When it comes to Accounts Payable (AP) automation, businesses have a growing number of options to choose from. Many software companies claim “easy-to-activate” connectors, suggesting you can sync your ERP with their platform effortlessly and within minutes. The inconvenient truth is these “connectors” are like houseplants: they seem low maintenance at first, but before you know it, you’re stressing about keeping them alive.
At SquareWorks, we took a radically different approach. Instead of building a platform requiring complex integrations, we designed an embedded AP automation solution that lives entirely within NetSuite. No integrations, no connectors—just seamless, native functionality. This post is the first in a series highlighting the game-changing benefits of this approach, starting with one of the most important factors: user experience.
1. One Platform, One Experience
The beauty of an embedded solution is it keeps you entirely within NetSuite. With traditional AP automation tools, you’re constantly flipping between your ERP and a third-party platform. Approvals in one system, invoices in another and reports in yet another—and every switch between systems, costs time and money, while simultaneously increasing the likelihood of errors.
Our embedded approach eliminates this chaos. Users access AP automation functionality directly within NetSuite, using the same interface they already know. There’s no need to train your team on yet another platform. Everything from invoice approval workflows to payment execution happens within a single, unified environment.
2. No Integrations, No Headaches for Users
Integrations are not as “plug-and-play” as they’re made out to be; they require ongoing maintenance, updates and troubleshooting. When an integration breaks—and they will—it’s a scramble to figure out what went wrong, which vendor to call and how to get your systems talking again.
By staying within NetSuite, we bypass these issues entirely. Our platform doesn’t just “talk” to NetSuite—it is part of NetSuite. No connectors mean no delays, no syncing issues and no finger-pointing between vendors. It’s a simpler, cleaner approach, and it’s the users who benefit.
3. Better Reporting and Insights at every Users’ Fingertips
When you’re juggling multiple systems, reporting becomes a nightmare. Common questions or concerns that often arise include:
- Which platform has the data you need?
- How do you consolidate reports across systems?
- What happens when your data doesn’t match across platforms?
Take, for example, a vendor aging report that includes open invoices, paid invoices and pending approvals, all segmented by department, subsidiary and vendor type. In a system like Bill.com, Tipalti or Ramp, this kind of report would require pulling data from multiple systems, exporting it into spreadsheets and manually reconciling inconsistencies. With our embedded solution, users can generate this report within NetSuite in minutes. When the data is already there, up-to-date and accurate, there’s no need for manual intervention.
With our embedded solution, everything stays in one place. Your AP data lives in NetSuite, alongside your broader financial and operational data. This means your reports are always accurate, up-to-date and easy to generate. No exports, no imports, no headaches. Plus, you can leverage NetSuite’s powerful reporting tools to get deeper insights into your AP performance.
4. Support for Edge Cases Enhance Users’ Trust
Integrations often fail when it comes to handling edge cases. Unique approval workflows, custom fields or unusual payment scenarios can throw a wrench into even the most robust connector. Our embedded solution is different; because it’s built natively within NetSuite, it’s flexible enough to adapt to your specific needs.
For example, consider an invoice tied to a partially paid purchase order with a credit memo applied. In a traditional integrated system, syncing these transactions across platforms often leads to errors in 3-way match validations. Partial payments and credit memos might not sync correctly, requiring manual intervention to reconcile the differences. SquareWorks handles these scenarios natively, ensuring accurate 3-way matching without the risk of discrepancies. Everything updates in real-time, eliminating the back-and-forth that can delay processes and cause frustration.
5. A Smoother Onboarding Experience
Adopting a new system is already challenging enough. Add a third-party integration to the mix, and you’ve got a recipe for delays, confusion and frustration. With SquareWorks, onboarding is faster and smoother. Your team already knows how to use NetSuite, so there’s minimal disruption to your operations. It’s like getting a software upgrade, instead of an entirely new way of doing things.
Why Integration-less Is the Future for a Better User Experience
At first glance, an AP automation platform with a connector might seem like a quick and easy solution—but dig a little deeper, and the cracks start to show. Integrations add complexity, create maintenance headaches and limit your ability to handle edge cases. By contrast, our embedded solution offers a seamless, user-friendly experience that keeps you in NetSuite 100% of the time.
So next time a vendor says, “We have a connector,” remember to ask: “At what cost?” And if you’re ready for an AP automation platform that works with your ERP, not around it, we’re here to help.
Stay tuned for the next post in our series, where we’ll explore the impact of an integration-less solution on security, fraud and risk management. Spoiler alert: fewer moving parts mean fewer vulnerabilities.
For more of Bernardo’s insights, you can follow him on LinkedIn here.
