Accounts Payable isn't the most glamorous work in the business world, but without it, there is no business world. Managing vendors, making payments and ensuring that a business meets its obligations are all essential tasks today. With Tungsten AP Essentials, invoice processing—one of the most time-consuming AP processes—can become much faster, smarter and more reliable. However, it's essential to ensure that you can remake these processes to be as effective as possible. That's why we also recommend using TungstenTotalAgility for AP automation.

Setting up an effective AP Essentials deployment can transform how your back-office teams work, but it's key to validate your work before you take it live. Creating a well-supported, fully-featured software environment will let you leverage the benefits of effective automation and improve work experiences for human employees. Connecting AP Essentials to TotalAgility using solutions from the Tungsten Marketplace helps you reach that goal.

Finding solutions in the Marketplace

AP Essentials is a highly versatile solution right out of the box. Powered with OCR technology that achieves consistently high levels of accuracy, you can configure AP Essentials to recognize and extract invoice data, purchase order numbers and more. Even two and three-way matching becomes simpler. However, you may still need to move that data around within your business systems. Visibility into these processes—and the cash involved—is important.

The Tungsten Marketplace provides many of the solutions necessary for businesses to extend and improve the value of their investment in AP Essentials. With solutions built by experts to respond to specific industry needs, you can find options such as software connectors to integrate AP Essentials into larger, more automated workflows created in Tungsten TotalAgility. Let's look at a few of the best examples of how you can unify your software environment this way.

What can you do with the advanced database export connector?

The utility AP Essentials has stemmed from its data extraction capabilities and its ability to achieve high levels of speed and accuracy, even in high-volume environments. However, what do you plan to do with it once you've extracted that data? Without some form of automation, you could be left stuck back at square one: having employees manually move extracted data into your other business systems.

With the Advanced Database Export Connector created by ImageTech Systems, you can facilitate a seamless connection between data in AP Essentials and other data storage locations connected to TotalAgility and beyond. Using this connector, you can ensure data arrives at the correct location, no matter its point of origin.

This connector lets you update database records directly and automatically and provides extensive control over its operation for customization. Ensure your financial data immediately hits your business intelligence apps, ERP/CRM platforms and other important destinations.

Why you should consider email connectors

Moving data to the correct locations is important, but so too is taking action based on that data. Good AP practices involve frequent communication within the business and with vendors and other outside partners. Streamlining this process can ensure your teams spend fewer hours handling manual communications and more time engaged with higher-value business tasks.

With the email connectors available on the Marketplace, you can configure Tungsten TotalAgility to take specific communication actions based on AP data moving through the system. For example, you could automate alerts and messages to key stakeholders responsible for approving large or unusual payments. Likewise, you can communicate automatically with vendors to inform them about invoice receipts, processing progress, or payment notifications.

These are just a few examples of how you can integrate stronger communication practices into your workflows using automation. With just two connectors, you're already on your way to a smarter way of working—and there are many more solutions to discover, too.

The benefits of a better implementation

Why make an effort to investigate Marketplace solutions for creating a cohesive environment with Tungsten TotalAgility and AP Essentials? When you do, you'll be able to enjoy many benefits. Users often report advantages such as:

• Fewer errors and higher quality data in your business systems.
• More time for high-value knowledge workers to devote to problem-solving, innovation and providing good service.
• Better communication with vendors and stakeholders to foster transparency and trust.
• Less tedious manual work.
• Greater insights into business processes, financial health and other key attributes.

Getting started with TungstenTotalAgility and Marketplace solutions

Let's recap. Why is better technology so important in this space? It's simple. Advanced tools in the right hands can help your business capture early payment discounts, improve vendor relationships and better manage daily cash transactions.

Using Tungsten TotalAgility for AP automation lets you start down the path towards faster, smarter and more efficient work in one of your company's most critical processes. By connecting AP Essentials and Tungsten TotalAgility, you can leverage advanced functionality and cutting-edge automation to stop errors and improve relationships with vendors across the board. Start exploring these solutions today, or visit the Marketplace to discover more about how you can connect these technologies.