With more and more manual business processes putting profitability and productivity at risk, the ways in which companies perform day-to-to-day operations is changing drastically. In the pursuit to cut operational costs and improve efficiency, technology is set to impact the accounts payable invoice process in new and dynamic ways. To better understand the market forces, developing trends and technologies companies are using in the AP invoice process today, Certify has surveyed more than 300 accounting professionals from outside its customer base to reveal the top accounts payable benchmarks and trends for 2017. In this presentation, you will learn what issues other companies like yours are facing in the AP invoice process, and what strategies and practices companies are using today to overcome common challenges.
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3. 360 Thought Leadership Consulting helps companies define and
unlock the strategic value of their thought leadership programs.
Formerly, Ernie served as Vice President, Educational Programs for
Proformative, as the Director of Treasury Services and as a Director
of the Corporate Treasurers Council for the Association for Financial
Professionals.
Ernie Humphrey
Chief Executive Officer
Today’s Speaker
4. Study Overview
Certify surveyed more than 300 accounts payable professionals to reveal the top AP invoice
trends, benchmarks and technologies for 2017 (non-customers). In this presentation, you will
learn what issues other companies are facing in the invoice process and what strategies and
technologies these companies are using to overcome these challenges, including:
• Benchmarks costs and turnaround times for AP invoice processing
• The top 5 AP pressures companies are facing and goals for improvement
• Why it takes 48% of companies over 10 days to process a single invoice
• Leading technologies used in AP invoice processing and payments
• Factors driving 65% of companies to consider AP automation
5. About Certify
• Industry-leading, fully integrated travel, expense and AP
invoice solutions
• 64 languages, 140+ currencies, clients in 80 countries
• #1 highest rated expense management software for
user satisfaction on G2 Crowd
• PC Magazine Editors’ Choice for best expense
management software of 2016
• Processing nearly 40 million expenses and receipts
valued at $50 billion in 2016
6. Study Demographics
302 Total
(All based within AP
department)
91%
(Work for companies with
annual revenue exceeding
$5 million)
Respondents
Revenue
United States
(All based within the U.S.)
92%
(Work for companies that
process over $100,000 worth of
AP invoices per year)
Location
Invoice Value
8. AP Invoice Process
• Paper
• Fax
• Email
• PDF
• ERS
• EDI/XML, PO-Flip
• eInvoice
• Business Rules
• Validation
• Matching
• Workflow
• Approval
• Alerts
• Disputes
• Check, ACH, Wire
• Commercial Cards
• Payment Networks
• Supplier Discounts
• Supply Chain Finance
Receive Process Pay
Ardent Partners 2017
9. AP Invoice Volume
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
10,000 to 20,000 5,001 to 10,000 1,001 to 5,000 501 to 1,000 500 or Fewer
Volume of Invoices Processed (Per Month)
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
7%
15%
31% 30%
17%
10. Complexity is Everywhere …
Percent of companies with vendors submitting more
than one invoice each month:
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
<10% 10-24% 25-49% 50-74% 75-100%
13%
24%
31%
25%
7%
11. Internationally, Too
Percent of companies receiving monthly invoices from
international vendors:
% Int’l
Invoices Received
% of Companies
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
0%
10-24%
25-49%
50-74%
75-100% 2%
9%
24%
38%
27%
12. Current AP Invoice Processing Methods
How do you currently process AP invoices?
Automated Invoice
Solution
Manual Paper-based
Process
Supplier Self-service
Portals
ERP System
Accounting Software
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
7%
15%
11%
21%
46%
13. Use of Automation
None
Supplier portal
Automated workflow routing and approval
ACH direct deposit payments
Invoice imaging/Electronic document scanning
Current Uses for Automation
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
58%
49%
44%
33%
12%
% reporting
14. Best-In-Class Automation
While automation is one of the lesser used technologies in the market, it is key in assisting with
some of the more troublesome processes such as:
79%
67%
61% 61%
50%
44%
41%
69%
41%
49% 51%
20%
23%
27%
Document
imaging and
scanning
eInvoicing Automated
routing and
approval
workflow
Automated data
capture and
extraction (e.g.,
OCR)
Self-sercice
supplier portal
Complete
Procure-to-Pay
solution
Business or
payment
network
Best-in-Class All Others
Ardent Partners - 2017
15. Pitfalls of a Manual Process
Increased processing cost
Longer processing times
Decreased employee productivity
Higher potential for human error
Greater risk of fraud and duplicate payments
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
Greater overhead and staffing requirements
16. 44% of companies receive at least
one half of all vendor and supplier
invoices electronically
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
17. Polling Question 1
What process does your company currently use
to process AP Invoices?
