Paper invoices remain the biggest roadblock for lower processing costs-report

According to a report entitled “ePayables 2014: The Quest” by research and advisory firm Ardent Partners in partnership with Basware, this includes invoices received via mail, fax, PDF, and as an email attachment.

Top priorities for AP organisations remain cost reduction (63%), improvement of reporting and analytics (37%) and improvement of visibility into invoice and payment data (31%).

While top priorities are cost reductions and improvement of analytics and visibility, top challenges, on the other hands, are: delay in receiving (or lack of) matching information (44%), invoice/payment approvals take too long (43%).

Currently, 29% of respondents argued that they already use an e-invoicing solution, while 55% plan to adopt one in the next two years. Furthermore, 13% said they currently use a supplier portal, while 57% plan to implement one in the near future.

The report also reveals that although current usage of dynamic discounting is on the lower side (13%), there is strong interest in the coming years (30%). Furthermore, companies are also looking into supply chain finance, with 22% of respondents planning to deploy a dedicated solution in the next two years.