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SoftCo AP Automation
What Is SoftCo AP Automation?
SoftCoAP, part of the ecosystem of solutions hosted on the SoftCoAI+ platform, leads the market with 90% Touchless Processing of PO invoices, and 89% faster processing of non-PO invoices. SoftCoAP processes all PO and non-PO supplier invoices electronically from capture and matching to invoice approval and query management. Delivering unparalleled touchless automation, SoftCoAP incorporates unique AI technology to minimize the number of supplier invoices requiring manual input. The AI-powered Smart Matching engine matches invoice data to your purchase orders and goods receipt notes and automates even the most complicated matching scenarios, such as incomplete data, missing product codes, rounding issues. The result is 89% lower processing costs.
Take the SoftCo’s Smart Matching Challenge to put the SoftCo AI-powered Matching engine to the test with your own data.
"For organizations who process over 50,000 invoices per annum, SoftCo is a must have" Mushtaque Ahmed, JJ Foods.
Who Uses SoftCo AP Automation?
SoftCo works with organizations who process over 50k invoices per annum in industries incl. Manufacturing, Aviation, Food & Beverage, Fin Services, Retail, Transport & Logistics, & Renewable Energy.
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SoftCo AP Automation
Reviews of SoftCo AP Automation
SoftCo implementation team always delivers and the product (especially the new version) is excellent
Comments: Moved from paper based to online PO's with significant reduction in staff levels in purchase ledger and almost 100% compliance with payment terms. Much better control of release of payment runs.
Pros:
The product is very easy to use with new in-email approval a huge step forward. Visibility of spend and tracking versus budget is a great feature. GRNI accrual for the finance team is easy. Easy to raise POs, so no excuses. Easy to change routing of approval if a PO has a particular need for customised approval. We use verify (as an option in addition to approve) to ensure that costs coded to particular account codes are reviewed as appropriate to that code before the PO is approved, e.g., Capex.
Cons:
Not cheap, we are a waste management business not a bank, but we have found it good value for money.
Hydro-Gear's Review of SoftCo
Comments: The AP team has settled into a routine and we have seen a significant drop in workload. It was very difficult early on, but we are overall happy with the product now and are continuing to find ways to improve and develop metrics that work for us.
Pros:
Access to information all in one placeThe matching function is accurate and immediately beneficialAbility to route easily for approvals, confirmations, etc...
Cons:
ReadSoft/Capture - throughout implementation, we were very focused on the SoftCo product. When it came to understanding the ReadSoft portion, we were generally told to trust that the system would learn what to do. When we have issues with capture, it is difficult to get black and white answers from SoftCo and to understand exactly what can be done to improve the success. There aren't many views where the coding is viewable.BOL matching was not in place when we started implementation, which we were under the impression was standard. The intuitiveness could be improved for what business users need to do - i.e. folder views with the # in parentheses is unclear, the order of operations that need to be taken to go from details to coding, when there is a balance it isn't clear that users can't approve/move on because of that (the balance in RED is not very noticeable at the bottom of the screen).
Softco Review
Comments: Team was top notch. Sales and implementation.
Pros:
It provides our AP team with a tool for better and faster processing of their invoices.
Cons:
Couple glitches with integration with our ERP.
Highly Recommend SoftCo
Comments: We implemented an AP automation solution to avoid hiring a second AP person. We chose SoftCo because of it's functionality and straightforward user interface.
Pros:
SoftCo is user friendly and achieves our internal controls requirements for 3-way matching and invoice approvals. It also provides visibility on unapproved invoices for accruing at month-end. Searching for invoices is easy with multiple options to search by as well as monitoring unapproved invoices for following up with approvers to ensure vendors are paid on-time. The invoice capture software is accurate and learns the layout of each vendor's invoice. SoftCo support responds within 24 hours and tickets are resolved quickly.
Cons:
Reporting could be better as it focuses on unapproved invoices, rather than all invoices. The invoice capture software crashes occasionally, but works again after it's restarted, which is very quick.
Very positive experience. Should have done it sooner. Year 1 return on investment.
Comments: Year 1 return on investment. Easy to use for staff at all levels, reduced processing times as well as full visibility over all invoices on the system. There were of course some teething issues but SoftCo were always on hand to address these straight off and ensure the implementation went smoothly.
Pros:
The number 1 thing I like is that the software is easy to use for all levels in our organisation. This ensured that the buy-in from our staff was gained straight away and they could see that it made their jobs easier. The results have been great too. We have achieved a straight-through processing match rate of 75% of all invoices and increased the capacity of our AP team by more than 50%. By automating our AP process, we have reduced our labour costs despite handling an increasing volume of invoices (over 300,000 per annum). We also now have complete visibility over all our invoices in the system which helps greatly at month end.