AvidXchange Offers ‘Actionable Insights’ With New AP Visibility Tool

Accounts payable automation company AvidXchange has debuted a business intelligence tool it says will bring fresh data and insights to finance teams that manual processes can’t.

Announced in a news release Tuesday (Feb. 7), the tool offers “intelligent analytics, immersive dashboards and embedded data visualizations” to give customers added visibility into their accounts payable (AP) process that they wouldn’t get with manual methods.

In addition, the functionality lets users delve deeper into specific areas to “get more actionable insights in the solution,” something not offered by manual reporting, AvidXchange said.

“We launched AvidAnalytics because we know our buyer customers are managing an incredible amount of data through their invoice, purchase order and payment transactions, and standard reporting methods for spend management no longer cut it in today’s digital-first era,” said AvidXchange’s Serdar Dincaslan.

“With AvidAnalytics, we’re putting the power back into the buyer customers’ hands to glean the insights they need from analyzing and reporting on their data to help strengthen the business overall,” added Dincaslan, the company’s senior vice president of business insights, decision science and network growth.

The launch of AvidAnalytics comes one week after the Charlotte, N.C. company appointed a new president. Dan Drees had been with AvidXchange since 2018, serving as chief growth officer.

“Since joining, Drees has been key to AvidXchange’s growth and helping the company navigate critical milestones, such as organic vertical market expansions, multiple acquisitions, the IPO and the company’s response to COVID-19,” the company said in a news release.

As noted here recently, aging AP systems can hinder communications  between merchants and vendors. PYMNTS research finds that poor communication with vendors is the challenge mentioned most often by online marketplaces seeking to modernize their AP systems.

It is also the obstacle that marketplaces were most likely to cite as most important; after all, a marketplace’s vendors are the embodiment of the brand for many consumers.

Other frustrations with vendors include the failure to keep clients up to date on the progress of product shipments, customer complaints and payment statuses.

“These pain points may be especially frustrating for online merchants, whose explosive growth since the pandemic began has led 98% of sector executives to say their AP volumes are set to increase over the next three years,” PYMNTS wrote last week.

That rate of growth could be in danger, as 82% of online marketplaces say their business’s expansion would be at least somewhat or slightly hampered if they could not handle their projected growth in AP volume.