With AP automation, healthcare providers can capture any invoice in digital form–including line-level detail–and automatically check for duplicates in the system, saving time and manual effort and eliminating entry errors and other unnecessary headaches. They can also digitize the invoice information, helping make more accurate spending forecasts and improving their long-term financial planning via easy historical and anticipated spend reporting.

The approval process can also be automated. Invoices can be instantly routed to the appropriate personnel for easy review and approval, with scheduled reminders. AP teams can also configure multiple approval tiers and routing logic based on specific attributes, e.g., amount, vendor, department, location, etc.


Digitized payments
Handling paper checks presents a number of logistical challenges for healthcare providers — multiple people handling, printing, approving, signing and mailing out paper checks, not to mention the additional costs and lack of control over cash flow.

In addition to cost savings, digital payments provide healthcare organizations with greater control over when they pay a supplier, and how it impacts cash flow. There is also the reduced risk of fraud. According to the 2021 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report, 66% of companies paying by check experienced real or attempted fraud, compared to digital payment methods such as ACH debits (34%) and Virtual Cards (3%).

Virtual Cards are an increasingly popular payment method that use unique 16-digit numbers created solely for a single-use transaction, and authorized for a specific amount. Payments can be made from anywhere and they are highly secure for both payer and payee. Their wide acceptance makes them as convenient as any other payment form and providers that use the cards can take advantage of valuable rebates to generate extra cash.

AP analytics
AP automation can also unlock valuable insights into AP workflows, cash flow, and supplier relationships. Dashboards can provide real-time visibility into every aspect of the AP process and enable users to track metrics such as invoice aging, discounts, rebates earned, and payment mix. As a result, accounting managers spend less time seeking data and processing reports, and more time analyzing the impact of AP on their business. At the same time, healthcare finance leaders are able to leverage that visibility to optimize working capital, negotiate better terms with suppliers, and align their AP activities with strategic priorities.

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