Managing accounts payable can be a time-consuming and challenging task, especially for businesses with limited resources. Thankfully, the right accounts payable software can help businesses streamline their payment processes, reduce manual errors, and improve efficiency.
QuickBooks is a popular accounting software for small and mid-sized businesses. Integrating QuickBooks with a compatible accounts payable automation software helps finance teams digitize their entire AP process. Keep reading to learn the 4 essential steps you need to know to choose an accounts payable automation software that is both compatible with QuickBooks and able to transform your business.
Understanding QuickBooks AP in its Standard Format
QuickBooks is a popular accounting software that many small to mid-sized businesses use to manage their finances. It offers a range of features that support bookkeeping, financial reporting, and inventory management, but its accounts payable (AP) functionality is relatively bare-bones.
In its standard configuration, QuickBooks AP requires a lot of manual effort, lacking automation and approval workflows. This leaves room for ample efficiency gains and improvements. While enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions focus on a broader range of areas, QuickBooks is ideal for businesses that want a simpler approach to managing their finances.
How AP Automation Improves QuickBooks
As mentioned earlier, QuickBooks is considered a great accounting software for small to mid-sized businesses. However, the standard format of QuickBooks AP can be quite manual and time-consuming. By integrating with QuickBooks, AP automation tools like MineralTree’s TotalAP help businesses get more value out of QuickBooks in several ways.
Streamline the Invoice Approval Process
First and foremost, AP automation tools can simplify the invoice approval process. The standard QuickBooks AP capabilities require manually routing invoices to approvers, which sometimes result in delays and inefficiencies within organizations. AP automation tools automatically route invoices for approval based on preset rules and hierarchies, reducing the need for manual intervention. Additionally, invoices in MineralTree can be approved digitally via email by decision-makers with one simple click, without requiring a separate login.
Reduce Manual Entry
Secondly, AP automation significantly reduces the need for manual data entry. With QuickBooks AP, invoices have to be manually entered into the system, which can be tedious and prone to human error. Teams that use MineralTree’s AP automation tool save both time and money by automatically capturing and coding invoices with up to 99% accuracy.
Make AP More Efficient
Lastly, AP automation tools reduce the overall time spent on AP tasks. Using only QuickBooks for AP involves many manual steps, like chasing down approvers for signatures or getting checks out the door. AP automation tools aim to reduce human touch points wherever possible, resulting in a more efficient and streamlined AP process so that your team can invest their time in more strategic value-add projects.
Choosing the Right AP Software for QuickBooks
When selecting an AP automation tool to work alongside QuickBooks, there are several factors to consider. A solution that can help reduce the overall time and efforts involved in manual data entry, approvals, and other tasks associated with AP is essential. MineralTree is one such solution that provides significant value, as described in the following sections.
Step 1: Ensure Accuracy in the AP Process
One of the biggest pain points for companies when it comes to accounts payable is the time and effort it takes to scan and enter invoices accurately. This is especially true when the process involves manual data entry. AP automation tools like MineralTree can help cut the time in half for invoice capture while increasing data accuracy.
MineralTree uses advanced OCR technology to capture invoice data. But what sets us apart is our additional layer of human review in order to ensure an accuracy of up to 99.5% on every invoice processed. This two-layer approach by our team helps catch any potential errors and ensures that invoices are processed quickly and accurately.
Step 2: Optimize for Growth
ERP migrations can be painful as companies continue to grow and expand. If AP automation solutions can’t integrate easily with various ERPs, this transition creates extra stress for the AP team. With MineralTree, you don’t have to worry about costly and time-consuming software upgrades or switching to a new solution if your business grows past a certain size.
MineralTree offers a flexible and scalable solution to accommodate your growing business needs regardless of the transaction volume, team size, or number of vendors. As your company expands, our platform will grow with you, providing the same level of automation and control that you enjoyed when you first implemented the software.
Step 3: Facilitate Vendor Payments
Not all vendors are created equal, and they often have different payment preferences and capabilities. It’s important that the AP automation solution you choose lets you pay vendors in their preferred format, whether it’s via check, ACH, virtual card or international wire. MineralTree has the ability to transform your manual, labor-intensive payments process into an efficient AP workflow that is optimized to improve the security, speed, and costs of your B2B payments, regardless of payment type.
This flexibility not only helps maintain strong vendor relationships but it also streamlines the payment process for companies. Additionally, your AP automation platform should fully integrate with QuickBooks in order to ensure that all payment information gets accurately recorded.
Step 4: Prioritize Two-Way Sync
Two-way sync is an important feature to consider when choosing an AP automation tool that works with QuickBooks. This functionality ensures that any changes made in one environment will be seen in the other environment, allowing for seamless data transfer between systems.
Many AP automation tools have some form of a two-way sync, but MineralTree’s integration stands out as particularly efficient with the two environments syncing every 5-10 minutes. This allows QuickBooks to remain the single source of truth, while MineralTree streamlines the AP process and maximizes companies’ investment in QuickBooks. Additionally, MineralTree’s user interface makes the process easy to use and navigate, further enhancing the user experience.
Real Results
When Affinity Dental adopted MineralTree’s AP automation solution, it helped the company streamline their manual AP process, which included receiving, managing, and approving invoices. MineralTree’s solution reduced the time spent on AP tasks, allowing employees to focus on more value-added activities. In addition, the software improved the accuracy of invoice capture and allowed for approvals to be done remotely.
Cascade Senior Living, a retirement home operator, faced challenges with managing their accounts payable processes before adopting MineralTree’s AP automation solution. Prior to MineralTree, Cascade Senior Living relied on paper-based processes and faced manual data entry, time-consuming workflows, and difficulty tracking invoices. MineralTree’s AP automation solution helped to streamline their AP processes, allowing them to automate invoice capture and approval routing, improve accuracy, and increase visibility into their AP processes. As a result, they were able to significantly reduce the amount of time spent on AP, improve their cash flow management, and better manage their overall financial operations.
MTB Management is a franchisee with multiple Taco Bell locations that used to manage its accounts payable process manually with paper-based methods. However, this approach was extremely time-consuming and inefficient, and not secure enough to support the company’s growth plans. By implementing MineralTree’s AP automation solution, MTB Management was able to automate its entire AP process, including invoice capture, approvals, and payments. The solution also provided real-time visibility into invoice status and helped MTB Management strengthen relationships with its vendors. As a result, the company was able to save time, reduce errors, and manage its business much more effectively, even as it continued to grow.
MineralTree’s AP Software with QuickBooks
Choosing the right AP software for QuickBooks can significantly streamline a company’s AP process, saving time and money while increasing accuracy and efficiency. MineralTree is an excellent option for companies looking to integrate AP automation with QuickBooks. With features such as accurate invoice capture, the ability to scale, paying vendors in their preferred format, two-way sync, and virtual cards, MineralTree helps companies simplify their approval processes and optimize their payments in QuickBooks.
Additionally, as companies grow, MineralTree can grow with them, offering a structured hierarchy of approvals for invoices and payments. Request a free demo today to learn more about how MineralTree can help you improve your AP workflow in QuickBooks.
