PayStream Advisors new report titled Automating Payables for the SME Market: Diving Head First into AP Automation Waters reveals that an increasing number of SME’s (those with annual revenues under $250 million) are implementing Accounts Payable automation solutions in an effort to reap the benefits of the large early adopters.

Front-end imaging witnessed the biggest increase in adoption, up 9 percent from 2011 to 41 percent in 2012, see Figure 1.  Use of AP automation increased in all five categories from 2011 to 2012 among SME’s.

 

Figure 1

Survey results reveal that more SME’s are doing a better job controlling invoice processing costs.  The number of SME’s able to process an invoice for under a dollar increased from 8 percent in 2011 to 10 percent in 2012.  More SME’s are now realizing that automation solutions can eliminate the vast majority of challenges they face in their day-to-day operations, including late payments, missed discounts, long invoice processing cycles, manual data entry, lack of visibility, and high discrepancies, just to name a few.

PayStream Advisors developed this Technology Insight report for small and mid-sized enterprises with an interest in payables automation. The report includes the latest adoption statistics, current thinking, best practices, strategies, and key performance indicators for evaluating and selecting an automation solution.  In addition, the report profiles leading solution providers and offers case studies illustrating how other companies have used payables automation technologies to accelerate approval cycles, improve productivity, capture discounts, strengthen working capital positions and improve trading relationships.  PayStream Advisors conducted in-depth surveys of over 500 AP and other finance professionals.

Key survey findings include:

• More SME’s ranks themselves as innovators, having made significant investments in automation – up 6 percent to 21 percent in 2012.
• Front-end imaging witnessed the biggest increase in adoption, up 9 percent from 2011 to 41 percent in 2012.
• Increased AP automation has led to more SME’s reporting successful capture of supplier discounts.
• More suppliers (17 percent) are now submitting the majority of their invoices electronically, a five percent increase from 2011.
• Sixteen percent of SME’s are paying over half of their bills electronically, up from 12 percent in 2011.
• Lack of budget (28 percent) remains the number on barrier to the adoption of eInvoicing.
• The fact that the majority of invoices are received in paper format remains the number on challenge SME’s face in the invoice management process.
• SME’s report eInvoicing (31 percent) as the number one 2013 financial automation goal.
• Challenges SME’s face in migrating from paper to eInvoicing continue to decrease due to supplier onboarding and the explosion of SaaS solutions.

The availability of affordable, easy-to- use and easy- to-implement technology solutions is driving renewed interest in AP automation in the SME market place. While the benefits of AP automation have been available for quite some time, SMEs are now diving head first into the automation waters.  SME’s are witnessing the tactical benefits around cost containment and productivity enhancements, in addition to the strategic advantages around improved supplier relations and working capital improvements.

The Automating Payables for the SME Market report was underwritten in part by Anybill, AvidXchange, Integrim, Palette and ReadSoft, and can be previewed or downloaded HERE.  Download your complimentary copy today.