As an AP professional, you’ve probably already heard a lot about AP and payment automation. You’ve read news articles and whitepapers – attended a few webinars – and done some research on your own. You might even know of a competitor or colleague in the industry who has already embraced automation.
Still, no matter how much of a no-brainer AP automation is for you, its myriad benefits are all for naught if you are unable to communicate them to your boss, who will likely be giving the final say as to whether your company will automate its accounts payable department.
How to Sell AP Automation to Your Boss
Armed with the knowledge from this free kit, you will feel confident in selling automation to your boss, but don’t pat yourself on the back just yet – even after presenting a compelling case, your CFO might still have some questions. These might include:
Why should we do this, and why now?
Answer: We should automate because it will immediately save time and money, and also enable our AP department to pursue higher-level tasks that will save the company even more money. Why should we do it now? Because we are losing money with every day we spend committed to the manual, paper-based process. AvidXchange has a 45-day implementation, so we could automate and start seeing savings very soon.
If it ain’t broke, why fix it?
Answer: This is a common objection. After all, the AP process has been handled in the same basic, manual fashion since time immemorial. The paper process is familiar, and some might fear that by eliminating it they are giving up an element of control. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is that AvidXchange isn’t reinventing the wheel here – they’re just making it roll a little smoother.
The process remains the same, but through AP and payment automation we will save considerable amounts of time and money when compared to the inefficient, outdated manual process. And to top it off, we will actually have more control and visibility, because you will be able to log into your portal at any time to see the status and history of invoices or payments.
Who else is doing it?
Answer: More and more companies have the automation revelation every day. More than 5,700 such companies have chosen to work with AvidXchange to automate their AP process. Would you like to speak with an AvidXchange user? AvidXchange will provide customer testimonials and opportunities to speak with a client who can identify with us in our journey toward paperless AP.
Okay, AP automation makes sense. But why AvidXchange?
Answer: When AvidXchange first offered its services 17 years ago, the company stood out simply through its offering of automated invoicing. Now there are a plethora of companies providing AP automation solutions, and the automated payments industry continues to grow. The industry has grown considerably since then, and AvidXchange has grown right alongside it.
AvidXchange’s annual growth rate is strong, with hundreds of new clients joining our customer base every year. And they’re sticking around: AvidXchange’s customer retention rate is 98 percent. Those stats would not be possible without a real competitive advantage, which is the AvidXchange team. They are a software-as-a-service company, and their product is only as good as the people behind it. You might log into your portal and never see them, but behind the scenes, AvidXchange has close to a 1,000 people working on your behalf.
Whether that means indexing invoices, innovating new products, or simply providing support whenever we need it, AvidXchange’s team has a singular goal: to help give us power over our payables.
Can we test this first?
Answer: You can read all there is to know about a car, but you’re going to at least take it around the block before you sign on the dotted line. AvidXchange’s automation specialists would be happy to schedule a customized demo for us.
How long before we see results?
Answer: We will see results quickly, namely in a reduction of our invoicing and payment processing costs. AP automation will continue to pay dividends by allowing our team new time to pursue higher-level tasks like rebate procurement and vendor discounts that could yield additional savings.