Part 4: Automate your Accounts Payable & gain full control over invoicing

Manually managing Accounts Payable (AP) is an inefficient and error-prone process. Too much time and effort are wasted chasing down errors and fixing issues after they arise.

What if you could prevent these problems before they even occur?

With SAP automation, businesses can streamline their AP processes, reduce errors, and enhance financial control—turning AP into a strategic advantage rather than a daily challenge.

The challenge: too many workflows, too little visibility

Managing Accounts Payable manually means constantly switching between:

• Invoice data entry
• Matching invoices with purchase orders
• Chasing approvals
• Tracking errors and fixing discrepancies

Every step in the process introduces potential errors—from incorrect data entry to mismatched purchase orders. The result? Delays, compliance risks, and strained vendor relationships.

According to Nick Leirs, Team Lead CoE Business Processes at Dynatos:

Chasing problems remains a big issue within organizations. People from different departments must come together to account for their part of the process. Our goal is to bring the puzzle together—efficiently and seamlessly.

So how do you prevent these bottlenecks? The answer is automation.

The solution: SAP automation for Accounts Payable

 By automating AP processes with Process Director, organizations eliminate manual data entry, slow approvals, and costly errors. The automation process starts with OCR technology, which captures key invoice data without the need for manual input.

How SAP Accounts Payable automation works

1. OCR Data Capture – The invoice is scanned and intelligently recognized using Tungsten AP Essentials, a smart cloud-based OCR solution with self-learning capabilities. Once an invoice is processed, the system remembers the format for future transactions.
2. SAP Integration – The invoice image and extracted data are automatically transferred into Process Director, which operates directly within your SAP system.
3. Automated Matching – PO-based invoices are automatically matched two- or three-way against the Purchase Order (PO) and Goods Receipt (GR). Any discrepancies are automatically flagged and sent for approval.
4. Non-PO Invoice Processing – Non-PO-based invoices are coded and routed through an approval workflow within SAP.
5. Approval & Compliance – AP automation ensures real-time invoice tracking, compliance with regulatory requirements, and smooth processing—improving vendor relationships and financial control.

The business impact: winning compliance & efficiency

By automating Accounts Payable within SAP, businesses gain:

• End-to-End Process Optimization – Reduce manual work, speed up approvals, and eliminate bottlenecks.
• Seamless Data Integration – Ensure invoices match POs and receipts automatically, preventing errors before they happen.
• Real-Time Data Visibility – Monitor invoice processing in real time with full transparency into approval workflows.
• Stronger Vendor Relationships – Faster approvals mean on-time payments, fewer disputes, and better collaboration with suppliers.
• Regulatory Compliance – Automated AP processing ensures accurate financial reporting and compliance with e-invoicing and tax regulations. 

Accounts Payable & the future of e-invoicing

As e-invoicing regulations evolve, automation becomes essential for businesses to stay compliant.

Nick Leirs highlights this shift:

Thanks to AP automation, invoice data is structured efficiently, allowing seamless integration with next-stage processing systems.

Optimize your SAP Accounts Payable process today

Managing Accounts Payable manually is costly, slow, and inefficient. By leveraging SAP automation and Process Director, businesses gain:

• A fully automated invoicing workflow
• Seamless SAP integration
• Faster approvals & fewer errors
• Stronger financial compliance

At Dynatos, we help organizations eliminate inefficiencies in Accounts Payable through SAP process automation. Ready to streamline your AP-operations? Let’s automate your invoicing today!

Other articles in the serie “5 Steps to automated invoicing process”:

Part 1: Streamline Purchase Requisitions.
Part 2: Automate Order Confirmations and save energy and time.
Part 3: The significance of Delivery notes for automated invoice processing.
Part 5: Enabling high performance in Sales Orders.