Many finance teams are still in the process of learning how to harness artificial Intelligence (AI) in their accounts payable processes. Some AP departments still have to rely on manual processing that is time-consuming and error-prone and incorporating AI will make it much easier for AP staff to process the many invoices they receive each week as quickly and efficiently as possible. Implementing AI can help them to prioritize their time to maximize efficiency, identify emerging trends, and rebuff some security threats. Yet not everyone is comfortable with AI at this time, particularly those who work in the finance department. SAPinsider’s recent AI and Automation in Finance benchmark report found that just 31% of SAP organizations are actively using AI to bolster their invoice and payments processing solutions, while the remaining 69% are only starting to explore AI technology.

Leveraging AI to Bolster AP Processes

Often, the biggest hurdle that companies face in implementing AI into their financial workflows is a lack of buy-in at the executive level. To help these organizations make their business case for AI, the AP experts at Serrala highlighted four key use cases where AI can prove vital for AP functions. Cashflow Forecasting & Optimization – AI can help companies to predict their liabilities and cash outflow in the next month, quarter, or farther into the future. AI can quickly analyze the effects of seasonal variations, economic conditions, and other factors such as historic invoicing, approval and posting patterns to help companies manage their liquidity more efficiently and effectively. Early Payment Discounts – Many vendors offer early payments discounts, but it can be difficult for companies to know which vendors to prioritize. AI solutions can help identify eligible invoices for discounts, calculate potential savings, and provide intelligent recommendations for how to proceed. Invoice Processing and Workflow Optimization – AI is a powerful tool for overcoming human errors in AP processes. It can identify exceptions, errors and discrepancies and then provide proactive solutions for addressing any problems. It can also help users optimize their workflows by suggesting next best steps based on past performance. These AI-powered suggestions can dramatically reduce processing times by nudging users to take the correct course of action. They can also recommend new, more efficient processing methodologies so humans can use their time more effectively. Reporting & Analytics – Many companies are turning to AI in their quest for end-to-end financial visibility and are using conversational AI to replace traditional financial reports. With AI users can save time and effort by asking in plain language for answers to specific questions. AI tools can use these prompts to analyze the available data and generate custom AP reports that summarize all relevant information and offer insights into how organizations can save time and money throughout the process.

Overcoming AI Hurdles with Alevate AP

To meet the needs of SAP organizations, Serrala offers its cloud-native, AI-based Alevate AP solution. Alevate AP automates invoice processing, speeding up the process through AI-based document capture, and intelligently power exception handling and approval workflows that reducing the cost per invoice by up to 50%. The Alevate AP solution is designed to seamlessly integrate with the any ERP and provides faster time to value from AP automation for organizations moving to SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud. Its powerful invoice capture capabilities utilize Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) and machine learning to ingest and interpret data with a high level of accuracy, even for semi-structured or unstructured data. Alevate AP uses the highly accurate invoice data to accelerate AP processes, which automatically move through any additional processing steps your business requires to post and pay an invoice.

Conclusion

Accounts Payable is a vital part of any business as it helps organizations to optimize their working capital to bolster the organization’s overall financial health. Organizations are turning to AI to bolster their cashflow optimization, find early payment discounts, optimize invoice processing and workflows, while also generating unique insights from available data. Many SAP organizations are turning to AI-based solutions like Serrala Alevate AP to reap these benefits. The easy to deploy cloud solution provides seamless integration with any ERP and is able to eliminate up to 80% of manual processing tasks. It also provides a single source of truth via CFO dashboards so that finance leaders can quickly assess their AP workflows. By adding the power of AI to their AP automation solution, finance professionals can stop wasting their time doing menial tasks and spend more of their time on important work that drives value for their enterprise.