
The considerations involved in selecting the right solution are numerous and the different areas to evaluate are broad. Fortunately, most companies have a standard set of requirements and priorities to include in their AP automation RFPs.
Section 1
RFP introduction
Your introduction will provide an overview of your company and the specifics of your AP Automation initiative to solution providers. It should also include the goals and objectives of the RFP, key solution requirements, the RFP timeline and the desired timeline for the project once a contract has been awarded. Also, be sure to include the necessary confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements.
Key information for you to deliver to solution providers:
It is important to note that sections 2 – 11 of this RFP guide and accompanying RFP template provide sample questions to ask, but you should customize as needed to suit your organizations’ specific AP Automation project scope and business requirements.
Section 2
It is important to know as much as possible about prospective solution providers you have shortlisted for your AP Automation initiative. This section captures the general information related to each solution provider, including facts such as company history, description, breadth and depth of offering, financials, customers and industries. Include questions that help communicate the size and overall maturity of the company in delivering its AP Automation solutions.
Key information to request:
Section 3
A strong fraud prevention and cyber security strategy helps organizations minimize exposure to threats, risk and noncompliance with external regulations. This section focuses on understanding the solution provider’s ability to keep data safe from unauthorized and illegal access. Please provide details regarding your applications capabilities, procedures, and architecture with respect to ensuring cyber security and fraud prevention.
Key questions to consider:
Section 4
The AP process begins with the receipt of an invoice. This section focuses on capturing the solution provider’s features, functionality and general capabilities related to the submission of invoices by vendors, receiving the invoice, and data capture.
Key questions to consider:
Section 5
Once the invoice is received, it is validated, matched, and appropriately routed for approval. This section focuses on capturing the solution provider’s features, functionality and general capabilities related to the processing and workflow management of invoices.
Key questions to consider:
Section 6
After an invoice is approved, payments can be scheduled and executed. This section focuses on capturing the solution provider’s features, functionality and general capabilities related to B2B payments. There is significant untapped value in the financial supply chain, particularly the vendor payment operation, which is available only to the enterprises savvy enough to take advantage of the tools and capabilities that can unearth it.
Key questions to consider:
Section 7
Visibility is critical to the success of any AP Automation initiative. Reporting and data analytics enables enterprises to interpret information and provide meaningful intelligence that can be used to optimize business decision making within an enterprise. This section looks at how well a solution can extract and present data, enable users to perform analysis and present insights, and its ease of use.
Key questions to consider:
Section 8
This section focuses on understanding a solution provider’s platforms and technology architecture, as well as details around the integrations, if any, that will be needed to your existing systems. It also considers system reliability and other factors. You need to know how well everything matches with your organization’s requirements and technology infrastructure.
Key questions to consider:
Section 9
A crucial part of the decision-making process involves the services and support that are provided along with the AP Automation solution. This section requests information from the solution provider regarding the different types of technical/functional/user support they have available, including training and deployment.
Key questions to consider:
Section 10
This section provides a structure for solution providers to share their pricing structure, which can be used to request detailed pricing information so that a total cost of ownership can be calculated. It is important to provide a framework for answers so you can more easily compare solution provider costs side by side. Try to capture any and all costs including subscription or license fees, transaction fees, solution deployment and project integration costs, training and support, and any other costs.
Key questions to consider:
Section 11
This section offers a structure for solution providers to share customer references that you can contact. Have providers include three to five client references, preferably of similar size, industry, and ERP as your company.
Your conversations with reference customers should happen prior to making a selection decision and cover topics such as:
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