The advantages of automating an accounts payable process are clear; no one disputes them. Yet, a staggering number of companies have yet to take the plunge and remain encumbered in inefficient and expensive manual processing. There are numerous reasons for this but the one that stands out is that many professionals simply don’t know how to make a clear and concise case to management to get approval.

Before you get started you’ll need to collect critical information. Some will come from the service provider. However, you’ll also need to gather some intelligence from your own operation. If you don’t, you won’t be able to answer questions from management and are likely to be turned down in your request for funding for an automation project. Let’s take a look at the information you’ll need to ensure you don’t get turned down because you weren’t prepared.