Skip to content
  • Homepage
  • Our Solutions
    • Document Storage and Records Management
      • Deed Storage
      • Long Term Storage
      • Media Storage Solutions
      • On Demand Storage
      • Onsite Management
      • Secure Vault Storage
    • AP Invoice Automation Solution
      • Start Your AP Journey
      • E-Invoicing
      • Features
      • ERP Integrations
      • Insights by Industry
      • Why Kefron AP?
      • Pricing
    • IT Asset Disposition Services
      • IT Asset Disposal
      • Hard Drive Shredding Services
      • Secure Data Destruction
      • WEEE Recycling and Electrical Waste Disposal
      • Refurbished IT Equipment
      • IT Equipment Resale and Revenue Return
    • Scanning and Data Capture
      • Scan to Digitise
      • Scan to Process
      • Digital Mailroom
      • Microfiche Scanning
    • Online Document Solutions
      • Online Document
        Management Software
      • Online Document Storage
    • Business Process Services
      • Data Management
      • Data Subject Access Requests
      • Securities and Deeds Management
  • Who We Are
    • About Kefron
    • Who We Are
    • Partners
    • Contact Us
    • Working with Kefron
  • News & Events
    • News & Events
    • Articles & Updates
    • Customer Stories
    • Upcoming Events
    • On-demand Events
    • Select Location
    • Ireland
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    • Rest of the world
  • Let’s Talk
  • Republic of Ireland website
  • UK website
  • US website
  • Rest of the world website

How AP Automation Facilitates Business Productivity Amidst The Covid-19 Pandemic

Undoubtedly, the previous 15 months have posed significant challenges to businesses across various sectors due to the global pandemic, disrupting traditional work protocols. According to McKinsey, these disruptions have prompted a dramatic shift in work norms. In terms of business productivity, automated Accounts Payable systems have emerged as a viable solution. These systems have empowered Financial Departments to align with the new work norms, safeguarding their financial health while bolstering productivity.

At first glance, the challenge of keeping business productivity levels up may seem practically impossible. After all, access to the office facilities has been seriously curtailed with significant numbers of employees working from home. So, during the crisis, the practicalities of meeting existing commitments, never mind developing and introducing new businesses services, was a far tougher task.

Ardent Research shows a quarter of businesses suffered a ‘High Impact’ due to the pandemic, with overall business operations seriously restricted.

A major area of that operation, however, is the Finance Department, and the ability to process Accounts Payable quickly and effectively plays a critical role in keeping everything running as smoothly as possible. AP automation has been able to help guide companies through the maze more effectively.

In fact, there are several ways in which an automated AP system helps businesses to overcome the challenge.

AP Automation & Business Productivity

1. Access is Unhindered

With teams unable to come together and the normal office facilities not close to hand to those remote working, even straightforward tasks become near-impossible in an AP process still based on manual practices. Documents cannot be accessed, so checks are hard to do and approvals even harder.

However, because automated AP systems scan and electronically store all invoices received, these documents can be accessed from anywhere – even from a kitchen table. Specific employees are given prior permission to access the system, ensuring security, but the key consequence is that the invoices of your valuable suppliers can be processed and approved swiftly and smoothly.

2. Greater Productivity

Because AP automation means the digital storing of invoices, employee workloads are reduced dramatically with some research revealing as much as 70% of managers’ time is freed up. In a previous post, we revealed that Kefron AP, our own automated AP system, helped our customers save significant time on a range of typical procedural areas.

What we discovered is that an automated system allows PO Matching to be completed in a 65% faster time, with Approvals also completed 65% quicker, Document Retrieval 95% faster and the time spent dealing with Duplicates reduced by 100%.

3. Digital File Sharing

Of course, distributing and sharing documents is an important part of achieving greater efficiency and, as a consequence, productivity. Once again, with colleagues separated in their homes and little access to paperwork stored in the office, traditional manual processes wouldn’t offer a solution to the new challenge.

However, because all documents are stored digitally with an automated AP system, the documents that need to be shared between team members, or officially approved, can be done so in one central location. So, no need to email 15 others and hope the attachments are ‘attached’.

4. Technology Strengths Suppliers Relations

The traditional invoice processing method includes a litany of time-demanding procedures designed to ensure accuracy. Checking and double-checking figures can slow down the overall AP process, costing valuable time as well as money.

But through the existence of a Supplier Portal, automated AP solutions become a centralised location where accredited suppliers can access their own invoices to learn the status of their invoices. So, the number of requests, reminders and queries are reduced, freeing up time for your AP team to work on other areas.

