The State of ePayables in 2019

The State of ePayables in 2019
Driving Value in the Age of Intelligence
Claire Milligan, Co-Chief Product Officer, Certify, Inc.
Bob Cohen, Research Director, Ardent Partners

Webinar Info & CPE Credits
• CPE Credit: To claim your CPE credit, please answer all polling questions and remain
online for the duration of the webinar.
• Questions about CPE Credits? Your credit will be emailed to you within three
business days. If you have questions, please email Mike Lamberti at
mlamberti@certify.com
• Join the Discussion: We will have a Q&A at the end of the webinar, and will email
you a survey once the webinar concludes.

Today’s Presenters
Claire Milligan
Co-Chief Product Officer,
Certify, Inc.
Bob Cohen
Research Director,
Ardent Partners

About Certify
• Integrated, automated solutions for travel, expense,
invoice, and purchasing
• 64 languages, 140+ currencies, clients in 80 countries
• #1 G2 Crowd for user satisfaction in expense
management software (2014-2019) and Momentum
Grid leader in expense management software (2018)
• PC Magazine Editors’ Choice for best expense tracking
software (2015-2019)
• Processing expenses and receipts valued at
$3.3 billion annually

Certify Purchasing
A procure-to-pay solution that provides a customizable
and efficient way to purchase and pay for goods and
services.
The entire process is digitized from requisition to your
vendors through payment and integration into your
ERP.
Approvals are immediate, budgets are aligned—and
POs, invoices, and receipts are seamlessly matched.

Ardent Partners: Research With Results
Copyright © 2019 – Ardent Partners Ltd.

PayablesPlace: The Site for ePayables Pros
Visit www.payablesplace.com today!

Our Agenda
1. Introduction
2. The State of Accounts Payable
3. The State of ePayables
4. AP Performance in 2019
5. Strategies for Success
6. Q & A

Polling Question 1
What size is your company?
a) Less than 100 employees
b) 101-999 employees
c) More than 1,000 employees

Research Process
Research Report
• Goal (I): Capture the strategies, performance, and
intentions of AP and finance professionals in 2019
(and beyond)
• Goal (II): Present a clear and comprehensive view of the
“State of ePayables”
• Goal (III): Identify the strategies and levers that drive
Best-in-Class results
Approach
• Utilize a web-based survey to capture responses from
167 executives from AP, finance, and treasury
• Leverage experience and orientation of a leading
analyst team

Research Demographics (167 participants)
167 Respondents
• 63% Accounts Payable; 18% P2P; 8% Finance/Accounting
• 39% Director & Up; 39% AP Manager; 17% AP Staff
• 60% from large enterprises
• 71% North America; 24% EMEA
• More than 25 distinct industries

The Current Perception of Accounts Payable
How Valuable is Your AP Team to the Enterprise?
Exceptionally Valuable
Very Valuable
Somewhat Valuable
Little Value (back-office function)
19%
36%
24%
21%
55%

AP’s Top Challenges in 2019
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Lack of visibility into invoice and payment data
Getting the budget to invest in automation
Too much paper
Lack of respect/status within the organization
Invoice/payment approvals take too long
High percentage of exceptions
62%
51%
49%
40%
33%
24%

The Top Sources of Invoice Exceptions
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
82%
48%
45%
33%
30%
27%
24%
Discrepancy
between PO
and invoice
Supplier error Lack of PO Bottleneck in
invoice
approval
process
Incorrect PO Failure to
deliver
goods/services
Coding error

Polling Question 2
In your organization, what are AP’s top priorities in 2019?
a) Improve AP reporting/data analytics
b) Eliminate paper and reduce manual tasks
c) Implement AP automation
d) Reduce processing costs

AP’s Top Priorities in 2019
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Improve visibility into invoice and payment data
Improve collaboration w/ procurement
Improve connectivity/collaboration w/ suppliers
Reduce processing costs
Implement AP automation
Eliminate paper and reduce manual tasks
Improve AP reporting/data analytics 48%
47%
40%
30%
27%
22%
20%

AP’s Top “Game Changers”
76%
Smarter Systems
51%
Deeper, more
agile analytics
49%
Enhanced
Collaboration
49%
Eliminate
Tactical Tasks
42%
Executive
Support

Skills Needed by AP Staff Today (and in the Future)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Deep technology acumen
Broader finance skills
Supplier relationship management
Payments
Analytics and business intelligence
Knowledge of full P2P process
Fraud and compliance
Customer service approaches
90%
77%
74%
65%
65%
52%
45%
35%

How Will AP Evolve Over the Next Two Years
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
High function &
stakeholder
collaboration
Improved AP
operational
"experience"
Full AP automation AP = Intelligence
"Hub"
"Innovation-ready"
culture
Digital payments
80%
73%
61%
53%
50%
47%

AP Staff Time Dealing With Supplier Inquiries
22.2%

ePayables Solution Adoption
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Business or payment network
Complete Procure-to-Pay solution
elnvoicing solution
ePayments solution
Automated data capture/extraction (e.g., OCR)
Automated routing/approval workflow
Document imaging/scanning
Currently Using Plan to Utilize (Within 24 Months)
72%
20%
69%
28%
56%
29%
47%
24%
42%
39%
35%
47%
31%
25%

Level of Automation for Each AP Sub-Process
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Moderately-to-Heavily Automated Somewhat Automated Not Automated
67% 56% 64% 51% 58% 39% 28% 31% 34% 20% 26%
25%
8%
19%
25%
17%
19%
26%
23%
28%
14%
28%
33%
47%
25%
33%
36%
17%
49%
26%
54%
34%
40%

Percentage of Early Payment Discounts Captured
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
0% - 10%
11% - 20%
21% - 30%
61% - 70%
81% - 90%
91% - 100%
58%
15%
3%
3%
12%
9%

Polling Question 3
In your organization, what percentage of invoices are received electronically?
a) Less than 10%
b) 11-30%
c) 31-50%
d) 51-70%
e) More than 71%

55% 45%
Electronic Payments on the Rise

Polling Question 4
In your organization, what is the average cost to process an invoice
(all-inclusive cost)?
a) Less than $3 per invoice
b) $4 - $10 per invoice
c) $11 - $15 per invoice
d) More than $16 per invoice
e) I don’t know

The 2019 AP Maturity Framework
Metrics Best-in-Class All Others
Cost to process a single invoice
(all-inclusive cost)
$2.18 $12.60
Time to process a single invoice 2.9 days 10.8 days
Invoice exception rate 10.1% 23.3%
Percentage of invoices processed
“straight-through”
65.3% 19.2%
Percentage of suppliers that submit
invoices electronically
49.0% 16.0%
Percentage of invoices linked to a
Purchase Order (PO)
79.2% 31.7%

Recommendations
• Assess the current state of your AP operation
• Invest in technology to automate core processes
• Develop a short- and long-term roadmap for aligning AP with the digital goals of the
greater enterprise
• Identify key performance metrics and improve upon them on a regular basis
• Stop, collaborate, and listen
• Develop a data strategy and make accounts payable a hub of information
• Become a better communicator of AP’s contributions and achievements

The State of ePayables in 2019

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