In the dynamic world of finance, the accounts payable (AP) landscape is evolving rapidly, with emerging trends reshaping how businesses manage their financial processes.
As we move into 2024, it's crucial for companies to stay ahead of these developments to enhance efficiency and competitiveness.
CloudPAYit is at the forefront of this revolution, offering innovative services and systems that directly address these emerging trends. Here are the top 10 trends impacting finance and AP leaders in 2024.
1. Automation and AI Integration in AP Processes
The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Accounts Payable (AP) represents a monumental shift in the financial operations of businesses which is sure to continue to expand in 2024. AI is already playing a big part in fraud detection and prevention, which will become a common practice in 2024. By analyzing historical data and patterns, AI flags unusual transactions that may indicate fraud, thereby protecting companies from financial losses and reputational damage.
CloudPAYit leverages groundbreaking machine learning technology to transform supplier conversion efforts. Sophisticated algorithms analyze vast amounts of data to identify suppliers that are most likely to adopt virtual cards, ACH, and other payment methods, boasting an impressive 92.9% accuracy rate, correctly predicting 84% of suppliers that will convert to card payments. This remarkable precision ensures that efforts are focused on the most receptive suppliers, maximizing the return on investment.
2. Expansion of embedded payment services in AP software
The time and resources spent on managing payments through multiple systems, containing risk, and resolving errors can strain AP’s efficiency and productivity. In 2024 finance leaders will be looking for streamlined payment operations and services that work with their existing technology, and minimize the tedious, and manual processes required from their AP teams today, opening the doors for AP teams to focus on more strategic and value-add initiatives such as optimizing cash flow, negotiating favorable terms, and fostering supplier relationships.
Leverage the benefits of modern AP payment processes with CloudPAYit as well as CloudOCR, the online OCR service for fast and easy data capture for invoices, forms, BOLs, drawings, tickets and more.
3. Implementation of centralized payment analytics for better decision making
Accounts Payable teams will increasingly look for decisions driven by data analytics in 2024, with a focus on efficiently managing finances and strategizing for future growth. The use of data analytics in AP payments typically involves significant manual work to collect, clean, and present payment data from multiple different systems, if it is available at all. A trend toward centralized payment data information is essential for informed decision-making and process optimization.
CloudPAYit removes this hassle by providing you with payments data all in one place. The payment portal provides insights and an unmatched level of visibility into your payment data, saving time, and significantly reducing the complexity of reporting.
4. Growing trend of remote and hybrid work models impacting AP operations
The shift towards remote and hybrid work models continues to have a profound impact on AP teams moving into 2024. With these models becoming the norm, AP teams are expected to adapt to new working patterns, which could enhance their efficiency and effectiveness. The pandemic highlighted the inefficiencies of paper-based AP processes, and many teams are still playing catch-up when it comes to adopting completely electronic systems and processes for processing payments.
CloudPAYit delivers all our supplier payments from one single electronic payment file, enabling customers to be paper check free from day one. No more check runs!
5. Focus on corporate resiliency in a time of uncertain economic impacts
With a continued level of economic uncertainty moving into 2024, Finance and AP leaders are looking at how their teams can do more than simply weather the storm by transforming into operationally efficient teams that add significant value back into their business. Operational efficiency includes the reduction of manual processes, more informed decision making based on centralized data, and transforming the AP team from being purely a cost center into a revenue generator.
CloudPAYit’s AP Payments as a Service streamlines AP operations, allowing existing AP teams to better adapt to evolving financial landscape and leverage new opportunities for growth and sustainability without having to add additional resources.
6. Heightened focus on payment security and fraud prevention
In 2024, there will be a significant emphasis on payment security and fraud prevention for accounts payable due to several key factors, including the growing sophistication of fraud techniques and the expanding digital transaction landscape, making it more challenging to ensure all payment processes are secure. Many organizations are realizing they do not have the appropriate internal controls in place to effectively combat modern payment fraud or even monitor for the rising risk of fraud on traditional payment methods like paper checks.
With CloudPAYit, supplier account information is securely collected, validated, and stored, and payments are monitored against fraudulent activity including know your customer (KYC), an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance program, and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) programs to be proactive against terrorist financing and other fraud-related risks.
7. Reduction in manual processes, touch points and data entry
Reducing the need for manual, human intervention throughout the payments process not only improves the efficiency of your AP team, but it is one of the best ways to limit your organization’s risk of fraud in 2024. Phishing and business email compromise (BEC) are some of the most common attack methods for fraudulent actors, making any human intervention involving payment delivery information one of the most risky areas of the payments process.
Backed by secure technology, CloudPAYit’s AP Payments as a Service manages payment delivery and data management for you, reducing the number of manual touch points and intervention required from your team, significantly reducing the risk of payment fraud.
8. The undeniable shift towards electronic payments
The above trends, including economic uncertainty, the increasing risk of payment fraud, and the desire for more efficient, and streamlined AP processes are driving AP teams to prioritize the shift and prioritization of electronic payment methods in 2024. Moving to electronic payments is a strategic choice for businesses looking to modernize their financial processes, increase efficiency and security, reduce processing costs, realize faster processing times, and lower their environmental impact.
CloudPAYit’s AP Payments as a Service facilitates the seamless shift to electronic payments by offering a service platform that supports various forms of electronic payments, with dedicated Supplier Enablement to help businesses transition smoothly to more modern payment methods.
9. Supplier Enablement: Optimizing the adoption of electronic payments
A finance leader’s desire to strategically move as much of their AP spend to electronic payments in 2024 is only as effective as their ability to educate and convert their suppliers from manual payment methods such as paper checks to electronic payment methods. The process of educating suppliers on the benefits of electronic payments, including improved security and faster payments can be tedious.
A specialized Supplier Enablement team, included with CloudPAYit’s AP Payments Service, executes specific campaigns backed by machine-learning models that are powered by data from the payment preferences of thousands of suppliers, resulting in virtual card adoption rates three times higher than most bank virtual card programs.
10. Enhanced focus on faster payment processing
Faster payment delivery will benefit both buyers and suppliers in 2024. Leveraging faster payment methods such as same-day ACH or virtual cards versus traditional paper checks, improves days payable outstanding (DPO) for buyers, allowing a company to utilize cash for short-term investments or other operational needs. Efficiently managing DPO can help a business balance its cash outflow with its operational and investment requirement. Faster payments enable strategies such as negotiating better payment terms with suppliers or negotiating invoice discounts from suppliers, improving their cash flow.
Optimizing electronic payment adoption through CloudPAYit’s Supplier Enablement, allows organizations to take full advantage of the benefits of faster payment processing, not previously an option with more manual and lengthy payment operation processes.
Are you interested in learning more about how your organization can quickly adapt to these AP payments trends?
Click here to learn more about how CloudPAYit can maximize your AP operations with AP Payments as a Service.