Another payables automation piece, this one picked up in AccountancyAge, with the article sponsored by a 2013 Dallas startup named Yooz. The company offers cloud-based payables software and services, one of the cash cycle digital growth areas of the past several years with continuing momentum going forward, as we have recently seen through the various deals and investments.
The author discusses the potential reasons why that growth trajectory is not even steeper:
‘ ‘But there are still many UK companies who are falling behind. Despite HMRC’s best efforts with its Making Tax Digital (MTD) scheme, 25% of businesses still rely solely on paper-based records, and a further 20% are yet to implement accounting software….‘Digitise or die’ is the modern mantra, but why are so many companies reluctant to adopt such technology?’
The piece points out a number of self-claimed ‘myths’ about payables software, such as it being too expensive, requires long implementation time, doesn’t integrate easily, among other things. These all have some validity in overcoming objections while attempting to break through the business wall around adopting digital processes.
We have covered this area pretty thoroughly in various reports, and for sure there is a sliding adoption scale based on business sizes. One can sort of easily fit all these objections into one barrel called inertia. That phenomenon captures the essence of the issue, in that generally speaking, it is hard to make a case for digitization if a business does not have the time, staff, and data to understand where they are and might be going. So the answer is to wait until something breaks, or perhaps a noticeable difference begins surfacing between a business and its competitors. So the article is worth a quick read for some practical advice.
‘ ‘The adoption of automation in an accounts payable department is about more than integrating new technologies. The whole organisation needs to get behind and appreciate the long-term benefits it will bring teams and the businesses…Once adopted, the benefits will be plain to see. Adopting accounts payable software brings tangible benefits, such as reducing the time and cost of invoice processing, preventing fraud and the loss of documents, and streamlining overall workflows.’
Overview by Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
