Process Mining for the Accounts Payable Process

In the process realm, Accounts Payable is the financial aspect of Purchase to Pay. The goal is timely payment of all invoices, avoiding payment for invalid/duplicate invoices or undelivered services/goods. Business volumes are significant, both in transaction numbers and monetary value.
The following documents and activities are often tracked in the analysis of Accounts Payable processes:

Incoming Invoices (either paper or electronic invoice)

  • Creation / Edits / Approvals / Cash Discounts / Due dates / Clearings

Purchase Orders (PO)

  • Creation of Purchase Orders (if there is a PO match) / Edits / Approvals / Goods Receipts

Bank Statements

  • Transfers / Clearings

Each document has crucial attributes like materials, countries, vendors, quantities, and monetary values. These are essential for grasping the overall picture of the Accounts Payable process using process mining.

Gain a Holistic Understanding of the Accounts Payable Process

Process mining provides a clear view of your entire accounts payable process, helping identify delays, reasons, and misplaced invoices. This minimises outstanding receivables, reduces manual corrections, enhances cash flow, and demonstrates accountability to partners.Below, we discuss what makes these approaches risky.

Process mining helps you drive productivity and cut costs in Accounts Payable:

Metsä Board reduced the number of invoice corrections by 80 %

Piraeus Bank reduced process lead times by 86 %

EY UK got 100 % coverage of processes and could easily spot undetected errors

Watch the 2-minute demo video: Improve Accounts Payable with Process Mining
How to Improve AP Through QPR’s Process Mining Application

QPR offers a ready-made process mining app for Accounts Payable, compatible with various connectors (SAP, Oracle, Epicor, VIM, Ariba, Basware). This app provides essential KPIs and insights, driving financial process improvement and significant business benefits.

The webinar recording below demonstrates:
  • How to use the AP Application to empower your organisation with all the process mining benefits – including harnessing cash discounts, shortening lead times, and driving high compliance.
  • How the deployment and time-to-value are minimised.
Webinar Recording
Summary: Process Mining Benefits for the Accounts Payable Process
  • Minimise manual labor in the Accounts Payable department for matching documents
  • Save costs by processing invoices before missing substantial cash discount due dates
  • Enhance compliance by reducing Maverick purchasing and increasing Purchase Order penetration
  • Reduce lead times by identifying bottlenecks in each stage, including Approvals, Document Processing, and Goods Receipts.

Now is an opportune moment to explore Process Mining for your company. The capabilities and user-friendliness of Process Mining software are advancing swiftly, and the market is maturing, though there’s ongoing development.

Get a quick overview so you can spend your time improving your processes.

You can easily define and set up processes according to your own needs using a convenient layout tool. In addition, since all types of workflow processes can be managed, you get all case management in one single system. 

Analyses, statistics and reports give you an unbeatable overview with real-time status and division of responsibility. Nothing has to fall through the cracks anymore and you always have an accurate and up-to-date base for decision-making.

CANEA Process is a tool that allows you to model and share business processes in an easy-to-use graphical web interface.

Seeing is understanding

Visualisation gives all employees an understanding of the organisation’s processes, activities, responsibilities and information flows.

Living processes

Identifying working methods while making it easy to update is the basis for continuous improvement of processes.

Create a complete picture

Linking together documents, information and tools with clickable process maps create an intuitive and comprehensive management system.

CANEA Workflow is an IT solution that automates, quality-assures and speeds up administrative workflow processes.

You can easily define and set up processes according to your own needs using a convenient layout tool. In addition, since all types of workflow processes can be managed, you get all case management in one single system. 

Analyses, statistics and reports give you an unbeatable overview with real-time status and division of responsibility. Nothing has to fall through the cracks anymore and you always have an accurate and up-to-date base for decision-making.

By creating executable processes in CANEA Workflow, you get both better control of the situation and smoother processing.

Streamlining the work

Ensure compliance and that handovers are done correctly and with the right information.

Correct decision support

You get an unbeatable overview of the processes in real time, with both clear reports and clear diagrams.

Improve processes continuously

Our process support can be constantly adapted to changing needs and requirements. In this way, we give you the best possible conditions for your daily work.

A document management system without complicated folder structures.

CANEA Document combines simple and intuitive search features with powerful features for managing documents from a life cycle perspective.

Maximum availability
Search and find information quickly based on what you need, not where it is stored.

High security
Ensure accuracy, changes and access to all information – with high traceability.

Fulfils requirements
Manage information according to standards, legislation and other requirements for document management.

CANEA Document supports everything from production, publication and modification to archiving and deletion – with full traceability and version management.

CANEA Document provides secure management of all types of documents – in one place. Tagging the information with metadata creates a virtual, multidimensional folder structure. This means that a document appears in multiple locations at the same time, with authorisation-controlled access. The right information in the right place for the right users at the right time!

You can usefully add your company’s process-oriented management system to CANEA Document. All production and distribution of documents is quality-assured and streamlined. In addition, your employees always have access to the most up-to-date version of the documents – directly via intranet, tablets and mobile phones.

Improve the performance of your project activities

CANEA Project is a comprehensive project tool with integrated support for all types of projects and parties– such as management, resource owners, clients, project managers and project participants. CANEA Project gives you an excellent overview of your entire project portfolio, including profitability and status, making it easier to prioritize and make decisions.

CANEA Project shares all important project information with both internal and external members.

Let your project manager focus on management rather than administration and distribution of the information.

Gather all project information in one place and make it available to both internal and external members.

Helps you with prioritization of projects, resource management and analysis of portfolios and programs.

Make reality of the strategy

CANEA Strategy makes it possible for organisations of all sizes to create a unique common thread from the strategic work to the daily operations. We do not just provide performance management tools but rather a completely new generation of IT support for strategy activation. The system guarantees and provides support throughout the chain from strategy to execution. You get no results without action. CANEA Strategy makes it possible in practise! 

CANEA Strategy ensures and provides support throughout the entire journey from strategy to execution.

Create a shared understanding of the strategy, the goal to achieve and how.

Gives management an unbeatable overview of what’s happening, how it’s progressing, and why.

Creates a clear common thread from the strategy to project, initiatives and actions.