Think long term!

Any type of investment into purchase to pay software is a long-term investment & getting the powers that be to see the long-term benefits isn’t always easy. So, why do you want to pitch automation software to your boss?

Let’s use a finance department as an example (how’d you guess…).

In this scenario you’re an overworked finance professional – hard to believe, right?

You’re constantly chasing PO’s & invoices, so you think that automating those manual processes could not only save valuable time but also give more visibility & control over spend.

Great!

But now you have to convince your boss to invest their probably already tight budget in a p2p solution they may not “think” they need.

To give you an idea of how lengthy the process can be, the diagram below shows the 8 stages an organization usually goes through when considering a new product.

So, what do senior management need to know when considering purchase to pay software?

How easy is it to implement?

I was surprised that the main concern was simplicity of the software implementation was the top response from our VP of Finance when I asked him what he needs to know when considering new software.

The first answer I expected from him was “How much does it cost?” not “How easy is it to implement?” but I guess time is money & if a software is difficult to implement, the amount of time it takes to get it up & running would inevitably affect the bottom line.

What are the implications on the team/company once it’s up & running?

This relates to resource; How many staff will be using the software regularly, or will it be rolled out companywide?

How much training do staff need to undertake before they can adequately use the software?

Who will be managing the software & what are the implications on their workload?

Do you have an existing system in place that would need to be switched over, if so, how easy would this be to do?

Finally, what accounting software do you have installed, & can it integrate with the P2P software?

How much time will it save?

In today’s society we are all rushing around forever trying to claw back the time we need to spend on things we would rather be doing.

For a business, time is invaluable & having more of it to spend on important tasks instead of worrying about why there are no POs for half of the purchases this month.

Any good Purchase to Pay software will ensure business & payment terms are committed with suppliers & all invoices will automatically be matched to a PO without needing any human intervention.

e-Procurement systems can be challenging & costly to keep up to date. P2P software will automatically record & update all that data, having that at your fingertips is a game changer!

How much money will it save?

Here it is, the burning question every director/VP/Manager will want to know…. How will it save the business money? Maverick spend is a huge issue for so many businesses, an article in Supply Management said “it is not uncommon to find that up to 80 per cent of all invoices are generated from uncontrolled buying”.

Good P2P software allows businesses to enforce a “No PO, No Pay” rule. This ensures the commitment of spend will always be recorded in the ERP / Accounting software & is always known to management so there are no surprises come budget time.

Be prepared, do your research!

The worst thing you can do when pitching an idea to your boss is to be unprepared.

Make sure you do your research & you do it well, look at the different software options available, look at online reviews, list the pros & cons.

Ideally you want at least 3 good options when you approach your superiors, you don’t want to overwhelm them with choice, but you need to provide options, for example:

• the most cost-effective software,
• the one with the most capabilities,
• the cheapest option
• etc…

Which category does Compleat fit in? Have a look & decide for yourself!