Depending on what you’re trying to achieve, you’ll either want to get an accounts payable audit directly from a company or via their software. Obviously, there are advantages to auditing and outsourcing, but also a couple of downsides.
To choose the one you need, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the pros and cons of both methods. This way, you’ll be able to justify the choice and, of course, get a better outcome from it. So, let’s find out in which scenarios AP outsourcing would be beneficial and in which it wouldn’t be as beneficial.
The Difference Between Outsourcing and Automation
Now, before we begin explaining the benefits and flaws of accounts payable outsourcing, let’s first shed some light on the key differences between outsourcing and automation. As you understand by now, they are not the same thing. With outsourcing, you’re paying another company to audit your accounts payable department. They’ll provide their services, after which you’ll gain insight into flaws in your department. With automation, you’ll pay to use the software of another company to conduct an AP audit. Now that that’s clear, we can proceed towards the pros and cons of accounts payable outsourcing.
Pros of Accounts Payable Outsourcing
As you probably know yourself, outsourcing isn’t only about shifting responsibility to someone else to audit your accounts payable department. It gives your business value and an outside perspective on how your company’s infrastructure really looks. Additionally, there are a couple of other benefits of outsourcing that you should be aware of.
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More Affordable Than Other Options
Adding numbers to your in-house accounts payable employees list can be rather costly. Decisions like this can create a financial drawback that you may not notice immediately, but will ultimately impact your business in the long run. Instead of adding more staff to your accounts payable department, consider outsourcing. It’s considerably less expensive, and you’ll only have to do it occasionally. Additionally, adding staff to your accounting team can be a liability, as the risk of error, misplacement of receipts, or failure to follow SOPs will increase.
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More Efficient
Because the company you’re outsourcing to uses automated processes to audit, it takes less time to complete these actions. They’ll also have access to a myriad of software that your accounts payable department might not have. Additionally, they’ll be more efficient than in-house staff, as this is, after all, what they’re being paid for.
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Tracking and Monitoring the Process
With accounts payable outsourcing, you’ll have full access to the entire process timeline. You’ll be able to track each step and individual action and keep records of them. On the other hand, with an in-house accounts payable department, you’ll need a manager to supervise the shifts, approve actions, and monitor the process itself.
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Minimal Chance for Error
Another great benefit of outsourcing an AP audit is that the chances of error are virtually eliminated. Since we all make mistakes, it’s best to rely on software for these tasks. As a single error can be quite costly for your business, not to mention its reputation, it’s understandable why the majority of businesses choose to outsource AP audits.
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Better Control
Not only that, but you also won’t need to worry about keeping track of required papers for the audit (as well as the headache that comes with it), and you won’t be able to misplace them. Because the company you’re outsourcing to will have absolute control over sheets, invoices, documentation, and files they need from you, you’ll have fewer things to worry about.
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Visible Results
With a good partner, your AP audit will go smoothly. More importantly, they’ll highlight potential flaws in your workflow and specific errors in your accounts payable department. It goes without saying how big an impact this may have on your company’s future. You should act accordingly to every suggestion they make, as you’ll definitely see the results of these actions in the near future. You’ll upgrade your score, minimize errors, and improve the overall efficiency of your accounts payable department.
Cons of Account Payable Outsourcing
What’s considered beneficial to some, others will look upon as a flaw. Just like with any other process, outsourcing accounts payable audit can have some downsides. Again, it’s merely a case or perspective.
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Less Control Over Some Tasks
With accounts payable outsourcing services, you’ll have access to their workflow, but not to every assignment and action. You’ll generally see where the process is headed, which sections of the department are being reviewed, and so on. Furthermore, this isn’t the case with every company. By partnering with some, you’ll have limited access, or in some cases, none at all, until the audit is over. This can be beneficial if you rely entirely on their services and have no doubts about their level of expertise. In other words, once you start the process, you won’t have full control until the matter is done.
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Duplicated Submissions
Again, you should only consider outsourcing if you have a reliable partner in mind or one with an impeccable reputation. Why? Although you’re choosing to outsource to minimize errors in your department, you might create additional problems. Duplicated submissions, or errors in outsourced invoice processing, for example, can create significant problems. The first one is that you can’t track it or get insight into how it happened. So instead of solving a problem, you’ll add more to your already overflowing list of existing ones. You’ll need to inspect the entire system and bring in additional personnel from your accounts payable department to avoid a considerable loss.
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A Matter of Dependence
We can’t stress enough the importance of selecting the right partner for outsourcing accounts payable. You’ll completely rely on their services to upgrade your business and improve your entire accounts payable department. If something happens to the company you’re outsourcing to (a security breach, bankruptcy, etc.), it will directly affect your business as well. You’ll have no one to turn to, and you’ll end up having to solve the problems by yourself again. This will put you in a situation where you have very few options – either increase the number of your in-house staff or hire another company to do the audit.
The Bottom Line
Although it can be risky, outsourcing accounts payable can be extremely beneficial to your business. It all depends on who you turn to for services. Take caution when selecting a partner and be mindful of their level of expertise, as well as their reputation. Paying a bit extra ensures that you get efficient and impeccable service. For more information on our available accounts payable services, please visit our website.
Last updated: September 2025