Pegasus Software’s Stuart Anderson looks at how a converged approach to AP Automation and Purchase Order Processing is expediting cashflow and elevating productivity for organisations. 

Accounts Payable (AP) Automation is seeing a lot of attention currently, as software providers deliver new features and functionality, and AI influences capabilities and potential. 

Using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and AI to recognise key information from invoices, patterns and match these appropriately, AP Automation expedites payment processing and instils best practice across a range of core accounting areas. The addition of Purchase Order Processing (POP) completes the process, aligning payments with invoices in the most efficient way for optimum speed and visibility. 

Eliminating the nine-day PO cycle 
Given that Purchase Orders can take up to nine days to process within large organisations, automation of this fundamental accounting process is a no brainer.

Delayed payments and ambiguity around their specific status can cause frustration and impact relationships with suppliers. In a world where efficiency is king, a slow or inconsistent approach to payments can impact reputation and even threaten core service provision.   

​Formed through a combination of key technologies to form an end-to-end process, AP Automation with Purchase Order Processing (POP) expedites cashflow. It does this through alleviating a number of challenges traditionally associated with payment processing, including:

Boosting efficiency 
AP has traditionally been a heavily manual process for good reason. One of the last bastions of the digital transformation of the office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), it is complex. Invoices come through in different formats at different times, and matching this to an equally inconsistent, paper-based PO system is a recipe for a sluggish process. Using a combination of OCR and a data lake to sift and present invoices in a consistent format, AP Automation removes this complexity. 

Removing manual entries 
Going hand in hand with efficiency, a convoluted mis-matched approach to aligning payments to POs and expediting the processing of them, can result in losses. Assigning the wrong payment or subjecting suppliers to long waits beyond payment terms while errors are rectified won’t pass muster in 2025. Through having all documents in one place, reconciliation is easy.

Strengthening supplier relationships 
Through consolidating all data on a single, central platform, live statuses can be accessed at any point to update vendors and ensure prompt payment in accordance with terms. Removing ambiguity means that frustrations are reduced and stronger, more longer-term relationships formed. 

Supporting sustainability 
Through removing, or at the very least significantly reducing the reams of paper associated with traditional Accounts Payable processing, there are obvious environmental wins. It’s not unusual for is to see companies with numerous filing cabinets filled with paper, all of which can be eliminated through adopting a digital approach. In some cases, companies have been able to reduce overheads through the associated downshift in office space requirements. 

Instilling scale 
As organisations expand and grow, either organically or via acquisitions, manual processes can really buckle with the additional inevitable workloads.

Having centralised cash flow, data and financial reporting in one place means that adding new entities or additional customers/suppliers can be undertaken in a standardised way, using established process flows. 

A seamless approach Opera 3 SE’s AP Automation capabilities leverage Purchase Order Processing for a truly seamless approach to optimising cashflow, ringfencing supplier relationships and instilling best practice.

To find out more contact us today to see it in action.

The role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has evolved dramatically over the past few decades, expanding well beyond traditional finance and accounting responsibilities; CFO’s are now seen as strategic partners responsible for shaping strategic direction and driving efficiency. In turn, rising costs and increasingly challenging environments have squeezed profit margins and added tremendous financial pressure to businesses of all sizes. Something must change.

In comes automation! In recent years automation has emerged as one of the most powerful tools a business can adopt. Once reserved for large corporations with deep pockets, automation technology is now accessible to businesses of all sizes, even the smallest and it’s proving to be a major cost saver across industries.

What is automation?
At its core, automation eliminates repetitive, manual tasks that once ate up hours of employee time. Whether it's processing invoices, managing customer support tickets, data entry or updating inventory levels, businesses can now streamline workflows with software bots and machine learning algorithms. Finance automation is increasing efficiency, saving time and eliminating bottlenecks and pressure points.

By reducing the need for human intervention in routine operations, companies are slashing labour costs considerably – a study by PwC discovered that businesses in the finance sector are saving 30-40% time using automation. But it’s not about replacing people, it’s about allowing teams to focus on higher-value, strategic work and areas that can add value to the business. That shift translates into not only savings but also increased innovation and growth.

Real-world savings in action
Many business functions can now be automated to deliver noticeable savings and benefits. How does it work? Artificial intelligence is used within automation software to trigger specific actions with the result streamlining workflows and processes.

Let’s explore some areas that automation is adding value:

Here are a few areas where automation is directly contributing to cost reduction:

Accounts payable (AP)
AP is an area notorious for labour intensive, costly and time-consuming tasks. There are many benefits to automating this function to such as quicker invoice payments to strengthen supplier relationships and redeem early payment discounts as opposed to late payment penalties. Did you know it can cost anywhere between £4 and £25 to manually approve one invoice but with automation the cost can be lowered to as little as £1?

Procurement 
Automation can streamline procurement workflows and drive efficient processes when buying goods and services to provide a maximum level of control and visibility. Indirect costs can mount up if not managed carefully which can spiral and cost businesses significant amounts of money.

Reporting
Business Intelligence is an area that automation can make a real difference as automation can pull real-time information from across your system to compile an accurate and in-depth analysis, as opposed to an out-dated, unreliable jumble of data. Automation can then populate reports at the click of a button to produce actionable insights to drive data-driven decision making based on accuracy not guesswork. Poor decision making can cost a business thousands so it’s essential to get it right first time, your success depends on it!

Small investments, big returns
Automation doesn’t always mean massive infrastructure overhauls. Many tools today integrate seamlessly with existing ERP systems, such as Opera 3 SE. Cloud-based platforms offer flexible pricing, allowing even small businesses to start small and scale as needed.

What makes automation especially attractive is the quick return on investment. According to a recent study by McKinsey, companies that implemented automation in core processes reported an average cost reduction of 20% within the first year.

It’s about smarter, not harder
In today’s hyper-competitive market with rising costs and tight profit margins, businesses can’t afford inefficiencies. Automation offers a clear path to reducing costs, increasing accuracy, saving time and driving the kind of efficiency that will drive the business forward, whether you work in a large corporation or a small enterprise.

​Automation isn’t just a future trend—it’s a present-day necessity for any business looking to stay lean, agile, and profitable and offers many benefits to those who adopt it.

To learn more about the automation opportunities offered by Pegasus with our leading ERP solution Opera 3 SE, please contact us today.