Today we’re joined by Dominic Jainy, an IT professional with deep expertise in applying advanced technologies like AI and machine learning to solve real-world business problems. We’ve invited him to discuss a challenge that many finance teams face: the overwhelming burden of manual accounts payable processing, especially for those using powerful ERPs like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Throughout our conversation, Dominic will shed light on how modern automation solutions are transforming this space. We’ll explore the entire lifecycle of an invoice, from its digital capture to its final approval, and understand what a truly seamless, native integration feels like for the end-user. We’ll also dive into the strategic benefits, such as gaining real-time cash-flow visibility and knowing the precise moment a growing company should move away from manual methods.
The article highlights automated invoice capture. Can you walk us through how a solution like Yavrio processes an invoice from an email and presents it in Business Central? What specific data fields does it extract, and how does this feature practically reduce errors for a finance team?
Of course, and this is really where the magic begins. Imagine an invoice landing in a designated AP inbox. Instead of a person opening that email, downloading the PDF, and then manually keying data into Business Central, the automation platform takes over instantly. It uses intelligent character recognition to read the document, identifying and extracting crucial data points—not just the obvious ones like the invoice number, date, and total amount, but also vendor details, purchase order numbers, and even line-item descriptions. This data then populates a purchase invoice draft directly within Business Central, ready for review. For a finance team, the feeling is one of profound relief. The risk of transposition errors, like typing a ‘6’ instead of a ‘9’, or missing a decimal point, simply vanishes. This eliminates the tedious, error-prone data entry that consumes hours and leads to frustrating reconciliation problems down the line.
You mentioned Yavrio offers a “native-style integration.” For a finance professional, what does this look like day-to-day? Could you provide an anecdote where this real-time data availability prevented a common AP problem like a duplicate payment or a missed discount?
“Native-style integration” is a critical concept. It means the AP automation tool doesn’t feel like a separate, bolted-on application. For the finance professional, their world remains inside Business Central. There’s no need to switch between different windows, log into another system, or perform manual data syncs that could fail. The automated features appear as a natural extension of their existing ERP. I recall one company that was constantly battling duplicate payments. A supplier would send an invoice, and then a week later, send a “reminder” copy. Before automation, both might get entered and paid. With a native solution, when the second invoice arrived, the system immediately flagged it as a duplicate in real-time, right on the Business Central screen. The invoice number and vendor combination already existed. The alert was unavoidable, preventing a five-figure duplicate payment. It’s this kind of immediate, built-in intelligence that turns AP from a reactive, messy process into a controlled, proactive one.
Regarding the approval workflows, could you give a step-by-step example of setting up a multi-level approval rule? For instance, how would the system automatically route an invoice over $5,000 to a specific manager and then a director for final sign-off?
This is where you really start to eliminate bottlenecks. Setting up these rules is surprisingly intuitive and is typically a one-time configuration. Inside the system, you’d create a new rule. The first condition might be: “If Invoice Total is greater than $5,000.” The corresponding action would be: “Assign to Approver: Department Manager.” You can then add a second tier to that same rule: “After approval from Department Manager, if Invoice Total is still greater than $5,000, assign to Final Approver: Finance Director.” From that moment on, the system handles everything. An invoice for, say, $7,200 comes in. It is automatically routed to the Department Manager’s queue. Once they click ‘approve,’ it disappears from their list and instantly appears in the Finance Director’s queue for final sign-off. This creates a crystal-clear digital audit trail, ending the days of invoices getting lost in email chains or sitting for weeks on someone’s desk.
The text lists improved cash-flow visibility as a key benefit. Can you describe how the real-time AP data from this kind of solution helps a controller or CFO make better financial decisions? What specific dashboards or reports in Business Central become more powerful with this integration?
This is the strategic payoff. Without automation, a CFO’s view of liabilities is always in the past; it reflects invoices that have been fully processed, not the ones currently snaking their way through the company. With real-time integration, that all changes. A CFO can look at their financial dashboards in Business Central and see not just the posted payables, but also the total value of invoices pending approval. They can see exactly where those invoices are stuck. This transforms cash-flow planning from guesswork into a data-driven science. Standard reports like the “Aged Payables” summary become immensely more powerful because the data is current to the minute, not the week. A controller can now accurately forecast cash requirements for the upcoming weeks and make strategic decisions, like whether to accelerate a payment to capture an early-pay discount, with complete confidence.
You note that growing organizations are ideal candidates. At what point does manual AP processing typically become unsustainable? Could you share some key warning signs that a business is outgrowing its manual system and should consider an automation tool?
The breaking point isn’t always tied to a specific number of invoices per month, but rather to a series of painful symptoms. One of the first warning signs is when your skilled finance team is spending more time on tedious data entry than on high-value financial analysis. Another clear sign is when you consistently start missing out on early payment discounts simply because your internal approval process is too slow and cumbersome. You might also hear directly from vendors complaining about late payments, which can strain crucial business relationships. Perhaps the most telling sign is a chaotic month-end close, where the team is scrambling to track down paper invoices and reconcile discrepancies. When you can no longer confidently answer the simple question, “What are our outstanding liabilities right now?”—that’s when you know you’ve outgrown your manual system and the operational friction is costing you more than the investment in automation ever would.
What is your forecast for the future of AP automation within the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem?
I believe we’re moving toward a future of “intelligent AP,” not just automated AP. The integration will become even deeper, leveraging the full power of AI and machine learning within the Dynamics ecosystem. It won’t just be about capturing data; it will be about understanding it. For instance, systems will begin to proactively flag anomalies, such as an invoice from a regular supplier that is significantly higher than usual, and suggest it for a more thorough review. We will see a rise in “zero-touch” processing, where recurring, predictable invoices are approved and posted for payment without any human intervention at all. Ultimately, the role of the AP professional will be completely elevated. They will transition from being data entry clerks to becoming strategic process managers, responsible for overseeing the automated system, analyzing spending trends, and using the real-time data to provide critical financial insights that drive the business forward.