Kodak, CoreIntegrator Roll Out Accounts Payable Automation Platform

Kodak Services for Business is introducing a new accounts payable solution, the result of a collaboration with business process automation software firm CoreIntegrator.

The companies announced on Tuesday (Nov. 13) in a press release that they have developed their AP automation tool, A/P One, to automate the invoice receiving and processing workflow for corporates. The platform automates invoice registration, data entry and verification to enable AP professionals to access a digital copy of an invoice within 24 hours. Users manually categorize each invoice to properly route it through the approval process. Once approved, A/P One creates a batch file that is sent to accounting systems to trigger vendor payment.

In a statement, CoreIntegrator Executive Vice President of Business Development Ron Machamer pointed to the speed with which corporates can deploy the solution.

“Companies can be operational in days, not weeks or months like with most AP automation solutions,” he said.

A/P One is entirely based in the cloud, the companies said, enabling firms to save money on infrastructure and licensing costs. The solution also supports efforts to reduce errors in invoice processing and vendor payment, as well as to prevent late payment fees resulting from lengthy manual accounts payable workflows.

While accounts payable has been targeted by FinTech developers looking to enhance automation for the enterprise, recent research suggests that businesses continue to struggle with proper deployment of their AP automation strategies.

Enterprise software firm Hyland published its 2018 State of Accounts Payable Report earlier this year, and found a lack of understanding as to what AP automation really is. In an interview with PYMNTS in July, Hyland Solution Marketing Manager Danielle Simer pointed to emailed invoices, for instance, and professionals’ misclassification of them as electronic invoices.

Two-thirds of survey respondents said they have already achieved fully or mostly automated accounts payable processes, yet with corporates lacking consensus as to what “automated” actually means, it’s difficult to ascertain exactly how much progress the enterprise has made.