Accounts Payable Automation Market

Accounts Payable Automation Market Research, 2031

The global accounts payable automation market was valued at $2.7 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $8.3 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 12.3% from 2022 to 2031.

COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on the accounts payable automation industry, owing to increase in usage and adoption of online & digitalized platforms for the financial operations globally. Accounts payable automation are experiencing massive growth as various businesses and banking industry are increasingly relying on the software to execute their financial operations.

Accounts payable automation is the use of devices or procedures to replace the manual operations involved in accounts payable with automated ones. The use of software to automate all or a portion of the accounts payable process is known as AP automation, sometimes known as accounts payable automation. By digitizing the methods used for receiving, processing, and storing vendor invoices, it strives to improve the efficiency of the accounts payable workflow.

Accounts payable automation enhances the quality of data, assisting the operator in developing a sustainable business model to meet the demands that have increased the need for accounts payable automation software. In addition, increase in adoption of accounting software for improving the efficiency of the business is benefiting the growth of accounts payable automation market. This factor notably promotes the growth of accounts payable automation market. However, the possibility of losing crucial accounting data and the expensive initial cost of software are the issues that are limiting industry expansion. On the contrary, opportunity to access unexplored markets and the availability of trained professionals are expected to create lucrative opportunities for the market in upcoming years. Moreover, rise in developments & initiatives toward accounts payable automation is anticipated to provide a potential growth opportunity for the market.

The report focuses on growth prospects, restraints, and trends of the accounts payable automation market outlook. The study provides Porter’s five forces analysis to understand the impact of various factors, such as bargaining power of suppliers, competitive intensity of competitors, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and bargaining power of buyers, on the accounts payable automation market forecast.

The accounts payable automation market is segmented into Deployment Mode, Enterprise Size, Industry Vertical and Component.

Segment review

The accounts payable automation market is segmented on the basis of component, deployment mode, organization size, industry vertical, and region. By component, it is divided into solution and service. By deployment mode, it is bifurcated into on-premises and cloud. By organization size, it is categorized into large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises. By industry vertical, it is classified into BFSI, consumer goods and retail, IT & telecom, manufacturing, healthcare, government and others. Region wise, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

By component, the solution segment attained the highest accounts payable automation market share in 2021. This is attributed to the fact that software developers and vendors are predicting future consumption trends, benchmarking usage across facilities, and gaining insights into alternative business models utilizing statistics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning approaches. Furthermore, businesses are implementing IoT-based analytical solutions for financial accounting and invoicing.

By region, North America attained the highest accounts payable automation market size in 2021. This is attributed to the fact that users in the region are seeking accounting systems tailored to their specific needs, as opposed to generic accounting applications. Furthermore, companies in the region are continuously developing their software and application to match current digitization.

The report analyzes the profiles of key players operating in the accounts payable automation market such as SAP Ariba, Sage Group plc, Tipalti Inc., Zycus Inc., FIS, Bottomline Technologies, Inc., Comarch SA, FinancialForce, AvidXchange, Procurify Technologies Inc. These players have adopted various strategies to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the accounts payable automation market.   

Market Landscape and Trends

Many organizations introduced the advantages of accounts payable (AP) automation solutions after the switch to remote working. For instance, in September 2022, Oracle NetSuite launched NetSuite AP Automation to assist businesses in addressing labour-intensive and time-consuming accounts payable (AP) operations. By making it quicker and simpler to process invoices and pay suppliers from inside NetSuite, NetSuite AP Automation—the only solution that integrates banking services into a cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) system—helps businesses increase profitability. As a result, businesses are able to effectively grow their end-to-end accounts payable operations and better manage their outgoing cash flows.

Furthermore, various key players partnered with other software development organizations to boost their efficiency for accounts payable automation. For instance, in November 2022, Cashbook partnered with Medius, a leading provider of accounts payable automation and wider spend management solutions, through their Radius partner program for independent software developers (ISVs). Cashbook’s partnership with the Radius program enabled both Medius and Cashbook customers to better regulate their working capital, and increase business liquidity through improvements in DSO, lower deductions, faster invoice dispute resolution and an efficient collections process.

COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on the accounts payable automation industry, owing to increase in usage and adoption of online & digitalized platforms for the financial operations globally. Accounts payable automation are experiencing massive growth as various businesses and banking industry are increasingly relying on the software to execute their financial operations. Moreover, the need for more dynamic and remote access to corporate financial records and systems by people who primarily need to access financial accounts regularly, correct information to make choices and manage financial affairs has risen as a result of remote working. This, in turn, has become one of the major growth factors for the accounts payable automation market during the global health crisis.

Top impacting factors

Growing need to digitize the financial audit processes

Growing digitization is altering how customers and organizations engage, as well as creating a new forum for idea exchange. By utilizing diverse data and software, digitalization is the process of transforming information into digital information. Further, the growth of the market is also attributed to the factors such as the use of accounts payable (AP) automation solutions, which enable businesses to have more visibility and control over internal business processes. This, combined with the ability of AP departments to focus on more strategic tasks like finding additional cost-saving opportunities, is enabling businesses to gain a competitive advantage. For instance, in January 2023, Nimbello, a provider of purchase-to-pay cloud software for accounts payable (AP) professionals, announced its entry into the AP automation industry. It provides businesses with an advanced, user-friendly software platform that enables them to automate their AP processes. Clients rely on the digital automation process to grow their financial processes, secure the vendor supply chain, release cash, improve efficiency, and offer insights into corporate spending. Thus, growing need to digitize the financial audit processes in fueling the growth of accounts payable automation market.

Increasing demand to speed up payment process

Manual account payable techniques are ineffective, costly, and subject to error. While allowing businesses to keep their relationships with their vendors and suppliers, the account payable system simplifies payment procedures. The account payable automation system offers insight throughout the whole AP process, from invoice production to receipt generation, assuring correct approval, precise allocation, fast payment, and spending management. Furthermore, it can easily be linked with enterprise resource planning (ERP), increasing flexibility and improving the efficiency of the payment process. Accounts payable automation, which includes dashboards, account choices, compliance policies, routing rules, and approvals, ensures that an organization's activities are conducted effectively. Thus, increasing demand to speed up payment process is boosting the accounts payable automation market growth.

Reduction in invoice processing times

Since the accounts payable automation system provides companies with 24/7 access, a real-time view of the status of invoices, and on-demand reporting capabilities, organizations can utilize it to make data-driven choices for the success of their operations. The system also enables a variety of business stakeholders, such as officers, managers, and accountants to successfully carry out their tasks, hence minimizing user-related payment concerns. Further, the increasing need to reduce the amount of past-due payments and to enhance compliance with controlled user access and credentials, which reduces fraudulent transactions, are the main factors driving the growth of the accounts payable automation industry. Moreover, the key players are increasingly providing new solutions in the market to boost their market positions in the accounts payable automation industry. For instance, on October 2022, Intellinetics, Inc., a provider of solutions and services that enable and accelerate digital transformation, announced the launch of IntelliCloud Payables Automation System (IPAS) that automates the entire invoice-to-pay-to-reconciliation AP process. Thus, reduction in invoice processing times through AP software is propelling the growth of the market.

Key benefits for stakeholders

• This report provides a quantitative analysis of the market segments, current trends, estimations, and dynamics of the accounts payable automation market analysis from 2022 to 2031 to identify the prevailing accounts payable automation market opportunity.
• The market research is offered along with information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities.
• Porter's five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-buyer network.
• In-depth analysis of the accounts payable automation market segmentation assists to determine the prevailing market opportunities.
• Major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to the global market.
• Market player positioning facilitates benchmarking and provides a clear understanding of the present position of the market players.
• The report includes the analysis of the regional as well as global accounts payable automation market trends, key players, market segments, application areas, and market growth strategies.

 Accounts Payable Automation Market Report Highlights