing, or purchasing decisions.

Faster Fulfillment and Better Collaboration

Connecting sales orders, shipping records, and delivery documents makes it easier for purchasing, warehouse operations, finance, and customer service to access the information they need without searching across disconnected systems.

Stronger Traceability

Keeping supporting documents associated with relevant business records gives organizations better visibility into what was ordered, delivered, received, inspected, and approved. This context can help during audits, quality investigations, and vendor disputes.

Greater Value From Dynamics 365

Connecting document information with existing business systems helps organizations get more value from their ERP investment while reducing the manual work required to keep information accessible and up to date.

How Square 9 Can Help

Square 9 Softworks is a provider of generative AI-powered Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) and workflow automation software. Square 9 captures data from documents, forms, emails, and other unstructured content, then uses AI to transform that information into accurate, structured, searchable data that can be securely shared with business applications and workflows.

Organizations use Square 9 to automate processes such as accounts payable, invoice processing, order processing, vendor onboarding, contract management, and other document-driven workflows. By reducing manual data entry and repetitive tasks, Square 9 helps organizations improve efficiency, accelerate business processes, and make better use of their information.

Square 9 delivers a 15-month average ROI, the fastest average ROI among the document management providers compared on G2, where competitors range from 17 to 29 months. The comparison is based on G2 User Satisfaction Ratings as of August 2, 2026.