The Dynamics GP Users group conference was a great chance for the Enliven Team to talk with users and really get a feel for their thoughts and feelings about how online invoicing and payment capabilities would affect their businesses. Here are a few of the things that we came away with:
- There remains a common consensus among GP users that while AP and AR automation makes a ton of sense, people are still clinging to paper. Oddly enough, they don't seem to have a real firm grasp on why. We found that once we started asking questions and inquiring whether the users were receiving any of their personal bills and statements online, they started nodding "Yes". When we pushed a little and asked why the users made the change from paper statements, they all said that cost savings and convenience was the name of the game. Security skepticism isn't the reason. Everyone we spoke with agreed with the fact that leaving paper in their office and in "storage facilities" was a far larger liability than having information stored on off-site, disaster-proof, mirrored and encrypted servers that literally require a palm scan to come anywhere near.
- It seems as though our friends at the IRS may have inadvertently forced the idea that folks need to keep every original paper copy of every document ever laid hands on. In actuality, the auditors would LOVE to receive a consolidated, well-organized, electronic copy of all invoice and payment records. This day and age, this type of systematized and bundled back-up is the definition of a bullet-proof audit trail.
The big takeaways from our conversations with the users at the MC&E hosted event was that electronic invoicing and payment capabilities within businesses is clearly on the horizon as a movement, and will soon become the norm (as it already has in Europe), rather than the exception. What we found however, was that people are waiting for it to be forced on them. Why not make the change first? Admittedly, in our industry, change doesn't typically exude comfort, but well-paired and truly integrated solutions bring with them growth and increased efficiency for businesses, which simply put equals enormous cost savings…and what could be more comforting than that?