Why your business should consider an automated AP process today


The case for using an automated accounts/payable (AP) process is particularly strong and something Docuworx suggests our clients implement as one of their first digital transformation initiatives.

Recent research by Australia’s Digital Business Council dug up some interesting stats on invoicing in the Australian economy.

The Digital Business Council’s AusDigital Standards, a data exchange for financial software developers and network service providers, came up with these staggering numbers:

One billion – the number of invoices issued by Australian businesses each year

$4 trillion – the value of those invoices

55 days – the average length it takes for payment to be made

$20 – the average cost of manual handling of traditional invoices

$20 billion – the annual productivity gains Australia could reap by switching to e-invoicing

Based on these figures, AusDigital Standards estimates that around $600 billion is held in accounts payable processes at any time and about 20% of that is debt to cashflow-constrained small business suppliers.

Going digital and switching to an automated AP process can reduce a lot of these costs and pain points, but by world standards, Australia is lagging when it comes to adoption.

So what is holding Australian businesses back? Well, until recently, there has been a lack of suitable solutions readily available in the local market.

However, that all changed around three years ago with the entry of DocuWare into Australia.

And as the only Platinum Partner of DocuWare in Australia, Docuworx is extremely well-placed to help your company make the jump to using an automated AP process.

Combined, our personnel have over 20 years of experience in automated business processes. We can help you get your document management system up and running so that you can:

  • Streamline checking and approval processes, minimizing interruptions
  • Standardize the processing of paper and emailed invoices
  • Automate process documentation and improve transparency
  • Integrate with other web applications and export data into your accounting system
  • Archive your invoices in compliance with the law

Still not convinced? Consider the following comparison of paper and automated AP processes:

Paper Invoice Automated AP process
Printing High cost No cost
Shipping/postage High cost/ time consuming No cost/ instant
Delivery to customer Long In seconds
Space required to archive Large None
Time for searching/retrieval Long In seconds
Payment turnaround Often delayed Quick

Put simply, transitioning to an automated AP process will not only save your business time and money but also improve its efficiency and compliance.

To learn more about how Docuworx can help you commence your digital transformation and get started with an automated AP process, contact us today.