The need for automation is a strong testament that the business is growing and that it has grown to a scale that requires a more effective way of managing invoices. Many organizations realize the need for automation especially in terms of accounts receivable automation. Surprisingly despite the realization that the manual way of doing things is getting more and more tedious by the day, many organizations still have a lot of reservations when it comes to switching into an automated process.
Accounts receivable automation is definitely not something new. In fact, many best-in-class organizations are already implementing this. Over the last decade, it has become increasingly popular as more companies realize the need for an optimized A/R in such volatile economic climate.
So what is it really that hinders accounting professionals from taking the first step towards the switch? Here are the top 4 reasons based on our interview with several CFOs, finance managers, accountants, or finance analysts.
- Human Nature´s Fear of Change
“We have always done it this way and it has always worked” is a common statement accounting professionals make. True, maybe the traditional, manual way of handling invoices work but is it efficient?
Making the move from manual to automated process can be very intimidating because it can change the way things are done. However, it is wrong to say that it will be completely changed. The core processes will remain the same with the main difference being: the software will now do the job for you. You can free your time on repetitive tasks and channel that time and energy to those that require a more personal touch.
- Loss of Process Control
This is a common misconception – that there will loss of control once the software starts to take over. However, this is not really the case. A good solution will always leave room for automation and human interaction. Quite contrary to this misconception, a good solution will actually allow you to control what they system does or what it doesn´t.
- Implementation and Usage challenges
This misconception comes down to choices – which vendor do you feel can provide you a painless implementation and at the same time which solution do you think can be easily adopted by your accounting personnel?
In general if you compare an ERP implementation with that of an A/R implementation, you will find that ERP implementation is much more complex. On the other hand, A/R implementation requires very minimal IT involvement. A solution that has native Excel interface will also aid in making sure that there is higher acceptance rate among accounting professionals ensuring that there is easier usage since it is an interface already familiar to many finance people.
- Cost of Software
The cost of implementation and the software is not free nor is it cheap but if you look around properly, you can find reasonably priced solutions that suits your needs and budget range. The technique is to keep looking at different vendors to make sure that you cover different price points and different versions of the software.
Conclusion
The switch from manual process to automated process can be quite daunting in the beginning but there are many good reasons why the best-in-class organizations shifted to an automated way. You will have better control of the process, the workflow will be faster, less staff required in the process, and workflow will be more efficient among others.
DSPanel offers cutting edge technology platform for business analytics, planning, and visualization. DSPanel designs, builds, and operates with the end users in mind. Performance Canvas was created by DSPanel to answer the unarticulated needs of the market not addressed by previous available solutions. With Performance Canvas, information is transformed into valuable business insights for the business executives to utilize in their decision-making process. DSPanel currently has over 2500 organizations deploying their solutions.
