Why your ERP system needs Tradeshift to do AP Right

By Lisa Livesley, account executive, Tradeshift

Your ERP (enterprise resource planning) system may manage many of your AP and other financial processes, but is it truly meeting all your needs?

When handling supplier invoices, chances are that you may still have more manual work than necessary. 

While a robust ERP system integrates various business functions to record and store information, it struggles to address the most common challenges that leave accounts payable (AP) teams bogged down in inefficient and error-prone manual processes.

This is where AP automation software like Tradeshift comes in.

It transforms accounts payable by automating workflows, reducing manual tasks, and providing real-time insights that your ERP may not offer.

ERP limitations in AP automation

ERPs (enterprise resource systems) are essential for high-level financial operations but inadequate for AP’s unique needs. 

Here’s where they fall short:

• Rigid data capture: ERPs don’t adapt well to diverse invoice formats. They don’t automatically capture data from PDFs, emails, or EDI files, making manual entry a significant bottleneck.
• No automated matching: ERP systems don’t offer automated matching for invoices to purchase orders or goods received notes. This is essential for efficiency and fraud prevention, but ERPs rely on manual validation, which wastes time and increases error risk.
• Limited approval routing: Although some ERP systems have basic approval workflows, they lack the customisation that AP needs for different approval scenarios. That rigidity creates bottlenecks and slows down the payment cycle.
• Non-compliance risk: ERP systems aren’t designed to keep pace with complex, country-specific e-invoicing mandates. Compliance requirements shift frequently across regions, making it difficult and costly to stay updated without manual intervention. ERP systems often lack the flexibility to adapt to these evolving regulations, increasing the risk of non-compliance penalties.

Tradeshift’s solution: end-to-end AP automation

Tradeshift automates your entire AP process, from capturing invoices to ensuring compliance. Here’s what that looks like in practice.

1. Digital invoice capture: Tradeshift captures invoices from any source—emails, portals, or physical documents—digitising and extracting data automatically. Your team spends less time on manual data entry and reduces human error.
2. Automated PO matching and validation: Tradeshift automates three-way matching, verifying each invoice against purchase orders and goods received notes. This feature alone reduces the risk of double payment and flags potentially fraudulent transactions, something ERPs struggle with due to limited flexibility.
3. AI-Driven Coding and Exception Handling: With Tradeshift, advanced AI handles coding, matching, and validation with incredible accuracy. We’ve seen businesses reduce manual coding by up to 99.5%. Your team can focus on strategic tasks, leaving routine work to the AI. Configure parameters to fit your needs by invoice type, supplier, or confidence level
4. Flexible Approval Workflows: Tradeshift routes invoices based on predefined rules, escalating them when necessary. High-value or unmatched invoices go to the right people, and real-time dashboards keep everything visible. Approvals move quickly, reducing delays and boosting efficiency.
5. Global compliance: Tradeshift offers e-invoicing compliance-as-a-service across 70 countries,  including a streamlined process for complying with tax clearance mandates in 12 countries. Our team continuously monitors new regulations to expand and prioritise our global compliance coverage.

The impact on cost and cash flow

Tradeshift delivers measurable savings across AP operations:

• 90% Lower Processing Costs: Automation reduces the cost of processing each invoice by eliminating manual tasks. These savings directly impact your bottom line.
• Improved Cash Flow: With faster, more accurate processing, payments happen on time, giving finance leaders better control over cash flow and ensuring no missed discounts due to delays.

Without AP automation, manual tasks and errors cost valuable time and money, impacting efficiency and predictability.

Supplier collaboration and real-time insight

• Universal electronic invoicing: Tradeshift enables suppliers to submit invoices electronically, regardless of size or technical capability. Suppliers avoid complexity, and AP teams see fewer errors.
• Centralised Communication Platform: The Tradeshift platform handles all queries, updates, and clarifications. This transparency reduces back-and-forth emails and gives suppliers real-time status updates.
• Real-time tracking and insights: Tradeshift provides full visibility into invoice and payment statuses, creating transparency that builds trust with suppliers. With customisable dashboards, finance teams can instantly view approval statuses, compliance checks, and cash flow health, putting them in control.

Seamless integration with any ERP system

Tradeshift was designed to work with your existing ERP systems, not replace them. Here’s why integration matters:

• Direct integration: Tradeshift connects directly with systems like SAP, Oracle, and NetSuite, ensuring a smooth data flow. No overhaul is needed.
• Interoperability and flexibility: Tradeshift supports multiple formats, from XML to PDF, so data exchange is simple and seamless.
• Smooth implementation: With pre-built connectors, integration is quick and easy. Tradeshift’s technical team supports setup, ensuring minimal disruption to your business.

Why Tradeshift completes your AP process

If your company already has an ERP system, focus on integrating AP automation software to tackle AP-specific challenges. 

Tradeshift fills in the gaps, delivering advanced automation, reducing costs, and improving supplier relationships. Here’s what else you get with Tradeshift:

• Advanced analytics and custom dashboards: Generate in-depth reports on AP performance. These insights allow for smarter, data-driven decisions, from process bottlenecks to cash flow health.
• Scalability: As your organisation grows, Tradeshift scales with you. The platform adapts to your changing needs, from processing larger volumes of invoices to handling complex, multi-country transactions.

Tradeshift goes beyond traditional AP, turning it into a streamlined, efficient part of your operation—one that integrates seamlessly with your ERP and supports your financial goals.

Learn more about Tradeshift’s automated accounts payable (AP) software.