Forward Finance: Automating AP and Simplifying Approvals in NetSuite with ZoneApps

Eureka Solutions are excited to be teaming up with our friends at Zone & Co for our upcoming webinar: Automating AP and Simplifying Approvals in NetSuite with ZoneApps. 

Zone & Co’s concept of ‘forward finance’ is a simple one which focusses on empowering finance teams to move forward with more speed, less work, fewer costs, and lower risk. This is delivered by automating & accelerating financial operations, data, and workflows via a suite of award winning, native SuiteApps developed specifically for NetSuite.  

Beyond the fact that this concept aligns perfectly with the most common reasons for implementing NetSuite (efficiency, visibility, and strong financial management), the topic of automation has never been more prevalent in the context of business technology and software.  

In this article, we’ll discuss:  

• The current landscape of automation technology 
• ZoneCapture – the advantages to AP Automation in NetSuite 
• ZoneApprovals – accelerated processes and improved experience   

The current landscape of automation technology 

In a recent survey, McKinsey & Co reported a record 70% of respondents were implementing or piloting automation technology in at least one function of their business. This was up from 66% in 2021 and 57% in 2018.  

Beyond changes enforced by Covid-19, the two most-common reasons for investing in automation were to: address concerns about ‘the effectiveness of organizations’ business processes’ and secondly to improve customer and/or employee experience. 

Interestingly, the highest priority for businesses was reported to be ‘intelligent document management tools, including OCR’ with 52% of respondents identifying this as a priority. ‘Business processes and/or case management platforms’ was ranked second based on 45% of respondents currently at least trialling an automation technology in this function. 

In short, it seems that businesses are looking for technology to improve not only the way they receive, capture and store information, but also how that information then flows through the organisation to make life easier for customers, partners, and employees alike. 

Let’s look a little more at both of those desired outcomes specifically in the context of NetSuite.  

ZoneCapture – the advantages to AP Automation in NetSuite 

Looking at the findings from the McKinsey report in the specific context of NetSuite users and/or finance teams, Accounts Payable (AP) is one of the most obvious functions to examine.  

Without automation, AP is one of the most manually intensive, open-to-error, and document heavy functions within any businesses. So, it ticks three of the four most compelling areas of automation – Documents and OCR; Operational Processes; and Employee Experience.  

ZoneCapture, by Zone & Co tackles these challenges head on by delivering an OCR and AI capture solution natively in NetSuite. This ensures there is no additional database to manage or interface to learn for employees, just seamless, automated data entry which plugs straight into any existing NetSuite workflows, custom fields, and customisations. 

Boasting the ability to manage multiple subsidiaries, currencies and virtually any language or character set as standard, ZoneCapture reduces manual processing by up to 83% and removes the margin for human error.   

In addition to its automation capabilities, the solution also introduces a slick split screen feature which allows users, approvers, and auditors to view documents and transaction records side-by-side. An attractive colour-coded transaction list, driven by automated line-level three-way-matching, also ensures users can quickly and easily work through all bills whether they’re fully matched, partially matched, or completely mismatched. 

So, users spend less time entering data and more time processing it meaning that you can focus on cash flow and supplier relationships rather than invoices. 

ZoneApprovals – accelerated processes and improved experience   

Looking beyond the automation of data entry, approval processes within your finance team or system can be a common source of frustration.  

There are many reasons for this: approvals may rely on users outside of the finance team who may not understand the importance or impact of their action (or lack thereof); even those who do may not have access to all the pieces of information they need to make the approval; it’s not always a straightforward ‘yes’ or ‘no’ from one person; and perhaps the most common, approvers, by their very position, are usually busy people who may not always be at their desk or have access to the tools they need to approve things quickly.  

Whilst approvals cannot be completely automated (that is to say, they still require manual input), the tools and processes which facilitate the transfer of data to request, query, and/or submit approvals can certainly be improved to make the job easier for those individuals or groups. 

Based on years of NetSuite experience and requests from users, ZoneApprovals has been developed to tackle these specific challenges within NetSuite. Adding new functionality, ZoneApprovals allows users to: 

• Easily configure end-to-end complex workflows within NetSuite via a unique point and click, drag and drop style interface.  
• Receive and submit approvals via email, without needing to log into NetSuite. 

• Ensure nothing is missed with an enhanced dashboard portlet which can be extended to include automated reminder emails for users. 
• Simply delegate approvals automatically should the primary approver be unavailable (e.g., sick leave or paid time off). 
• Quickly view an end-to-end audit trail with every action date and time stamped to include user details. 

All in all, another practical SuiteApp from the team at Zone which delivers a simple solution to real-world challenges.  

Learn more from Eureka Solutions and Zone & Co: 

If you’d like to learn more about how Eureka Solutions and Zone & Co partner to streamline and automate processes throughout your NetSuite set-up, please get in touch via enquiries@eurekasolutions.co.uk.