a) Fully automated solution
b) Manual paper-based process
c) Supplier self-service portals
d) ERP systems
e) Accounting software
f) Not sure
19. AP Invoice Processing Costs
Cost to Process a Single Invoice
$2 - $5 per report 29%
$6 - $10 per report 21%
$11 - $15 per report 14%
$16 or more per report 9%
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
20. At $6 to $10 to process a single report,
5,000 reports per month would cost
$30,000 to $50,000 and up to more
than $600,000 annually
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
21. Variable Cost Factors
Processing costs include a
number of variables:
The headcount needed
to process invoices
Lost productivity from
using employees
Additional materials
and storage needs
23. Polling Question 2
How much does your AP invoice process cost
your company on an annual basis?
a) $1 to $5 per report
b) $6 to $10 per report
c) $11 to $15 per report
d) More than $15 per report
e) Not sure
24. Automation can reduce processing
costs 60-80% compared to manual and
paper-based processes
Ardent Partners 2015
26. AP Invoice Turnaround Times
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Under 5 days 10 to 15 days 15 to 30 days 30 days or more
Time to Process a Single Invoice
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
46%
28%
14%
6%
27. Effects of Slower Processing
Why are longer processing times
problematic for organizations?
Backlog of
past invoices
Strained vendor
relationships
Rectifying
cash flow
Missing out on early
payment discounts
28. Best in class performers will process a
single invoice within 3.5 days, while the
majority of companies take 12 days
Ardent State of ePayables 2017
29. Top AP Invoice Payment Methods
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
31. AP Invoice Policy
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
Do you have an AP invoice policy in place?
Yes Yes, but they're not enforced No Not sure
4% 1%
77%
18%
32. Monitoring the Process
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
How do you monitor and report on AP invoice
performance metrics?
Manually calculating monthly volumes Accounting software analytics
Automated invoice processing software We only monitor cash flow
10%
19%
52%
19%
33. Polling Question 3
How long does it take to process and pay a
single invoice in your company?
a) Under 5 days
b) 6 to 10 days
c) 11 to 15 days
d) 15 to 30 days
e) More than 30 days
f) Not sure
34. Top Goals and Pressures to Improve
the AP Invoice Process
35. Topline Goals for AP Invoice Processing
Improving Supplier Relationships
Receiving Early Payment Discounts
Reduce Invoice Processing Costs
Efficiently Managing Large Invoice Volume
Faster Processing Times
Goals for AP Invoice Processing
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
34%
26%
13%
8%
19%
36. 88%
84%
73%
70%
61%
47%
61% 61%
34%
54%
28%
22%
Standardized AP
process across
the enterprise
Two or three-
way matching
capabilities
Ability to
process invoices
straight-through
Ability to
automatically
route invoices
for approval
Ability to match
invoices to
contracts or
payment plans
Ability to
measure key AP
metrics
Best-in-Class All Others
Best-In-Class Capabilities
• AP staffers want to
be able to process
invoices faster and
handle a greater
volume of invoices
with more ease.
• To achieve these
goals, a streamlined
process or solution
will be necessary.
• Vendor portals,
sluggish ERP or
software options and
manual processes
will limit the
company’s ability to
process invoices
quickly and
effectively.
Core AP Capabilities
Ardent Partners - 2017
37. AP Invoicing Pressures
The top pressures in AP invoice processing include:
High cost invoice processing
High percentage of exceptions
Losing/difficulty finding paper invoices
Missing out on vendor discounts
1. 2.
3.
4.
5.
Need for real
time availability
of data
38. Pitfalls of Out of Date Processes
27%
Do not track invoice
processing costs
6%
Do not track
processing times
There is a segment of
organizations that do not
track certain statistics within
the AP invoice process:
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
39. Improving AP via Automation
Making the switch to AP invoice automation:
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
40. Satisfaction with the current process
was the #1 reason not to switch to an
automated AP invoice solution
Certify AP Trends and Benchmarks Survey 2017
42. Polling Question 4
What are your top goals for the AP invoice
process within your organization?
a) Lower processing costs
b) Shorter processing times
c) Improve data insight and availability
d) Improve supplier relationships
e) Free up AP department resources
44. Additional Resources
Ardent Partners:
The State of ePayables 2017
http://bit.ly/2ik5FUt
Certify White Paper:
Accounts Payable Benchmarks and Trends for 2017
http://bit.ly/2x4Frrz
