Transforming Accounts Payable with Machine Learning
If you’ve been in accounting or finance enough years, you probably remember a time when accounts payable involved mountains of paperwork, manual data...
7 min read
August 30 2022 by Chris Cosgrove
Like many accounts payable departments, yours is likely inundated with time-consuming, manual tasks like data entry, locating and matching physical documents, and processing payments, among other things. And that’s probably why you’re here; you’re looking for an AP automation software that can meet the needs of your growing accounting department while saving money along the way.
To start with, we want to outline 5 questions you should be asking yourself before doing further research into AP automation. Try answering these questions:
After answering these questions, you will have a synopsis of what kind of AP automation solution you might need for your dealership. Read the details about these five AP automation software options, hear what customers have to say, and then take a look at offerings on their websites. With a little time and footwork, you’ll find a perfect solution for your business!
Best For: Small- to Enterprise-Level Automotive Dealers Who Need AP Solutions from Invoice Presentment to Payment
CloudX's APSmart solution is an end-to-end automated accounts payable software configured for the unique workflows of your automotive business. With APSmart, you get complete visibility of your invoice and payment processes in addition to unique reconciliation features, audit tools, automatic GL coding, and fraud protection.
This software integrates seamlessly with top ERP solutions including Dealertrack DMS, CDK Global (coming soon), and Tekion (coming soon) to help you manage accounts payable so you can create an accurate and searchable timeline of all your supplier transactions and gain important insights about your business.
With APSmart’s full P2P automation capacity, you can digitize 100% of your invoices, control and change who makes approvals, set up workflows to streamline your payments, automate approvals, and much more. APSmart also automatically indexes and catalogs your documents so you can recall them whenever they need to be referenced, with whatever data point you want to search for.
An add-on worth its weight is APSmart’s PAYSmart module. This payment processing software solution combines your payments into a single file, centralizes payment execution, and gathers you monthly cash rebates on eligible purchases. PAYSmart can run a batch of virtual card payments, ACH transactions, and check transactions from a single payment action, a function otherwise known as “integrated payables.”
Overall, APSmart can manage all of your invoices and payments in a single, digital interface, approve and post invoices with zero keystrokes, and consolidate payments so invoices are paid on time and you can gather cash rebates.
Price: Contact CloudX for a quote today.
Website: https://www.cloudxdpo.com
Customer Reviews:
“We bought two new dealerships…without CloudX and APSmart, we would have been forced to add at least one new AP employee.” -Gelaine H., CFO, H & H Automotive
“We’ve gotten more efficient, the processing is far more standardized, and communications with CloudX have only gotten better.” -Joe Burris, Chief Accounting Officer, Fusz Auto Group
Best For: Small- and Medium-Sized Automotive Dealers Looking to Digitize AP Records for Processing
DocuBizz software helps digitize and automate vendor invoices for AP processing, and automotive businesses can choose the Car & Truck dealerships edition to get a solution that integrates with many ERP software types including Dealertrack DMS, CDK Global, Keyloop, Autoline, and more.
With DocuBizz, incoming invoices are automatically received and read using a combination of OCR extraction and data gathered from your ERP. You can set rules to send invoices to one or multiple approvers either manually or automatically as well as choose whether cost distribution is done by the approver or done prior to receipt by the approver. You are also able to set rules that control payment of invoices according to total price, terms, or conditions so they don’t get overpaid or paid twice.
Once an approver receives an invoice, they can check it and compare it to previous invoices, reference it against a PO, and then either approve, reject, hold, or forward it and cost distribute it (if assigned) to respective accounts. If you don’t need an approver for an invoice, you can alternatively make rules to have invoices match their respective purchase orders and process automatically.
After approvals are complete, your business’s invoices get booked to your accounting system for payment and then stored for recordkeeping and reference. Authorized users can always search for and view invoices and their histories as needed.
If you need online access to work order and sales records, DocuBizz offers two add-on modules to assist you, and they are:
Work Order Records Module-Enables you to digitize work orders for online approval and storage. Original records can then be looked up in both DocuBizz and in your ERP.
Bill of Sale Records Module-Enables you to digitize signed documents and related notes for sales recordkeeping purposes. Original records can then be looked up in both DocuBizz and in your ERP.
Note: DocuBizz is an AP processing solution that books your invoices for payment by your accounting system; it does not have a payment feature or add-on service to pay vendors directly.
Price: Contact DocuBizz for a quote.
Website: https://www.docubizz.com/
Customer Reviews:
“DocuBizz is an innovative, cloud-based software that can easily save hundreds of hours per month at a typical dealership.” -Mike Esposito, President and CEO of Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
“We use DocuBizz across our five different ERP systems & 30 locations. We save money and time every day.” -Stig Boerrestuen, CIO/CFO of The Sulland Group
Yooz is another end-to-end automated AP software with a presence in the automotive industry. With Yooz, you get complete control over PO and invoice processing plus you can utilize some interesting features like document cataloging and archiving, fraud
protection, and multi-channel data capture and extraction. Implementation time is fast, and the solution can be deployed in a day.
