Automatisierte Rechnungsprüfung als outgesourcter Service

white paper Leveraging Accounts Payable Automation as a Service www.esker.com esker on DemanD white paper Table of Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Challenges in Accounts Payable ................................................................................................................................................ 5 What is the problem ................................................................................................................................................................. 5 How big is the problem ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 How valuable is the solution .................................................................................................................................................... 6 Overcoming the Challenges ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Productivity and transaction cost reduction ......................................................................................................................... 7 Financial management and risk control................................................................................................................................ 7 Supply chain and vendor relationships ................................................................................................................................. 7 Automated AP on Demand............................................................................................................................................................. 8 Efficiency at your service......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Fast deployment ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Process visibility and control ................................................................................................................................................... 8 Immediate Results .................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Saas FAQ ...........................................................................................................................................................................................11 About Esker ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Document automation leadership ....................................................................................................................................... 13 Improving processes throughout the enterprise ................................................................................................................. 13 Delivering SaaS benefits around the world.......................................................................................................................... 13 2 esker on DemanD white paper Introduction historically, accounts payable has been viewed as a pure cost of doing business, making the expense of buying, installing and maintaining software and hardware to automate Accounts Payable processing difficult to justify. But as companies look high and low for ways to conserve capital, they are finding potential they can’t ignore in Accounts Payable when they address the challenges of manual processing:  Receiving and collating invoices from different suppliers in different formats — mail, fax, email, eDi — and costs associated with manual document routing, shipping, couriers, storage, etc.  Data capture and errors associated with manual data entry in accounting systems, and labor-intensive processes required to input data linked to different costs centers  Approval lead times extended by manual routing and sign-off procedures involving individuals in different departments or locations  Payment delays and inability to capitalize on financial benefits associated with payment schedules, such as taking discounts for early payments and avoiding late fees for late payments  Reporting and audits of invoice processing and payments to match document flow with the accounting system  Risk of document loss or damage, as invoices are received at multiple input points and may be routed or classified incorrectly, which increases archive and compliance costs Businesses can no longer overlook the high costs and inefficiency of having staff spending so much time scrambling to enter invoices, get 5 Symptoms of Poor AP Performance the necessary signatures for approval of payment, file invoices and retrieve them. while companies may have tolerated this situation in 1 Dissatisfied 2 vendors or staff 3 4 the past, most can not afford to miss out on savings and run risks to their credit rating and regulatory compliance standing. they need 1 2 high rates of error in 3 4 5 to capture invoices quickly and accurately, be able to prioritize top invoice processing vendors, know where invoices are in the approval process and have 1 2 3 missed vendor discounts 5 4 immediate access to the documents as needed. and late charges accounts payable departments relying on manual processes are 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lengthy reconciliation and finding that adding staff does not solve the inherent problem. They payment cycles remain limited in their ability not only to minimize per-invoice costs but also to improve productivity. Financial planning, vendor relationships 1 2 3 4 5 inadequate 6 non- or and inter-enterprise communication may suffer. existent reporting Automation is the answer Companies recognize the value of automating accounts payable. research by aberdeen Group found that more than half of organizations surveyed say accounts payable is strategic — up from 40% in 2006. the institute of management and Administration (IOMA) reports that major drivers for implementation of automated Accounts Payable are large transaction volumes, pressures to reduce costs and impact on cash flow. At the same time, companies are looking for solutions to implement quickly at low cost with minimal complexity, and deliver roi in as little as three to six months. Software as a Service delivers the benefits Today these benefits are available through the Software as a Service (SaaS) model. Essentially, all you need is an Internet connection. with the advancement of saas technologies, on-demand solutions have become increasingly prevalent. Gartner Group estimated the SaaS market at $6.4 billion in 2008 and projected a likely doubling of the market by 2012. as a resource to assist Ceos, CFos, Cios, managers and administrators in evaluating saas for accounts payable, this paper presents a solution that leverages comprehensive document process automation to deliver the advantages of paperless invoice processing as an on-demand service. It highlights the opportunity to shift ROI from the project level to the document level (capital versus operational expense) and realize automation benefits immediately.