If Your "AP Automation" Doesn’t Include Payments, Is It Really AP at All?

You call that AP automation? Where are the payments?

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Walk the floor at any finance conference and you’ll hear the term end-to-end AP automation tossed around like candy. But take a closer look, and you’ll notice something strange: a lot of “automated” accounts payable processes stop right before the money moves. OCR? Sure. Invoice Coding? Maybe. But when it’s time to pay, users are booted into another system—or worse, another vendor altogether.

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Let’s call it what it is: AP-ish.
Because if your AP automation stops short of payments, you’re not automating AP. You’re automating paperwork.

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The Half-Automated Reality Most Companies Live In

We recently heard from finance leaders—especially those using major ERPs like Sage Intacct and NetSuite —that their ERP handles invoice capture and often invoice coding. But what comes after? They have to export files, send batches to a payment partner, or manually reconcile after payment.

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In many cases, they’re managing two separate systems:

One for capturing and coding invoices,
Another for actually paying those invoices.

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This fragmented approach creates unnecessary friction:

Duplicate logins
Disconnected audit trails
Slower month-end closes
Increased risk of error or fraud

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Yet, it’s become the norm for many. Finance teams might not even question it, because they’ve been trained to think of accounts payable automation as an “OCR and workflow” problem—not a “money movement” one.

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**Why Payments Must Be Part of AP Automation**

True AP automation doesn’t end with a coded and approved invoice—it ends with a cleared payment and a reconciled ledger.

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Here’s why payments must be built into your AP process:

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1. Fewer Vendors, Less Complexity

Managing multiple tools introduces unnecessary operational overhead. When your payment engine lives inside your AP system, your finance team isn’t forced to context-switch between tools or manually sync data between platforms.

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2. Better Data Accuracy and Control

When invoices, approval rules, and payments live in the same system, you eliminate handoffs. That means fewer errors, fewer “where did this go wrong?” fire drills, and a cleaner audit trail.

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3. Stronger Controls and Compliance

Built-in payment approvals, segregation of duties, and audit logs are much easier to enforce when everything happens in one place. Contrast that with a two-system setup where IT is juggling user provisioning and finance is playing detective.

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4. True Speed

If you're still logging into a bank portal or another software tool to cut checks or send ACH payments, you haven’t really saved time. Automation should mean fewer clicks—not just faster clicks.

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The Broken “End-to-End” AP Promise

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: many vendors claim to offer “end-to-end” AP—but when you peel back the layers, you realize their solution ends before payments begin.

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Some offer best-in-class OCR and invoice coding. Others integrate deeply into ERPs. But few offer native payment processing. That means you end up stitching together your AP process using:

ERP invoice capture modules
Third-party payment processors
Manual bank workflows
Offline approval emails

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Finance teams deserve better.

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A Look at What True End-to-End Accounts Payable Looks Like (Yes, This Is Where Centime Comes In)

Let’s break this down into what a real end-to-end AP automation flow should look like:

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✅ OCR + Data Capture

Automatically extract invoice data from PDFs and emails using AI-powered OCR—no manual keying required.

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🧠 Predictive Invoice Coding

Centime leverages historical data to suggest department, location, GL account, and more at both the header and line level.

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🔄 PO Matching

Invoices get automatically matched against purchase orders and receipts, with smart discrepancy detection and customizable thresholds.

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👥 Approval Workflows

Trigger multi-level, conditional approvals by vendor, dollar amount, or custom fields—all in a secure, audit-friendly interface.

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💸 Integrated AP Payments

With Centime, you can pay via check, ACH, credit card, or virtual card—all in one place. Approve, pay, and reconcile in a click.

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🌐 Accounts Payable Supplier Portal

Vendors manage their payment preferences, track invoice status, and eliminate back-and-forth emails.

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And here’s the kicker:
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Payments aren’t just a nice-to-have. They’re where finance leaders can unlock the real value of automation. With a Centime business checking account, you can even earn up to 3.0% APY⁺⁺ on funds used for AP payments—transforming AP from a cost center into a strategic asset.

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**So… Do You Really Have AP Automation?**

We’ll say it again:
If your AP “automation” ends before payments begin, you’re not automating. You’re just prepping.

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Finance leaders need a solution that:

Captures invoices
Codes them automatically
Routes them for approvals
Pays them intelligently
And reconciles everything—seamlessly

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That’s what end-to-end actually means.
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And that’s why we built Centime to deliver exactly that.

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Ready to Ditch Your Half-Automated Setup?

Let’s show you how modern finance teams are doing more with less—by streamlining every stage of the AP process.

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👉 Book a demo and see what truly integrated AP automation looks like.

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**Deposit placement through ICS is subject to the terms, conditions, and disclosures in the applicable agreements. Although deposits are placed in increments that do not exceed the FDIC standard maximum deposit insurance amount (“SMDIA”) at any one destination bank, a depositor’s balances at the institution that places deposits may exceed the SMDIA (e.g., before settlement for deposits or after settlement for withdrawals) or be uninsured (if the placing institution is not an insured bank). The depositor must make any necessary arrangements to protect such balances consistent with applicable law and must determine whether placement through ICS satisfies any restrictions on its deposits. A list identifying IntraFi network banks appears at https://www.intrafi.com/network-banks. The depositor may exclude banks from eligibility to receive its funds. IntraFi and ICS are registered service marks, and IntraFi Cash Service is a service mark, of IntraFi Network LLC.

^††3.0% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) as of 01/07/25. Deposit rate may adjust to current market rate and may change daily. Fees may reduce earnings.

*Centime is not a bank and is not authorized by any federal or state agency to engage directly in core banking activities.
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*All banking products and services available through Centime are provided by FNBO and are governed by the applicable agreements and related disclosures provided to you by FNBO. Member FDIC.
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‍*While Centime facilitates traditional banking activities (such as the acceptance of deposits or extensions of credit), these services are actually provided by our banking partner, FNBO.
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*Centime may provide support services to FNBO, as permitted by applicable law, to facilitate the delivery of its bank products and services.

**Deposit placement through ICS is subject to the terms, conditions, and disclosures in the applicable agreements. Although deposits are placed in increments that do not exceed the FDIC standard maximum deposit insurance amount (“SMDIA”) at any one destination bank, a depositor’s balances at the institution that places deposits may exceed the SMDIA (e.g., before settlement for deposits or after settlement for withdrawals) or be uninsured (if the placing institution is not an insured bank). The depositor must make any necessary arrangements to protect such balances consistent with applicable law and must determine whether placement through ICS satisfies any restrictions on its deposits. A list identifying IntraFi network bank

If Your "AP Automation" Doesn’t Include Payments, Is It Really AP at All?

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