How to Get Buy-In for Your AP Automation Business Case

Implementing AP automation isn’t just a technology upgrade—it’s a strategic decision that drives efficiency, reduces costs, and enhances financial management.

It’s a cross-departmental initiative that impacts multiple functional areas that requires alignment across finance, AP, procurement, and IT. As with any significant process change, securing buy-in from key stakeholders is essential for project success. While you understand the benefits of AP automation, your leadership team and other decision-makers may not be aware.

This guide will help you build a strong business case to gain stakeholder support. With the right approach, you can position AP automation as an investment in efficiency, scalability, and long-term business success.

Why do you need an AP automation business case?

If your organization is considering AP automation, you may need to develop a business case to convince executives, IT, and other key stakeholders to greenlight the project.

Without their buy-in, the project may never get off the ground, so it’s crucial to demonstrate the value of AP automation. But how do you do that effectively?

A well-researched business case will help you:

Demonstrate the value of AP automation

Stakeholders need to see the impact of automation—not just for their specific area but for the entire business. A clear and measurable business case highlights these benefits.

Address concerns upfront

Decision-makers may have reservations about the cost, implementation timeline or potential disruptions to business operations. Preparing a strong business case will allow you to proactively address these concerns.

Align the project with organizational goals

A business case should show how AP automation supports broader objectives, such as digital transformation, cost reduction, or scalability.

Building your business case

A well-structured business case should demonstrate how AP automation will:

  • Reduce costs
  • Save time
  • Improve efficiency
  • Enhance workflow flexibility
  • Increase visibility and control
  • Strengthen vendor and customer relationships
  • Support revenue growth

Follow these steps to create a compelling AP automation business case:

1. Identify pain points in the current process

Start by evaluating your current AP process and pinpointing inefficiencies.

For example, are manual data entry errors causing payment delays? Are late fees accumulating due to missed deadlines? Is a lack of invoice visibility making financial forecasting difficult?

Back up these pain points with real data to make your case more compelling. Key questions to consider include:

  • How many employees handle AP functions?
  • How many invoices are processed weekly/monthly/yearly?
  • How much time is spent on manual data entry?
  • How many steps are in the AP workflow?
  • How much is spent on physical invoices or paper storage?
  • How often are early payment discounts missed?
  • How much visibility do you have into each stage of the AP process?

2. Demonstrate the impact of current inefficiencies

Once you’ve identified bottlenecks, calculate their financial impact.

  • How much time does the AP team spend on manual processing?
  • What are the costs of human errors, duplicate payments, and missed early payment discounts?

These insights will strengthen your case by demonstrating the true cost of inefficiencies.

3. Highlight the potential return on investment (ROI)

Compare current AP costs with the potential savings from automation. Key ROI factors to outline include:

  • Solution cost: Is it a one-time license fee or a subscription? What are the costs of implementation, upgrades, and maintenance?
  • Hard savings: Reduced late payments, duplicate payments, and paper handling costs.
  • Soft savings: Increased productivity, better vendor relationships, and improved financial forecasting.
  • up resources, improved vendor relationships and better financial forecasting.

4. Showcase additional benefits

Beyond cost savings, emphasize the broader benefits:

  • Faster, more accurate payments that strengthen vendor relationships
  • Digital records that improve audit readiness and compliance
  • Scalable automation that accommodates business growth

Use tangible data, case studies, and industry benchmarks to reinforce these points.

5. Align with strategic business goals

Ensure your business case connects AP automation to company-wide objectives.

  • If digital transformation is a priority, highlight how automation modernizes financial workflows.
  • If cost reduction is a goal, show how automation delivers long-term savings.

This alignment will resonate with key decision-makers and position AP automation as a strategic investment.

The ROI of AP Automation

Helping stakeholders see the value in AP automation

AP automation benefits the entire organization, but different stakeholders have different priorities. A strong business case should address each group’s concerns.

Tailoring Your Business Case by Stakeholder Group

  • C-Suite Executives: Focus on strategic alignment, ROI, and competitive advantage.
  • Finance Teams: Highlight efficiency, accuracy, and compliance.
  • IT Teams: Address integration, security, and scalability concerns.

By proactively addressing these concerns, you can reduce resistance and build confidence in the solution. Support your case with industry benchmarks, case studies, and testimonials.

Getting buy-in from CEO and CFO

The CEO and CFO’s priorities will typically include:

  • Strategic alignment: How does AP automation support the company’s long-term goals?
  • Financial impact: What is the cost-benefit analysis? Can you provide figures to justify the investment?
  • Risk mitigation:How will AP automation reduce compliance risks and errors, ultimately protecting the company’s reputation?

