Cloud Based Accounts Payable: The Future of AP Automation

With the rise of remote work in recent years, the systems you work on must adhere to the same. With cloud-based accounts payable, you can keep up with your work in any environment and have shared visibility into your company’s finances without leaving the comfort of your home.

What is cloud-based accounts payable?

Cloud-based accounts payable software allows you to manage and work on your payables data in a cloud-based environment. This will enable you to access the tool remotely without installing or working on a particular system. 

Cloud-based accounts payable are beneficial for automating your mundane invoice processing and other tasks while allowing you to store all AP-related documents and data on an easy-to-access platform. It will enable your accountants to see and process invoices and other documents with shared visibility with business approvers and vendors. 

Types of cloud-based accounts payable

A cloud-based accounts payable software can be one of these three types:

• A public cloud-based software is hosted on the internet. These are shared by multiple entities and might not be the most secure cloud-based system. These, however, allow access from anywhere in the world with an internet connection, making it highly suitable for companies allowing remote work. This solution is often also called the “true cloud” solution.
• A private or hosted cloud-based system is hosted on a private server, only allowing a specific organization to access it. Employees need to be logged onto the server to access the software. This system has limited accessibility but is thought to be more secure. It also allows the company to better customize the software to their needs. 
• A hybrid cloud-based system hosts some functionality on a private server and others on the internet. This allows companies to store sensitive information privately while providing more employee access and allowing for better scalability. 

Benefits of cloud-based accounts payable

Cloud-based solutions have taken the world in a wave with the rise of online platforms. Here are a few benefits of cloud-based accounts payable:

Cost savings

Cloud-based accounts payable can help you save costs by being easily scalable and accessible anywhere in the world. It enables you to save on purchases associated with infrastructure, managing paper invoices, and other in-person processing-related costs. 

With a subscription-based model, you can easily cancel your subscription or shift to another software without incurring extra expenses. 

Scalability

With a cloud-based accounts payable solution, you can easily add or remove users from the software without taking days or weeks. You can also provide gated logins with only a few users accessing a particular tool. 

Remote access

Accessing the software remotely is the most apparent benefit of cloud-based accounts payable. You can easily manage payables for your overseas offices without visiting or getting an invoice mailed to your address. This also allows accountants to work remotely with ease.

Enhanced visibility and control

Accountants, business approvers, and vendors can directly share and collaborate with each other on a single platform without any hassle. Cloud-based accounts payable make real-time reporting and monitoring a breeze since all transactions have a paper trail on the software. Thus, it improves your control over your finances. 

Challenges of cloud-based accounts payable

You must know a few challenges you might face while onboarding on a new platform. 

Integration with existing systems

Finding an accounts payable solution that integrates with your existing accounting software is crucial. Two-way syncing integration time is critical when selecting a cloud-based accounts payable solution. 

Compliatory issues

It is also important to select software that adheres to the compliance requirements of your company and the government. Failure to comply with these requirements can cause legal issues and future revenue loss. 

Data security

The biggest issue with public cloud-based accounts payable solutions is data privacy. It is essential to ensure that your data is safe, secure, and safe from online and vendor fraud, both from outside fraudsters or those who might be lurking within the company. Reading and understanding the software’s privacy policy is also paramount before purchasing. 

Complex functionalities

Shifting to cloud-based software is complex and confusing, primarily when your accountants are used to manually processing invoices. Ensuring the software provides ample training to your employees and has a smooth onboarding process is important, making the cloud solution simple to use. 

Selecting a cloud-based accounts payable solution for your business

Selecting the correct solution is important to get the best results. Here are a few tips you should keep in mind when choosing a cloud-based solution:

Accounting system integrations

Your accounts payable solution must integrate with other accounting systems used by your company. This ensures that your manual work is fully automated and can be accessed remotely without the hassle of downloading and entering the data again. 

End-to-end automation

Cloud-based accounts payable should also give the benefit of end-to-end automation with minimal manual work. This would remove the hassle of manually checking multiple systems or processing paper invoices, making the process only somewhat remote. 

Gated logins

An excellent cloud-based system allows multiple gated logins, ensuring only relevant authorities can access sensitive data. This helps ensure your AP processes are compliant, avoiding any legal issues. 

No additional costs per user

Onboarding or removing a user on a public cloud-based system is relatively easy. Some AP automation vendors thus let you onboard extra users at no additional cost and time till a specific limit, allowing you to scale your processes efficiently. 

ClearTech’s AP automation solution lets you automate your accounts payable cycle, including vendor management. It also provides an interactive AP, spend, and savings dashboard, allowing you to monitor your budgets and spend in real time. With ClearTech, you can perform spend analysis and pay your bills on one platform. 

In conclusion

Cloud-based accounts payable system lets you manage your accounts payable functions on a typically online cloud-based platform. These are divided into public, private, and hybrid cloud-based platforms. A public platform is hosted on the internet, while a private one is hosted on private servers, limiting their accessibility. A hybrid platform combines the two, allowing users to host sensitive data on a private server. Using a cloud platform to manage accounts payable helps you save costs, scale your business without additional charge, access accounts payable data remotely, and improve your control over your funds. A good cloud-based accounts payable system should automate your entire AP process and provide you with gated logins at minimal extra cost.