Why AP Automation Is Less Expensive Than You Think

AP automation is a highly effective way to streamline and scale your processes. But for many finance teams, the idea of implementing new technology into existing processes feels risky, and the perception that these systems are costly and disruptive furthers their apprehension.

The ROI of well-implemented solutions and new technologies, leading to less costly and disruptive implementations, paints a different picture. Let’s dispel the myths of costly AP automation, together.

Jumping Into The Numbers

When analyzing risks, it’s first important to know what a successful payoff will look like, and with AP automation, the payoff can be enormous. To illustrate the difference A/P Automation makes, here are some benchmarking metrics for top and bottom Accounts Payable performers from 2022 to 2023.

Total Cost of Invoicing Per Invoice Processed (CFO.com):

Top: $1.42

Bottom: $6.00

Cycle Time to Resolve an Invoice Error (APQC):

Top: 3 Days

Bottom: 6 Days

Time from Receipt to Schedule (APQC):

Top: 2.8 Days

Bottom: 7 Days

Number of Invoices Processed per FTE (APQC):

Top: 20,964

Bottom: 6,488

What Really Drives the Cost of AP Automation

In addition to high, proven ROI, AP automation solutions can be surprisingly affordable, especially when meeting specific needs. Below are some of the factors that can affect the cost of your solution:

• System Size and Scale – Your invoice volume and user count can significantly affect the cost of your solution. A small or mid-sized business will naturally require a smaller investment than a multi-entity enterprise.

• Integration Scope – Costs can also depend on the number of systems that need to be connected. Linking to one ERP is simpler than building bridges across several business applications. 
• Customization Needs – While some organizations require custom strategies and designs, many succeed with ready-made workflows and pre-configured options. 
• Deployment Model – Cloud-based AP automation lowers infrastructure and maintenance costs, offering predictable, subscription-style pricing.

Soft ROI That Adds Value to Your Investment

While the numbers often speak for themselves, AP automation also comes with several soft benefits that add to the value of your investment.

• Time Savings – Fewer hours spent keying invoices or chasing approvals. 
• Error Reduction – Lower risk of duplicated payments, late fees, or lost documents. 
• Early-Payment Discounts – Faster approval cycles unlock opportunities to capture supplier discounts. 
• Audit Readiness – Automatic document tracking simplifies compliance and reduces audit costs.

Many organizations recover their initial investment within 6 months through these benefits.

Find out what you can be saving from increased productivity alone with our ROI Calculator.

Adding Value with Integrations

Integrating your AP automation solution with a financial system can bring immense additional value. From eliminating data entry to opening data silos, teams are more efficient and productive when their tools work together.

• Fuel Workflows – Information extracted from documents can be routed, analyzed, and referenced in financial systems to empower business decisions
• Automate Tasks – Simplify general ledger coding and payable invoice creation with shared information.
• Gain Data Oversight – Ensure all teams have access to the same trusted information, regardless of the systems they use.

These benefits create additional ROI for your solution, and with new innovations, they may not even significantly increase your solution’s total cost. 

Find out how you can integrate with our Integration Checklist.

Innovations Driving Down Costs

New technology in the AP automation space is making these solutions even more affordable by eliminating the need for expensive development and maintenance.

• No-Code Workflows – Drag-and-drop configuration empowers teams to design approval routes faster and more cost-effectively.
• Zero-Disruption Integrations – With a simple addition to a no-code, drag-and-drop workflow, organizations can ensure an effortless, cost-effective, and disruption-free integration with any platform that has a RESTful API.
• Generative AI Capture – Intelligent document processing accurately extracts invoice data without prebuilt templates, dramatically reducing setup and ongoing maintenance.
• Cloud Deployment – Pay-as-you-go pricing and automatic updates lower upfront costs and speed time to value.

These advancements help lower implementation costs while paving the way for effortless scaling as your business grows.

The Bottom Line

AP automation integration isn’t the costly, high-risk project it is frequently assumed to be. With fast, effective, and proven ROI, as well as innovations for rapid deployment, businesses can access efficiency and insights far more affordably than ever before.

How Square 9 Can Help

Square 9 Softworks is a generative AI-powered platform that removes the frustration of extracting data from documents, forms, and all external sources, so you can harness the full power of your information. Release your team from repetitive tasks while your work flows freely in areas like accounts payable, order processing, onboarding, contract management, and more. The Square 9 platform captures your unstructured content, transforms it into clean, searchable data, and securely shares it across your organization to accelerate your decisions and actions.