Much has been said about the rise of teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic. This trend coincided with a rise in cloud software and automation adoption to enable teams across business units to continue working from home. According to a recent article from the Accounts Payable Association, 2022 will continue to see a rise in AP automation adoption.
“2022 looks to bring much more automation with it for accounts payable teams,” said the article. “Software used for automating a number of tasks has already been developed and implemented to great success, so it’s only a matter of time before more companies adopt this innovative approach.”
Here are some of the accounts payable trends you can expect to see in 2022, particularly within accounts payable technology initiatives, according to the article and our own observations.
Integrating AP Solutions for Collaboration
Expect to see technology professionals looking to integrate accounts payable data with the wider data stack throughout the organization. This is mostly true for larger companies where collaboration requires more of a software-based approach to collaboration, compared to SMB organizations where teams are smaller and often more tightly knit. Still, SMBs stand to gain significant advantages from AP automation software that is tightly integrated with ERP and other software.
When AP software is integrated to a central solution like ERP, businesses can better align departments like procurement, manufacturing, warehousing and overall accounting, making for a better oiled machine. Enabling collaboration through integration means greater efficiency across departments.
Continued Remote Working
While workers have returned to the office in large numbers in recent months, expect to continue seeing teams working remotely much more frequently than we saw prior to the pandemic.
“The ability to work remotely offers a lot of benefits for the company and staff,” said the AP Association. “The business will have a more flexible workforce--in some cases they may not have to renew a lease for office space and there is lower staff turnover due to the improved work-life balance.”
A Push for Stronger Data Security
Whether implementing new and tighter controls and policies around data security, outsourcing cybersecurity, installing security technology or a combination of all of the above, cybersecurity is a top concern for most businesses. Where accounts payable is concerned, payments fraud presents an ongoing challenge. Installing software to automate accounts payable processes is one of the most important steps leaders can take to protect their businesses against payments fraud.
To learn more about the most recent payments fraud trends and how to protect your business check out our recent article: Payments Fraud Trends 2021
Electronic Payments
While 25% of businesses still prefer to pay their vendors with paper checks, 2022 will see an increased move toward digital payments methods for B2B transactions. Electronic payments are more secure, more efficient and more cost effective when compared to paper checks.
You may also be interested in Electronic Payments: What Businesses Should Know
Accounts Payable-as-a-Service (APaaS)
APaaS includes AP automation software and services to take the busy work out of AP processing. With APaaS businesses achieve more efficiency in their accounting department while internal accounting teams and systems maintain control. APaaS may include Fully Managed Invoice Data Capture, Exception Based Workflow and Flexible Fulfillment Services. Learn more: What if Accounts Payable was a Service? APaaS for Business
Microsoft Dynamics GP Accounts Payable Automation
We want to ensure you get the most out of Dynamics GP with our value-adding, modernized solution. By streamlining your AP processing with Fidesic, you can automate non-value adding tasks and focus on strategic decision making.
