Accounts payable · Production

10 Real AP Automation Case Studies That Prove ROI — Tipalti

The problem

Across the ten profiled companies, accounts payable relied on slow, error-prone manual processes — including manual invoice data entry into ERP systems, manual supplier onboarding, costly international wire transfers, and separate platforms for domestic and international payments — preventing finance teams from scaling without adding headcount.

Workflow diagram · grounded in source
1
Supplier self-service onboarding
trigger
“Self-service supplier onboarding and validation with supplier payments tax compliance tracking”
2
OCR invoice digitization
ai_action
“OCR data capture scanning to convert paper-based invoices to digital invoices”
3
Three-way PO matching
validation
“Tipalti software provides digital automatic invoice matching with purchase order (PO) and receiving document matching. This is called three-way matching in accounting.”
4
Supplier validation and fraud controls
validation
“Supplier validation, discrepancy alerts, and financial controls to reduce errors and fraud risks”
5
Approval workflow routing
routing
“achieved invoice processing and approvals workflow routing efficiency”
6
Global multi-currency payment
output
“Tipalti AP automation software allows users to make payments in a choice of 50+ preferred payment methods to 200+ countries and territories in 120 currencies”
7
Real-time payments reconciliation
integration
“Automatic real-time payments reconciliation”
Reported outcome

Implementing Tipalti AP automation eliminated significant manual workload and accelerated financial closes — including ImaginAb eliminating 1,750 hours of AP workload annually, Centerfield saving 20 weeks of AP work per year and reducing monthly close by 12 days, Stack Overflow cutting close time by five days, Lucidworks reducing financial close time by 50%, and Skillshare cutting payment processing from three hours per week to minutes.

Reported metrics
ImaginAb AP workload eliminated1,750 hours annually
Centerfield AP work saved annually20 weeks per year
Centerfield monthly accounting close reduction12 days
Stack Overflow accounting close accelerationfive days
Show all 14 reported metrics
ImaginAb AP workload eliminated1,750 hours annually
Centerfield AP work saved annually20 weeks per year
Centerfield monthly accounting close reduction12 days
Stack Overflow accounting close accelerationfive days
Lucidworks financial close time reduction50%
Skillshare weekly payment processing timefrom three hours per week to just minutes
Stack Overflow manual process elimination90%
Therabody monthly AP work eliminated60 hours per month
TuneIn reporting time savedthree days
Vivino payment processing time10 minutes
end-to-end payables workflow reduction80%
Tipalti customer retention rate99%
Tipalti customer satisfaction rate98%
Centerfield close time reduction (percent)60%
Reported stack
TipaltiOCRRPASage IntacctNetSuiteQuickBooks OnlineQuickBooksXero
Source
https://tipalti.com/blog/accounts-payable-automation-case-studies/
Read source ↗

Frequently asked questions

What did this team achieve with this AI workflow?

Implementing Tipalti AP automation eliminated significant manual workload and accelerated financial closes — including ImaginAb eliminating 1,750 hours of AP workload annually, Centerfield saving 20 weeks of AP work p…

What tools did this team use?

Tipalti, OCR, RPA, Sage Intacct, NetSuite, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks, Xero.

What results were reported?

ImaginAb AP workload eliminated: 1,750 hours annually; Centerfield AP work saved annually: 20 weeks per year; Centerfield monthly accounting close reduction: 12 days; Stack Overflow accounting close acceleration: five days (source-reported, not independently verified).

How is this accounts payable AI workflow structured?

Supplier self-service onboarding → OCR invoice digitization → Three-way PO matching → Supplier validation and fraud controls → Approval workflow routing → Global multi-currency payment → Real-time payments reconciliation.

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