Accounts payable · Production

7 accounts payable automation case studies that prove results

The problem

Multiple companies across industries faced manual AP processes with slow per-invoice processing, delayed approvals, high legacy tool costs, and inefficient month-end reconciliation that made scaling financially and operationally difficult.

First attempt

The Second City's previous AP automation tool, built on NetSuite, failed to correctly scan vendor invoices, misreading line items, requiring extensive manual corrections, and costing $40K per year without delivering functional automation.

Workflow diagram · grounded in source
1
Automated OCR invoice capture
ai_action
“Invoice capture: Automated OCR extracts vendor names, amounts, and line items without manual data entry”
2
AI invoice processing and categorization
ai_action
“AI-powered invoice processing extracted key details and categorized expenses automatically, reducing manual work”
3
Automated approval routing
routing
“Approval routing: Bills move instantly to the right approver based on rules you set”
4
ERP real-time sync
integration
“Sage Intacct integration synced AP transactions in real time, allowing finance to reconcile vendor payments without waiting for month-end statements”
5
Scheduled payment execution
output
“Payment execution: Scheduled payments run on time without someone initiating each one”
Reported outcome

Ramp Bill Pay delivered over 80% reduction in AP processing time at REVA, 2x faster invoice processing and $40K annual savings at The Second City, and month-end close accelerated by 2 weeks.

Reported metrics
AP processing time reduction (REVA)80%+
month-end close acceleration (REVA)accelerated by 2 weeks
invoice processing speed (The Second City)2x faster
annual cost savings (The Second City)$40K
Show all 6 reported metrics
AP processing time reduction (REVA)80%+
month-end close acceleration (REVA)accelerated by 2 weeks
invoice processing speed (The Second City)2x faster
annual cost savings (The Second City)$40K
prior AP tool annual cost (The Second City)$40K per year
payment accuracy testimonial (REVA)100% perfection
Reported stack
Ramp Bill PayOCRSage IntacctNetSuite
Source
https://ramp.com/blog/accounts-payable/ap-automation-case-studies
Read source ↗

Frequently asked questions

What did this team achieve with this AI workflow?

Ramp Bill Pay delivered over 80% reduction in AP processing time at REVA, 2x faster invoice processing and $40K annual savings at The Second City, and month-end close accelerated by 2 weeks.

What tools did this team use?

Ramp Bill Pay, OCR, Sage Intacct, NetSuite.

What results were reported?

AP processing time reduction (REVA): 80%+; month-end close acceleration (REVA): accelerated by 2 weeks; invoice processing speed (The Second City): 2x faster; annual cost savings (The Second City): $40K (source-reported, not independently verified).

What failed first in this deployment?

The Second City's previous AP automation tool, built on NetSuite, failed to correctly scan vendor invoices, misreading line items, requiring extensive manual corrections, and costing $40K per year without delivering f…

How is this accounts payable AI workflow structured?

Automated OCR invoice capture → AI invoice processing and categorization → Automated approval routing → ERP real-time sync → Scheduled payment execution.

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