AP reality check: Managing automation next steps

Deluxe and Strategic Treasurer polled over 100 corporate treasury and finance professionals in various industries to gauge today's AP teams' current AP automation climate and mindset. The 2025 AP Automation Readiness Research provides marketing findings and current pain points. It identifies what AP teams can do to assess their automation readiness. 

The role of automation in AP efficiency

Automation plays a pivotal role in enhancing AP efficiency. It's no surprise to AP teams that removing manual processes positively affects efficiency, but what can they do to ensure they're fully automated vs. a mix of manual and automated steps? What tools are available to help them streamline their implementation and gain that efficiency without sacrificing the limited bandwidth their AP team currently has?

Steve Gaida, a Payments Leader in Product Management with Deluxe, answered these questions and addressed the realities that AP teams face in a webinar with industry partner Strategic Treasurer's Craig Jeffery. 

Market opportunity: Automate your disbursements

According to survey respondents, only 1 in 9 mid-market companies said they were "fully automated." There's an opportunity for your AP team to become more efficient and stand out from your competition by automating all of your processes – including your disbursements. Your peers are among those starting their automation journey. Smaller and mid-market companies were two times less likely to automate than larger companies.  

Strategies to overcome AP automation barriers

"System limitations or restrictions" was the top barrier to automation for mid-market companies at 66%, with "IT availability or priorities" in second place at 56%. Jeffrey highlighted the relationship between company size and AP automation levels, noting that larger companies tend to be more automated than mid-market due to their complexity and larger budgets.

For mid-markets looking to accomplish their next steps toward full end-to-end automation, Gaida offered a few strategies: 

• Prioritize your IT resources
• Gain executive-level buy-in with options that highlight the benefits of AP automation
• Focus on addressing the most painful part of your processes first ("bite of the apple approach") and then move on to end-to-end automation
• Consider partnering with payment automation vendors 

Gaida also advises that companies remain realistic about their system limitations. Make it a goal to find solutions that address the majority of your problems, even if they don't solve every single issue. By taking smaller bites of the apple, companies can help make significant changes to their AP processing without overwhelming their IT departments.

Source: 2025 Deluxe AP Automation Readiness Research, January 2025.