5. Gain Insights Into Trends

With AP automation gathering and storing documents electronically, the ability to garner detailed insights from the archived data becomes simpler. Reporting can be done in real time, so any insight is as up-to-date and relevant as they can be, allowing the key factors that affect productivity and performance to be identified quickly. Action can then be taken to either improve or maintain those figures.

6. Continued High Productivity Post-Pandemic

It may seem like an overly optimistic prediction, but data is showing that even in the post-pandemic world, high business productivity levels can be enjoyed. Research has already shown that, in general, employees are reacting very well to working from home. In fact, 88% of participants in a recent FlexJobs survey stated their productivity increased or stayed the same while remote working. And some 65% wanted to work permanently from home, and 33% have a hybrid working model after the Covid-19 pandemic is over. With AP automation, either of these scenarios can be facilitated with no upset to the overall operation.

If you would like to talk to a Kefron’s team member about an invoice automation solution that is highly adaptable to business processes and rules, click here.

BlogInvoice Automation

Related articles

Mastering Invoice Matching: Three-Way, Line Item & PO Matching Explained

Read time: 8 minutes

BlogInvoice Automation

Explore the essentials of three-way matching, PO matching, and line item matching for accurate, fraud-resistant invoice processing. This guide offers practical insights, automation strategies, and implementation tips to help businesses streamline acc...

Read more

What Is OCR Invoice Processing? Benefits, Workflow & Technology

Read time: 12 minutes

BlogInvoice Automation

Manual invoice processing has long plagued finance teams with inefficiencies, delays, and costly errors. Today, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is not just solving those issues, it’s transforming Accounts Payable (AP) into a strategic function....

Read more

Tire Industry Challenges: Why Finance Teams Are Stuck in the Slow Lane

Read time: 6 minutes

BlogInvoice Automation

The tire distribution sector is racing ahead, driven by booming demand and rapid expansion. But behind the scenes, many companies face mounting tire industry challenges, especially when it comes to finance operations. Managing high volumes of invoice...

Read more

Accounting Integration: How AP Automation Simplifies ERP and POS Operations

Read time: 8 minutes

BlogInvoice Automation

Learn how accounting integration, ERP integration, and POS integration combined with AP automation transform financial operations. This guide covers seamless data sync, accuracy, cost savings, and best practices. Discover how these integrations reduc...

Read more

How AP Automation Simplifies Post-Merger Finance Integration

Read time: 9 minutes

BlogInvoice Automation

Business acquisitions mark a pivotal time of transformation, particularly for organisations operations. While they offer growth and competitive advantage, they also introduce complex operational hurdles. Among these, post-merger finance integration i...

Read more

Navigating ERP Upgrade: A Step-by-Step Guide to a Successful ERP Migration

Read time: 8 minutes

BlogInvoice Automation

Upgrading your ERP system is a crucial move for business efficiency, but poor execution can lead to costly failures. This guide walks you through a successful ERP upgrade, covering data migration, AP automation, and best practices. Learn how to avoid...

Read more

CFO Insights: Mastering Your Transition to Finance Leadership

Read time: 9 minutes

BlogInvoice Automation

A CFO’s success depends on a well-structured transition plan, strategic leadership, and financial innovation. This article explores CFO insights to help finance leaders optimize financial health, improve forecasting, and enhance decision-making wit...

Read more

E-Invoicing Compliance: What Businesses Must Know for 2025 & Beyond

Read time: 8 minutes

BlogInvoice Automation

E-invoicing compliance is becoming mandatory across Germany, Poland, Belgium, Spain, and Malaysia, with governments tightening tax regulations. Businesses must transition to structured invoicing formats like ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, KSeF, PEPPOL, and LHDN...

Read more

Driving Seamless Global Transactions with Accounts Payable Automation

Read time: 5 minutes

BlogInvoice Automation

Discover how AP automation simplifies global transactions by reducing errors, improving compliance, and streamlining international invoices. Learn from the success of businesses like Exclusive Networks, which achieved faster processing and enhanced s...

Read more

Streamlining Accounts Payable: How AP Automation Transforms Team Roles

Read time: 8 minutes

BlogInvoice Automation

Accounts Payable (AP) teams are essential for maintaining a company’s financial health, yet they face numerous challenges. From managing time-consuming invoice processing tasks to reconciling discrepancies and ensuring compliance, the workload ...

Read more

Get in touch

Ireland
53 Park West Road
Dublin 12, D12 F8RK
T: +353 (0)1 438 0200

Connect with us

TwitterYouTubeInstagramLinkedInFacebookVimeo

  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Sitemap

© Copyright 2025 Kefron. All Rights Reserved

Please confirm your country

  • Ireland
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Rest of the World

Confirm

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.

Cookie Settings Accept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
Save & Accept