AP Automation For Sage: A Solution For Now & Future

Whilst there are many elements of the Accounts Payable [AP] process that are time consuming, it’s manual data entry that takes up the most time for finance teams.

A surv ey showed that accounts payable staff spend a quarter of their work week entering data into their accounting system, never mind time spent on other AP admin. Another survey found that they spent over 2 hours just searching for the right document. These statistics highlight the burden of accounts payable processes on finance teams and the growing need for automation.

If you’re an on premise Sage user who finds themselves juggling an ever-growing to-do list while still manually processing thousands of AP documents a month, then AP automation is the secret weapon you’ve been missing out on.

Let’s take a closer look at the immediate and long-term benefits of AP automation.

Immediate Benefits To Sage Clients

1. Reclaim your time

“We’ve saved half a day, every day!” Gemma | Head Of Finance at Soho Theatre

We speak to Sage clients daily, and the one thing we always hear is how they are simply strapped for time—some so much so that their receptionist helps to punch in data. AP automation takes this time-consuming element off your hands.

It’s a simple switch. Manual data entry (or death by keyboard) is handled by a system that scans the invoice as a digital PDF rather than a piece of paper. It uploads the data, line by line, into an AP software that integrates with Sage.

Statement reconciliations aren’t far behind. These eat into your time too around month end we bet! Whether you’re doing it manually, highlighter in hand or flicking between Excel tabs, it doesn’t need to be that way.

Here’s more good news: You won't have to chase down managers for invoice or purchase order approval or wonder whose inbox it got lost in.

2. Errors? Not in your books.

“The data in our accounting software is now extremely clean” Barry Casey | Head of Finance at Healthcare Ireland

Gone are the days of reworking reports, missing decimal points or an extra zero.

Without automation, your finance team is stuck manually entering data—hello errors and headaches! But AP automation does the heavy lifting, pulling key details like vendor names, amounts, and dates straight from the documents.

Automated calculations take the guesswork out of totals and taxes. By reducing the reliance on manual processes, AP automation enhances accuracy and decreases the likelihood of costly mistakes, such as duplicate invoices.

With AP automation software like Lightyear, creating error-free, reliable and updated financial reports is a breeze. This accuracy helps you spot trends, manage cash flow like a pro, and optimise your budget while keeping things compliant.

When integrated with Sage, you get a clear view of your business’s financial health. You’ll easily track performance against budgets and forecasts. Plus, accurate reporting isn’t just about numbers—it’s your trusted tool for keeping financial regulations in check and earning the trust of stakeholders.

Success Story

WhiteWater Car Wash Reduce Invoice Processing Times
By 50% with AP Automation

Read the case study

Setting Up Finance Teams For The Future

1. Ready for growth

“What it allows us to do is grow and be more efficient” Jeanette Sumruld | Senior Accounting Manager at WhiteWater

Conversations with our Sage clients highlight one term prominently: agility.

Whether you're opening up new sites, managing more suppliers, or expanding your product lines, AP automation offers you that flexibility. Automated systems let you set predefined processes that can be easily picked up as new staff come on board.

What’s more, you can gain useful insights with AP automation at your fingertips, allowing you to see trends like price rises happening in real time. With the ability to make proactive, informed decisions, you can help keep the business one step ahead of the competition.

But every implementation comes with its fair share of hurdles, which is why adaptable software is a necessity.

Digitising the approval process benefits individual managers and the broader management team. If you are on leave or occupied, other managers can step in to approve POs or invoices via proxy approvals. By allowing multiple managers to share the responsibility, the system avoids gaps or delays in the process and keeps things running smoothly. This team-based approach provides better coverage and ensures consistent workflow, regardless of any one manager’s availability.

Lightyear is that AP automation solution that grows alongside your business. With its built-in scalability, you can process your high transaction volumes without sacrificing speed or accuracy.

Take Evergreen Care, for example, who have rapidly expanded to operate 12 nursing homes in just 4 years. They’re now saving 40 hours a week on invoice processing after integrating Lightyear with Sage 50.

2. Smooth Sailing Into Sage Intacct

“We invested a lot of money into switching over to Sage Intacct, which we now do most of our reporting in.” Gemma | Head of Finance at Soho Theatre

With AP automation, you'll be ready if or when it’s time to switch to Sage Intacct.

By beginning the digitisation process with AP automation, you prepare your finance department for a more gentle transition since some of the necessary preparations will already be done.

The good thing is that because of the deeper API integration between Sage Intacct and Lightyear’s cloud-based platforms, your data is already in a standardised format. This can be intuitively transferred into Sage Intacct.

By automating AP processes (invoice scanning, approval routing, payment processing), you eliminate manual bottlenecks. This reduces errors during the migration process and makes things much smoother.

Furthermore, familiarity with automated workflows will allow your team to adapt quickly to Sage Intacct’s more advanced capabilities and modules and make picking up new software less daunting.

The switch to automated AP processes provides immediate and long-term benefits. It’s an easy transition that can take hours of work off your plate while making it easier to handle higher transaction volumes. With AP automation software like Lightyear, you can implement efficiency-boosting processes. Whether you’re looking for ways to reduce manual processes in Sage or are planning a bigger change in the future, AP automation is an accessible way to faster, more accurate accounting.