AP automation

Editor’s note: On April 16, Ardent Partners will host a complimentary webinar (sponsored by Concur) focused on the top trends in accounts payable for the year ahead (register at this link). Ahead of that presentation, run by Andrew Bartolini, Ardent’s chief research officer, and Christopher Dwyer, research director, we’re running a short series on the [...]

The average company is often forced to look within to drive additional value to their overall operations. Functions that were not considered strategic in years past, such as account payable (AP), fall clearly within this notion. Today’s AP functions are well-positioned to be effective “hubs” of cash management, spend visibility and overall corporate intelligence. Within [...]

Over the past few years, Lexmark (NYSE: LXK), the longstanding manufacturer of laser printers and print supplies, has made an aggressive push into software and services. On Tuesday, March 24, it continued this push with the announcement of its plans to buy Kofax (NASDAQ: KFX) for $11 per share or approximately $1 billion, net of cash at closing. The price [...]

Efficiency and cost savings are two of the strongest concepts in the modern business world. This is also where technology helps the most—the more processes that are automated, the more efficient the enterprise becomes. This is no less true for the accounts payable function, which has remained one of the last bastions of manual processes [...]

Accounts payable (AP) technology can have a significant impact on the working capital situation of most enterprises, for various reasons. Not least of these is that an improved invoice-approval process increases visibility, which results in a better overall picture of the enterprise’s cash position. This is a good outcome for everyone involved, particularly given how [...]

The accounts payable (AP) team’s ability to add value to the strategic objectives of the business is greatly enhanced through technology. Leveraging technology enables AP to process invoices and payments in a more efficient and accurate manner while exercising greater control in the outflow of cash. Automation also captures real-time invoice and payment data, which [...]

Though automating the accounts payable (AP) process most directly benefits the AP team itself—such as eliminating manual activities and allowing for more strategic actions—it’s a mistake to imagine that accounts payable is the only enterprises function that profits from an automated AP workflow. In reality, the entirety of the enterprise stands to gain significant advantages [...]

Editor’s Note: This article is the first in a brief series examining the problem of using social networking tools for procure-to-pay applications. This installment presents the issue at hand, using social media in a procure-to-pay context, and the next part of the series will discuss how to bridge the proverbial gap and make use of [...]

There are few solution providers that offer a full end-to-end accounts payable automation solution that includes receiving and processing invoices as well as payment functionality. As a result, the ePayables (Ardent’s term for AP Automation) solution provider marketplace remains fragmented with providers that offer either invoice processing or payment functionality. It’s the rare provider that offers [...]

We’ve seen some great articles already this year from the Payables Place team, and the past two weeks hasn’t been any different. From a two-part series on mobility and complex spend, to a look ahead at business travel in 2015, the last two weeks served up hot, fresh news and research. Now check out the [...]