7 Benefits of Finance Automation

With ramping globalisation and increasingly complex financial set ups, automating financial processes becomes a necessity to remain competitive and stay efficient. Automation has elevated financial management to new levels in the past decade, moving millions of finance professionals away from the spreadsheets and manual reconciliations, and freed their time to engage with value-adding tasks. A study on automation from McKinsey Global Institute revealed that technology can fully automate 42 percent of finance processes and mostly automate an additional 19 percent. Yet, there are still many companies that do not use financial automation to its full capacity or don't know where to start - according to AccessPay "Finance Trends 2025” Report, as many as 69% of businesses conduct their finance operations manually.

There are a few different levels of automation, addressing various business processes and finance functions as well as the technical proficiency of the finance teams.

The first form are macros and scripts which are simple rules-based automation that repeats simple work with highly structured data- this includes things like general accounting processes, revenue management, and cash disbursement. Robotic process automation (RPA) forms the base of macros and scripts and can complete repeated operations rapidly and with low effort.

Artificial intelligence is at the other end of the spectrum. Theoretically, the incorporation of artificial intelligence is accomplished when a finance software can make intelligent judgments while still adhering to controls via algorithms or machine learning. Machine learning algorithms exhibit capacity to take in a steady stream of data, evaluate them for patterns, and offer solutions to issues that finance processionals can't even notice, resulting in dramatically improved business decision making and financial performance. What was once a dream for finance leaders and business owners is now becoming a reality. These advancements are shaking up the way activities are conducted and putting new elements into the mix, such as forecasting and financial reporting.

Embracing finance automation may seem daunting at first, but as more organisations integrate it into their daily financial workflows, its value becomes increasingly evident. Here are 7 key benefits of finance automation:

1. Intelligent Automation of B2B Payments

To put it simply, electronic payments are less expensive than paper checks. According to a 2019 analysis by Levvel Research, organisations that used highly automated accounts payable procedures paid €2.36 for each invoice on average. Finance departments that used limited automation, on the other hand, spent €15 on each invoice, more than six times as much as their competitors.

Mailing checks require printing supplies, stamps, paper, and, of course, staff work, which is one of the reasons why manual payments are so expensive. Payments are significantly less likely to slide through the cracks now that electronic payments are more visible, ensuring that businesses is not penalised with late fees.

2. Faster Invoice Processing with Automated Approvals

When B2B payments are processed manually, invoices might languish on desks or in email inboxes for days, if not weeks, awaiting clearance but standardising the approval procedure, payment automation eliminates most delays. Accounts Payable (AP) departments can use automation technologies to specify who authorises which invoices by when and send reminders or error messages if those criteria are not followed.

The top B2B payment automation solutions have configurable dashboards that provide a high-level, real-time overview of invoice processing, providing AP executives with immediate visibility into any pending bills.

3. Improved Financial Productivity

B2B payment automation removes the need for human intervention. This not only allows AP teams and finance departments to work more effectively but also gives them back the time and energy to focus on more strategic initiatives that contribute to business growth. A vast majority of contemporary automation and accounting tools are cloud-based, allowing CFOs and finance teams to access real-time financial data collaborate or operate independently in a secure environment regardless of their location or device.

4. Better Adherence to Financial Regulations and Protection from Fraud

Manually monitoring check payments takes time and attention away from critical financial tasks and it's easy to overlook red flags or issues while performing checks by hand. This is especially troubling knowing that checks are the payment type most commonly used by people conducting or attempting to commit fraud.

Fraud may be a financial nightmare for your organisation, but B2B payment automation reduces the likelihood of fraud by:

Identifying incorrect invoices

Controlling which users are permitted to do specified activities

Providing entire transaction visibility

Detecting missing or inaccurate information

Automating your finance services can give your AP team peace of mind and a potential rise in the probability of pulling ahead of the competition without shoring up vulnerabilities against fraud.

5. Improved Vendor Relationships

Having an all-star reputation for paying bills on time distinguishes you from competitors and strengthens your relationship with suppliers. Developing excellent vendor connections is critical to the success of your business and its continued growth. B2B payment automation maintains existing strong vendor relationships in a variety of ways, including:

Faster service: Automating payments saves the time it takes suppliers and AP team members to reply to invoice and payment status inquiries.

Real-time visibility: B2B payment solutions provide often provide vendors with a dedicated portal that enables them to check on the progress of the transaction.

Shorter Payment Cycles: Automation can help lower critical KPIs like Days Sales Outstanding are lower (DSO).

Minimised error risk: Payment errors occur, however they occur significantly less frequently with automated payments.

On-time payments: B2B payment systems automatically transmit payments on or before their deadlines.

6. Less Human Errors

As you are aware, human data input is far from ideal, and even little errors may divert important time away from critical tasks, strain customer and supplier relationships, and result in duplicate payments, overpayments, or underpayments. B2B payment automation identifies minor difficulties before they become large concerns. With the right software, mistakes will be few and far between.

7. Clearer insight into financial data

Using financial technology like AP, collections or B2B payment automation can highlight opportunities for process improvement and provide inspiration for ways to shorten the payment cycle.

B2B payment services, for example, clearly display which phases of the cycle take the longest, where approval bottlenecks are located, and who to contact when there are delays. Furthermore, financial data may be imported and exported in real-time, providing AP teams with the information they need to submit quarterly reports on time. Improved insights and visibility can pave the way for the integration of other strategic initiatives that improve cash flow such as forecasting and financial planning.

Fyorin is a payment and financial automation software that helps global businesses streamline their financial operations. Fyorin automates financial workflows from accounts payable, collections, expenses all the way to global payments, all integrated to your ERP or accounting tool. With a single onboarding and compliance process we offer you access to 100+ currencies across 200 countries to grow globally without complexity and unify all financial data under a single platform. With that we help business keep risks low and cash flow steady.