Security Challenges in the Aged Care Sector
Before tackling the solution head-on, let’s consider the serious security headaches the aged care sector faces.
Among these is the risk of fraudulent payments to unverified or unapproved vendors. Without proper tracking, this can go unnoticed, resulting in financial losses and reputational damage.
Data leaks from paper-based records also pose significant risks to client confidentiality and legal compliance.
According to the 2022 CEDA report, the aged care sector was short of 35,000 care providers. This shortage has left staff overworked and exposed to phishing scams like unauthorised transactions or information disclosure.
Staff shortage combined with manual and outdated systems increases the risk of fraud and data breaches.
Plus, fewer hands on deck mean more chances for errors to creep in. And with regulations tightening, staying compliant and secure is becoming trickier.
The good news? Your AP processes can become digital with reduced fraud risk through AP automation software.
Are Digital AP Processes Safe?
Many businesses feel traditional AP processes are no longer safe. With the government encouraging digital transformation, the question remains: “Are digital processes even secure?”
The answer is yes. Digital AP processes are absolutely safe when used correctly within your care home business.
Think of them as your finance department’s digital bodyguard, with only approved team members getting access to the right level of permission—nothing more, nothing less.
Digital AP creates a clear, secure audit trail, making it easy to see what happened with your documents and when.
Trusted and sophisticated AP automation solutions offer user-friendly, secure technology to strengthen internal controls, protecting both your finance team and care home staff.
With digital AP, your finances are not only locked down, but it also looks for anything suspicious!
AP automation software comes with built in fraud detection. So, if something doesn’t add up—like the wrong bank details—the system will alert your team before any payment goes out. Another perk? Implementing AP automation software will notify your team if the system receives the same document twice. So, you can say goodbye to accidental double charges.
Lightyear Invoice Automation for Strengthening Security
Your next question might be: which AP automation software can provide you with security features to safeguard financial data and prevent fraudulent activity?
The answer: Lightyear’s AP automation software.
Lightyear offers a centralised, secure platform that gives easy access to financial data stored safely in the cloud.
Whether you're working on-site or remotely, Lightyear keeps your financials connected, protected and always within reach. No more paying the wrong account or falling victim to fraudulent activity because Lightyear’s bank details checker automatically checks the supplier’s bank details when you receive an invoice in the system. It will flag and alert your team if there are any discrepancies in the bank information.
We all know that audit time is the financial world’s version of exams! But with Lightyear, there is a clear audit trail on your documents. Lightyear allows you to grant your auditors access to find what they need in seconds through remote login into the system. Every action is tracked, ensuring complete transparency and compliance.
Curtin Heritage Living, a not-for-profit aged care service provider, implemented Lightyear and completed their audits in July rather than October.
When it comes to audit time, we just hand over a password for Lightyear, and that’s it.
You can further tighten your financial security with Lightyear’s automatic price checker. You can digitally track and match POs, invoices, and GRNs to account for every dollar, down to the line item detail.
We understand how crucial spending visibility is for an aged care provider like you. That’s why Lightyear’s reporting capabilities are designed to give you a clear view of spending per product and location. With this, you can identify high-cost items, negotiate better rates with your suppliers, and make more strategic buying decisions.
This level of transparency is especially valuable if you are receiving government funding for your aged care facility. This will help you demonstrate exactly how funds are being used and ensure compliance with your location’s financial regulations.
The savings you gain from AP automation can be redirected to improve resident care by hiring more caregivers, increasing staff training, or enhancing care programs.
And to top it all, you receive in-app notifications and messages that keep all sensitive communication within a secure cloud app to prevent data breaches.
Conclusion
The key takeaway from this blog? AP automation is the main ingredient to financial security and compliance in your aged care facility. Lightyear’s invoice processing software gives you control like never before, whether it’s approvals, checking supplier details or spotting spending trends. This will ultimately boost your operational efficiency and quality of care.
