Crucial Areas in AP Processes That Demands Human Intervention.

Accounts payable outsourcing can help companies overcome many challenges. These include manual data entry, invoice approval delays, errors or duplicate invoices, compliance issues, inefficient workflow, etc. Accounts payable outsourcing companies implement strategies to overcome such challenges. One of the best strategies is investing in automation.

Automation can certainly streamline numerous accounts payable (AP) processes. But there are still situations where human judgment and intervention may be necessary. This helps to investigate and resolve many issues. In this blog, we’ll learn about the role of human intervention in AP.

Automation delivers predictability and consistent performance. But it lacks judgment, logic, and adaptability. Following are some of the reasons explaining why human intervention is vital in AP processes:

1. Communication and Relationship Building 

Human intervention is necessary for building and maintaining relationships with vendors. This also applies while building relations with other stakeholders. Relationship building is necessary to maintain sound professional relationships. This even helps resolve disputes.

2. Decision-making

Judgment, decision-making, and leadership skills are vital in setting goals. They even help develop strategies and manage teams responsible for AP processes. Humans have the ability to make complex decisions. These skills are inevitable if there are exceptions to standard procedures. Human judgment helps find a strategic direction. It helps to take improvement initiatives to improve AP performance. Humans can also make ethical judgments. These are avoiding conflicts of interest, preventing bribery, etc.

3. Creativity for Problem-solving with Root Cause 

Humans can identify and solve the root cause of an issue. Also, they can develop effective strategies to prevent the occurrence of the same issue in future. Automated processes may be ineffective in complex situations. In such cases, humans with innovative thinking can apply their creativity. This helps them find solutions as per business requirements.

4. Oversight and Control  

With human intervention, companies can ensure that automation is working well in their AP system. They can take action instantly if any exceptions are detected.

5.  Risk Management  

Automation in AP data processing can give insightful data. But human intervention is required to assess risks associated with various AP processes. They can consider that data while developing strategies to mitigate risk. This includes enforcing fraud prevention actions. This also involves due diligence steps involved for vendors’ authenticity and scrutinizing payment terms.

6. Flexibility 

Humans can adapt to changes and work in unexpected situations. Adaptability is important in situations. An example is last-minute changes to payment terms or invoices.

Disputes may arise due to disagreement between a supplier and the company. This may be regarding the products or services. Errors in invoicing also create disputes. Human intervention is necessary for effective communication. This helps to examine the issue and resolve disputes. It also helps to maintain business relationships. Suppose a vendor claims that they did not receive payment for an invoice or they received an incorrect amount. It may require a human representative from the business to investigate the issue and resolve the dispute.

There can be a discrepancy in payments. This happens when figures for the amount paid to a supplier and the invoiced amount are mismatched. Even with automated AP processes in place, there may be cases of discrepancy. In such cases, human intervention is required to investigate the issue. It is needed to communicate with the vendor and resolve the concern. Humans can detect and correct payment discrepancies.

Proper AP management is critical for sound financial arrangements in an organization. With human intervention and decision-making skills, aligning AP management with the business goals is possible. It includes managing costs, optimizing cash flow, and minimizing financial risks.

Effective communication is crucial for cash flow optimization in accounts payable management. Negotiating favorable payment terms with vendors is possible with human intervention only. Humans can communicate with finance and procurement teams. They can ensure efficient payment processes and optimized cash flow. They can also prioritize payments, and monitor payment cycles. This helps to determine if the company has sufficient liquidity.

Automation can improve consistency, speed, and advanced workflow systems. But humans provide judgment, motivation, and adaptability based on their skills and experiences.

ARDEM is one of the leading accounts payable outsourcing providers in the US. We can help businesses manage their AP processes more effectively and efficiently. We streamline AP processes with Human Innovation and Advanced Automation.

ARDEM teams drive smart business solutions with three things:

• Human Element – Drives innovation and smart business solutions.
• Customized Workflow – Processes built on industry experience for efficiency.
• Technology – Ensures collaborative success and seamless operations.

Features of Our Accounts Payable Outsourcing Services

We provide the best accounts payable outsourcing service for accurate invoice processing. We also provide customized teams with the required skills as a comprehensive solution. Our teams are agile and adaptable to companies’ existing accounts payable systems. If our clients demand, teams can work on our Cloud Platforms.

• Have a qualified team to work in less than two weeks. ARDEM can customize teams from as little as 5 to 25+ team members. We’re always ready to meet varied requirements of accounts payable outsourcing for small businesses and giants.
• All payments get done electronically under the supervision of human representatives. This results in efficient and accurate payments.
• ARDEM with a large pool of qualified workforce can quickly scale as the client grows.
• ARDEM teams implement highly-tested quality check techniques to catch errors. Thus, they can resolve the root cause.

The Benefits of ARDEM’s AP Outsourcing Solutions

Here are the benefits you can get by outsourcing your AP process to ARDEM:

• Stabilized accounts payable processes.
• Reduce payroll expenditures and other overheads for full-time staff.
• Improved productivity and accuracy.
• No worry about obsolete skills as ARDEM has a large pool of qualified skills to meet varied AP requirements across industries.
• Do not worry about making efforts to retrain staff for effective AP management.

There are some limitations to automating accounts payable processes and places. Here automation can not work effectively. Therefore, there may be a need for human intervention in certain situations. Some AP-related issues cannot be solely automation-based. These include vendor disputes and payment discrepancies. Also, strategic decision-making to manage and align AP with business plans and goals cann’t be automated. Human intervention may be necessary for effective communication with major departments. These are finance, procurement, and operations. This also helps in optimizing cash flow.

Companies can approach outsourcing companies to fill the gap. But it is essential to choose the right BPO service companies. They must align with the company’s specific needs and goals.

ARDEM offers a comprehensive solution for accounts payable outsourcing. We combine the best of both worlds: advanced automation technology and expert human intervention. With ARDEM, you can ensure that your AP processes are accurate and aligned with your business goals. Contact ARDEM today! Learn how our tailored solutions can help optimize your accounts payable operations.