Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how finance teams think about accounts payable (AP). Tasks that once required hours of manual work can increasingly be automated, giving AP teams new opportunities to save time and focus on what matters most.
But that raises a bigger question: What should you automate?
The best answer may not be “everything.”
For organizations using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, a good AP automation strategy starts with understanding your AP process.
Where does manual work slow your team down? Where do you need more control? And where can automation, including AI, make work easier without adding unnecessary complexity?
Before choosing your approach, consider these five questions.
1. Where is your AP team spending the most time?
Start with your current process, not the technology.
Think about what happens from the moment an invoice arrives until the vendor gets paid. Your team may spend time receiving and entering invoices, routing approvals, preparing payment batches, processing payments, or responding to vendor questions.
Where are the bottlenecks?
Manual processes can become especially difficult as invoice volume increases or an organization grows. What worked for a smaller finance team may become harder to manage when there are more invoices, approvers, vendors, or companies involved.
Before deciding what to automate, identify the work that's taking the most time or creating the most frustration.
That gives you a much better starting point than simply asking, “Where can we use AI?”
2. Where can AI actually help your AP process?
AI can be a useful part of AP automation, particularly when it reduces repetitive work.
For example, invoice processing often requires people to collect information from documents and enter that information into a financial system. Automation can reduce that manual effort and help information move through the process more efficiently.
But AI should not make every decision.
AP teams still need oversight, especially when exceptions, approvals, vendor information, and outgoing cash are involved. The goal is to find the right balance: automate predictable work while keeping people involved where judgment and accountability matter.
Think of AI as another tool in your AP toolbox. The real measure of success isn't how much AI you use. It's whether your process becomes easier to manage.
3. Does your automation cover the entire invoice-to-payment process?
It's easy to focus on one frustrating part of AP. Maybe invoice entry takes too long, approvals create delays, or perhaps payment day involves too many manual steps.
Solving one problem is valuable, but it's also worth looking at what happens immediately before and after it. A typical AP journey might look something like this:
Invoice receipt → invoice processing → approval → payment → vendor
Each stage affects the next. Faster invoice processing has limited value if approved invoices encounter another manual bottleneck when it's time to pay.
This is where complementary solutions can help Business Central teams build a more connected approach.
Continia helps organizations address processes earlier in the AP lifecycle, while Mekorma focuses on payment management. Together, they can support different parts of a broader AP automation strategy within the Business Central environment. Both solutions are embedded in Business Central, allowing them to work seamlessly together.
The important question isn't whether every step needs to come from the same solution, but whether or not those steps work together in a way that makes sense for your team.
4. Will automation strengthen your controls or simply make things faster?
Speed is valuable in AP, but it's only one part of the equation.
Accounts payable teams manage one of an organization's most important assets: its cash. That makes visibility, approval processes, separation of duties, and fraud prevention important considerations when evaluating automation.
A faster process that weakens oversight isn't much of an improvement.
Instead, look for opportunities to remove repetitive work while maintaining clear controls around who can approve transactions and how payments move through the organization.
Automation can also make processes more consistent. When workflows follow defined rules, teams have less reason to rely on memory, workarounds, or one person knowing how everything gets done.
The goal should be a process that is both efficient and controlled.
5. How well will your AP automation fit Business Central?
A new solution can solve one problem while creating another if it adds complexity to your technology environment.
That's why fit matters.
As you evaluate AP automation for Business Central, consider questions such as:
- Where will your financial data live?
- How much time will employees spend moving between systems?
- How much will your team's daily process need to change?
- Can the approach support your organization as transaction volume or complexity grows?
- Who will help you understand how the different pieces fit together?
The answers will look different for every organization.
For some teams, the priority may be reducing manual invoice processing. Others may need to improve approvals or simplify payment processing. And organizations with several pain points may benefit from looking at the entire AP lifecycle.
Your Microsoft partner can help you evaluate those needs in the context of your existing Business Central environment and your longer-term goals.
What should you automate first in accounts payable?
Start with the process that creates the greatest combination of manual effort, delay, and risk. Map your current invoice-to-payment process and identify where people spend the most time, where work gets stuck, and where errors or control concerns tend to appear.
From there, you can prioritize automation based on the problems you actually need to solve.
How is AI used in accounts payable?
AI can support AP by reducing repetitive work associated with processing financial information and documents.
But its role should be considered within the larger AP workflow. AI may help automate predictable tasks, while people continue to provide oversight and make decisions that require context or judgment.
Can accounts payable be automated in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Yes. Organizations can extend Business Central with solutions that address different parts of the AP lifecycle.
For example, Continia and Mekorma provide options that can support invoice-to-payment automation. The right approach depends on your current processes, priorities, and the level of automation your team needs.
Can invoice processing and payment automation work together?
Yes, and looking at them together can help prevent bottlenecks from simply moving from one stage of AP to another.
Invoice processing addresses the earlier stages of the AP lifecycle, while payment automation addresses what happens once invoices are ready to be paid. Considering both as part of one strategy can help teams create a more connected process.
Does AP automation reduce fraud risk?
Automation can support stronger controls, but automation alone doesn't eliminate fraud.
When evaluating AP technology, consider how it supports approval processes, separation of duties, vendor controls, and visibility into payment activity. Efficiency and security should be evaluated together.
How do you choose AP automation software for Business Central?
Start by defining the problem you want to solve.
Consider your current workflow, the amount of manual work involved, your control requirements, how the solution fits with Business Central, and whether it can support your organization as its needs change.
The best technology isn't necessarily the one that automates the most. It's the one that helps your team create a process that's easier to manage, easier to control, and better suited to the way your organization works.
Build an AP strategy around your business
AI will continue to change what's possible in accounts payable. But new technology doesn't change the first step: understanding your own process.
Look at where your team spends its time. Identify the points where work slows down or risk increases. Then decide where automation can make the biggest difference.
AI and automation can help AP teams reduce friction while maintaining the visibility and control they need to manage payments with confidence.
For Business Central teams, solutions from Continia and Mekorma can address different parts of the invoice-to-payment lifecycle.
Innovia can help you look at those options in the context of your Business Central environment and determine what approach makes sense for your organization.