This software integrates with top ERP solutions such as Dealertrack DMS, Reynolds & Reynolds, and CDK Global to help you monitor your budget and gain better oversight of your business transactions.
With advanced recognition technology, Yooz acknowledges 80% of all invoices scanned, imported, and emailed in. Its data capture functions alleviate hand-keying and the software’s GL automation features eliminate manual coding processes. Yooz also can also automatically generate purchase orders, approval workflows, and perform 2-way and 3-way matching.
If you’re also looking for vendor payment integration, YoozPay is an add-on feature that allows you to approve payments, choose the payment method (virtual card, ACH, eCheck, paper check), and then automatically send payments batched or individually to your vendors. YoozPay is also capable of gathering monthly rebates on eligible purchases and giving you cash back for making on-time payments.
Price: Contact Yooz for a quote.
Website: https://www.getyooz.com/
Customer Reviews:
“I like that I don’t have to file hard copies any more, and that it makes my life easier and faster to process my invoices.” -Andrea J., Accounts Payable, Automotive Industry
“It provides an easy invoice approval workflow. It creates transparency and is easy to customize the approval flow for different vendors and invoice categories. Automated accounting based on vendor is a timesaver.” -Alex B., IT Manager, Automotive Industry
Best For: Small- to Enterprise-Level Automotive Dealers Wanting to Digitize Purchasing and AP Records for Processing
Lightyear is a purchasing and accounts payable solution that helps businesses automate data, send statements (POs and invoices) to designated approvers for one-click sign-offs, perform automatic GL coding and categorization, and integrate with leading accounting and ERP solutions to book data for payment processing.
The lifecycle of this software begins with your ability to create digital POs and send to approvers for processing to vendors. Once goods and services are received from vendors, you can create Goods Received Notes (GRNs), complete automated 2-way matching, and send GRNs to vendors.
After notification, vendors email invoices to your Lightyear account and data is extracted automatically and GL coded. Your invoices then get checked against pre-loaded supplier pricing data and a 3-way match is performed amongst POs, GRNs, and invoices. A multi-tier approval process follows, and invoices can then be paid through your accounting system.
Lightyear also offers an automated supplier statement reconciliation feature so you can keep track of invoices and make sure they get paid on time—plus take advantage of early payment discounts and rebates.
Note: Lightyear is a purchasing and AP processing solution that facilitates fully automated PO and invoice processing, approvals, and records management; it does not have a payment feature or add-on service to pay vendors directly.
Price: Monthly subscription starting at $99
Website: https://www.lightyear.cloud/
Customer Reviews:
“Lightyear has completely transformed the whole business and made life so incredibly easy. From the transparency of data extraction and approval process through to the electronic filing this system is truly brilliant. I cannot recommend it enough.” -Tricia N., Group Financial Controller, Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Industry
“We reviewed a number of accounts payable apps and Lightyear was by far the best. Their sign off functionality for managers was unique to Lightyear in the apps we surveyed. Love it!” -Joy M., Director, Code Bookkeeping
Best For: Small- to Enterprise-Level Automotive Dealers Seeking an Interactive P2P Solution
Stampli is an end-to-end automation software that digitizes and codes vendor invoices, adds them to an interactive platform for processing, and administrates approvals. It also performs PO and statement matching and provides good space for invoice history management. With real-time messaging features built in at the singular invoice level, employees, vendors, and stakeholders alike can communicate about invoices and order processing from a centralized landing page.
AP processes start when vendors send invoices to your business’s Stampli email address. The software’s AI bot pulls data, allocates GL coding and cost centers, assigns invoices to approvers, and checks for duplicate invoices.
Each invoice on the Stampli platform has its own page with a real-time communications window, approval information, and document history. Along with that, an intuitive dashboard provides information such as invoice overviews, forecasts, and approver activity data.
If you want to use Stampli to pay vendors, you can incorporate an add-on feature called Direct Pay to send remittances by ACH or paper checks, and this integration will automatically update Dealertrack DMS with payment information.
Note: Stampli currently only integrates with one automobile industry ERP system—Dealertrack DMS.
Price: Contact Stampli for a quote.
Website: https://www.stampli.com/
Customer Reviews:
“Stampli has improved productivity and reporting to upper management on workflow. We love the reporting feature to see payables across all companies without logging into separate company files. Greatly saves my team time on coding as well!” -Jaqueline S., Financial Controller, Small Business
“Stampli is extremely user-friendly and checks all of the boxes I was looking for in an OCR Software. I love the almost instantaneous import to our Accounting Software.” -Sarah R. Accounts Payable Administrator, Mid-Market Business
Adding AP automation software to your accounts payable processes is a wise decision in today’s fast-paced, digital world. Whichever type you choose, it’s important that your business goals are met and you gain maximum ROI from your investment. It’s equally important that the software you choose integrates well with your ERP system and that it can scale with your growing automotive dealership.
As you research your options, feel free to contact CloudX any time with questions and then ask how APSmart might integrate with your current AP systems. We’re always on standby and ready to help!
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