Make sure your business case addresses these concerns by:

  • Demonstrating cost savings: Reinforce that AP automation saves money by improving employee productivity and eliminating unnecessary expenditures.
  • Using data: Present a high-level summary of ROI, cost savings, and efficiency gains. Provide specific examples, such as “reducing processing costs by 30%” or “cutting the invoice cycle time from 30 days to 10 days.”
  • Highlighting industry trends: Use reports, studies, data, and trends to demonstrate how competitors and industry leaders are adopting AP automation.

Getting buy-in from controllers and finance teams

Controllers and finance teams are directly involved in AP processing, so they will be familiar with the key issues and frustrations.

The finance team’s main concerns will include:

  • Day-to-day efficiency: Will the AP automation make their jobs easier by reducing manual tasks and streamlining workflows?
  • Accuracy and compliance: How will automation reduce errors and support audits? The finance team needs to be confident that the system will enhance their processes rather than complicate them.
  • Integration:Will the new system work seamlessly with the organization’s existing ERP systems or accounting software?

Make sure your business case addresses these concerns by:

  • Showing the software in action: Offer demos or real-world case studies to illustrate its features and time-saving capabilities.
  • Addressing concerns around implementation: Provide a clear timeline for implementation, alongside a plan for training and support. Highlight any resources provided by the vendor, such as onboarding specialists or online training modules.
  • Highlighting value-added tasks: Show how automation allows the team to shift focus from repetitive tasks to more strategic activities.

Getting buy-in from CIO or IT teams

In many organizations, IT has the final say on decisions about new software and systems, so getting their buy-in is a vital step in the process.

Priorities for the CIO or IT team will include:

  • Technology integration: Is the solution compatible with the organization’s existing systems?
  • Security: How does the automation solution protect sensitive financial data? What certifications does it have?
  • Scalability: Will the solution scale alongside the organization?

Make sure your business case addresses these concerns by:

  • Highlighting vendor support: Discuss the level of implementation, maintenance, and troubleshooting support provided by the vendor.
  • Providing technical documentation: Offer detailed information on the solution’s security credentials, system requirements, and integration capabilities.

Final Thoughts

Securing buy-in for AP automation requires a mix of data-driven insights and tailored messaging. By building a compelling business case and addressing each stakeholder’s concerns, you can turn your vision into reality.

AP automation isn’t just about efficiency—it empowers the entire organization to work smarter. Whether you’re speaking to executives, finance, or IT, the message is clear: AP automation is an investment that delivers measurable results and future-proof operations.

Why Choose Basware?

As the industry’s leading invoice lifecycle management provider, Basware helps global enterprises automate complex, labor-intensive invoice processes while staying compliant with evolving regulations.

Our platform delivers true automation, complete coverage, and deep expertise—helping businesses achieve efficiency and control in just months while reducing errors and risks. That’s why the world’s most efficient AP departments trust Basware to process millions of invoices every year.

Book a call to discover how Basware’s AP automation solutions can transform your operations or download our Practical Guide: Automating Your Accounts Payable Processes resource.

AP Automation FAQs

How does AP automation improve the invoice approval process?

AP automation makes the invoice approval process quicker and more efficient. By identifying the correct approvers, sending notifications and reminders automatically, it streamlines the process and removes unnecessary human involvement, thereby reducing human errors. It also means that key documents are stored in one place and are accessible to all relevant team members.

How can AP automation resolve issues with invoice-related communication?

AP automation can help resolve invoice-related communication issues by creating an accurate, real time record of any comments, questions and inputs relating to a specific invoice or client. This also means that documents and communication records can be accessed and searched by all authorised parties.

Can AP automation improve document management?

Yes. With AP automation, all invoices and other invoice-related documents are automatically stored electronically. Online archival ensures that employees have easy access to invoices and other transaction related documents anytime, from anywhere.

How does AP automation prevent duplicate payments?

Validation checks built into the solution check all invoices upon arrival and flag any duplicate invoices. This means that duplicate payments are stopped from being made in the first place, instead of having to recover the money after the fact.

Can AP automation software help prevent invoice fraud?

AP automation provides comprehensive controls that can be introduced to your financial processes to prevent fraud and enhance security. Within the invoice approval process, for example, approval limits can be applied to the accounts of specific or all users and additional approver requirements can also be set. The reporting tools provided by AP automation also increase transparency and visibility, meaning any fraudulent, suspicious, or unusual activity can be identified quickly.

Will my suppliers interact with my AP automation solution?

There are a number of ways your suppliers can interact with the AP automation solution, including using the supplier portal to submit invoices and check the status of transactions real-time, significantly reducing the number of supplier inquiries into your AP department.

Will my suppliers interact with my AP automation solution?

AP automation solutions can be seamlessly integrated with existing ERP and financial systems, allowing real-time data flow and file integration.