John Gronen, CFO at cloud-based, e-invoicing and P2P automation solution provider, Yooz
A roadmap for a digital transition of the finance function that results in an agile finance department
Imagine this everyday scenario: your finance team spends hours manually processing invoices, chasing approvals and fixing errors. The net results are late payments, compliance risks and frustrated suppliers.
These outdated financial processes are costing your business valuable time and money.
Finance leaders across the UK are under increasing pressure to drive growth, optimise cash flow, do more with fewer employees and adhere to strict financial compliance – all while navigating a wider economic climate where growth is stuttering.
The good news? A modern, all-in-one automated Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) solution can transform your finance function by eliminating manual bottlenecks, improving financial visibility and empowering teams with real-time insights.
However, to truly unlock these benefits, a well-defined roadmap is essential.
The benefits of automating your P2P process
While finance departments increasingly operate in SaaS and other cloud-based environments, many companies do not fully automate their processes, thus requiring their employees to adhere to time-intensive manual processes and manually enter large amounts of data when it comes to invoicing and accounts payable.
From setting budgets, creating forecasts and ensuring invoicing and procurement remain up to date, to reducing the risk of human error, improving compliance and giving finance decision-makers real-time insight, the automation of the Accounts Payable process through an all-in-one Purchase-to-Pay solution delivers proven benefits.
For example, our research on UK finance leaders last year found that 37% of UK finance departments spend over 20 hours a month processing supplier invoices. Whereas a fully consolidated P2P solution has been proven to reduce invoice processing time by half.
By introducing the use of automation into the workflow, the risk of human error is reduced, employee satisfaction is increased, cash flow is optimised and relationships with suppliers are improved thanks to accelerated payments.
What’s more, moving the AP process to a cloud-based platform allows for faster invoice approval and improved visibility, with intelligent workflows routing documents to the right approvers, at the right time and an audit trail tracking any changes made along the way. With particularly sensitive information under the care of the finance department, a cloud-based solution also reduces the number of physical documents stored on site, helping to keep data security in check. Ultimately, embracing automation leads to a more agile and strategic finance function that can better support business growth.
Preparing your business for the arrival of an e-invoicing model
In the UK, the government has recognised the potential benefits of e-invoicing and has launched a public consultation to gather input from business leaders. This initiative aims to explore how e-invoicing can streamline transactions, reduce administrative burdens and enhance compliance with tax regulations. By seeking industry perspectives, policymakers hope to shape a framework that supports both efficiency and widespread adoption.
Transitioning to an e-invoicing model is currently voluntary for most UK organisations, but compulsory when doing business with public bodies. As the landscape evolves, automation of the invoicing process will go a long way in accelerating checks and approvals, which in turn help to improve efficiency, strengthen supplier relationships, gain stronger financial control and visibility and promote a healthier cash flow. Organisations that don’t wait for the rules to come into force and start implementing this type of solution already will be one step ahead of the competition should new regulations be announced.
Creating a strategic roadmap for financial efficiency
A successful overhaul of financial workflows and infrastructure is never a one-step endeavour. It requires a well-defined roadmap that is aligned with the business’s strategic objectives and that supports the stakeholders impacted by the changes.
Ensuring this is in place before starting the process will help your team strategically implement P2P automation, all whilst fostering a smooth transition, maximising ROI and ultimately moving your finance function to a more agile operation.
If you are uncertain about how to create a roadmap with key milestones for accounting excellence, here’s an outline:
- Perform an analysis of current processes
- Get a clear idea of your existing compliance, processes including those that are automated (if any), team performance, department productivity and operational efficiency.
- Set clear objectives that are measurable and align with your strategy, e.g.
- Compliance with future regulations
- Implementing automation
- Optimising data accuracy and reliability
- Enhancing talent development and retention
- Increasing capacity for strategic analysis
- Choose the right tools
- Select a platform designed specifically for the P2P process to ensure seamless functionality and efficiency.
- Look for a solution that integrates emerging technologies like AI and Machine Learning to enhance automation and future scalability.
- Prioritise platforms with strong encryption, access controls and compliance with industry security standards to protect sensitive financial data.
- Training and change management
- Choose an intuitive, user-friendly tool to minimise the learning curve and improve adoption rates.
- Provide practical training that focuses on real-world use cases to help employees quickly adapt to the new system.
- Roll out gradual integration into the department to allow teams to adjust smoothly and address challenges early on.
- Provide simplified resources, such as easy-to-follow guides, FAQs and tutorials to support users without overwhelming them.
- Create a feedback loop where users can share concerns and suggestions to refine the system over time.
- Share the tangible benefits, such as time savings and reduced errors, to reinforce the value of the new process.
- Monitoring and continuous improvement
- Establish relevant KPIs to measure efficiency, accuracy and overall impact.
- Periodically review the roadmap and adjust strategies where necessary to align with evolving business needs.
- Encourage refinement of processes or new innovation using the software to maximise efficiency and value.
Following this road map and investing in an end-to-end P2P solution will position your finance department as a strategic pillar of your organisation. After successful implementation, you will be able to:
- Automatically capture invoices and import the data
- Build intelligent workflows – i.e. sending approvals to the right people, at the right time
- Search and manage all invoices/relevant documents
- Automatically send AP data to an ERP/other financial software so that figures are up to date everywhere
Based on my experience, I would go as far as to say that no modern finance department can be complete without an end-to-end P2P automated solution. It’s the only way to truly optimise and future-proof your financial processes, ensuring your organisation remains competitive for many years to come.
John Gronen, CFO at cloud-based, e-invoicing and P2P automation solution provider, Yooz, discusses how finance leaders can break down the information silos within their business, make better use of the information available through an automated finance function and build an agile accounting department that proactively adapts to dynamic economic climates.
