Most AP teams have automated something by now: a capture tool, an approval workflow, a supplier portal. Yet invoices still get keyed by hand, exceptions still pile up at month end, and the people doing the work still feel the strain. If you need to know whether your team is ahead, behind or stuck in the middle, Accounts Payable Automation Trends 2024 gives you a grounded read on accounts payable automation trends, based on what finance and AP professionals report about their own processes.
The report comes from the Institute of Financial Operations and Leadership (IFOL), which provides education and research for AP, procure-to-pay and wider finance operations professionals. It was produced in partnership with sponsor SAP Concur and surveyed IFOL members, students and subscribers in the second quarter of 2024. The result is a set of peer benchmarks for AP managers, finance directors and controllers who are weighing their next automation move.
Accounts payable automation trends across three years of research
This is the third year SAP Concur has sponsored the study, so the findings go beyond a single snapshot. The 2024 results are set against earlier years, which shows you how AP teams have moved since 2022 and 2023. You'll see whether the time spent on invoices is shrinking, how common manual data entry still is, and how many teams describe themselves as fully, mostly or only partly automated.
That last point gets real attention. The research looks at why so many departments seem to settle at partial automation, and it suggests that incremental, small-step tools can deliver early gains while still holding teams back from fuller change. If your own rollout has stalled halfway, this section will feel familiar.
Where invoice processing automation is still falling short
The report doesn't stop at adoption rates. It asks practitioners what actually goes wrong day to day and what those delays cost them. You'll find benchmarks on:
- Monthly invoice volumes and how much of that volume runs through purchase orders
- Weekly hours spent processing invoices and administering supplier payments
- The most common AP process challenges, from data errors to slow exception handling
- The knock-on effects of delayed processes, including pressure on supplier relationships
- How prepared teams feel for a sudden spike in invoice volume
For anyone building a case for investment, this is the useful part. It shows the human and commercial side of slow AP, not only the operational one, and it gives you peer data to put next to your own numbers.
Why teams want to automate, and when they expect to get there
The survey also covers motivations. Respondents ranked their top reasons for automating AP, chose which financial processes they have already automated, and estimated when their department will reach a fully automated state. You'll also see whether finance professionals believe automating invoice management and supplier payments would free their teams for more strategic work. That makes it easier to check whether your own priorities match the rest of the profession or diverge from it.
AI in accounts payable: interest versus real adoption
Generative AI is the topic every finance leader is being asked about. This report measures how many teams use AI in spend management today, how many plan to adopt it in the next year, and how many simply don't know whether it's on their agenda.
One concrete hook: teams considering AI were asked which of seven specific processes they most want it to improve, ranging from invoice payment authorization to managing taxes and identifying reclaim opportunities. The answers point to where AP professionals expect AI to earn its place first. The report also argues that a knowledge gap, more than a lack of interest, is slowing adoption. That framing is helpful if you're the person expected to explain AI's role to leadership.
Get the full AP automation benchmarks
Short, data-led and easy to share with colleagues, the report works well as a reference before a budget conversation or a vendor review. You can compare your team's automation level, workload and challenges with peers, spot the gaps that matter most, and walk into planning with evidence rather than assumptions.
Download Accounts Payable Automation Trends 2024 to get the complete survey results from IFOL and SAP Concur, including the year-over-year comparisons, the full breakdown of AP challenges and automation plans, and the detailed findings on AI adoption in accounts payable.