Cutting-edge platform for AP automation, payments

MineralTree was founded in 2010 by BC Krishna, with the goal of automating accounts payable (AP) to enable business owners and finance professionals to focus on high-value activities. The company digitizes the entire AP process, using advanced automation to make AP simple, speedy, and secure from invoice to payment, according to company representatives. In addition to its simple user interface and end-to-end workflows, the platform supports multiple users and permission levels, facilitating concurrent workflows, approval processes and payment scheduling. Advanced optical character recognition capabilities enable automated purchase order matching, invoice header recognition and line-level capture.

Elizabeth Kowal, chief product officer at MineralTree, pointed out that MineralTree provided essential services during the pandemic. AP automation "offers a big ROI, and COVID-19 has made it a priority due to remote work requirements," she said, adding that the platform gave remote workers access to clear metrics, improved efficiencies and real-time visibility of invoice tracking and AP systems.

Ease of ownership

Kowal estimated that more than 3,000 mid-market companies and over 30 financial institutions have used the MineralTree platform to digitize and optimize AP automation and payments. The platform, which is geared for simple integration, includes numerous native accounting software program integrations. Onsite implementation for most companies can be achieved in under a week and a licensing model is also available, she added.

The platform uses two-factor authentication and up-to-date certifications with SOC 1 Type 2, SOC 2 Type 2 Plus (HIPAA), and is a PCI-DSS Level 1 service provider. It supports an array of payment choices including check, ACH, virtual card or wire and seamlessly integrates with Mastercard, Visa and American Express, as well as bank-specific payment rails, to deliver abundant alternative payment schemes to customers, the company noted. Jason Armata, partner sales manager at MineralTree, stated that MineralTree believes in flexible pricing and maximizing user discounts to expand payment choices, flexibility and payment rail optionality.

Integrated analytics, visualization

In 2021, the company launched MineralTree Analytics, an integrated analytics and interactive visualization tool designed to provide insights into AP workflows, payments optimization, cash flow, and security. "MineralTree Analytics provides comprehensive, real-time visibility into every aspect of the AP process, including vendors, purchase orders, invoices, and payments," Armata said. "The offering builds on MineralTree's seamless integration with customers' financial systems and consolidates data from multiple workflows to provide rich visualizations of best-practice KPIs. Users can visually explore and interact with the data to gain a deeper understanding of their AP performance and make more informed business decisions."

Armata observed that MineralTree Analytics users can use customized dashboards to track metrics such as invoice aging, discounts, rebates earned, and payment mix. These capabilities enable accounting managers to spend less time seeking data and processing reports, and more time analyzing the impact of AP on their business, he noted, adding that finance leaders can use that visibility to optimize working capital and align AP activities with strategic priorities and industry best practices.

Sales partners welcome

Armata pointed out that MineralTree works with a range of channel partners, including ISOs, ISPs and ERP VARs, all of which appreciate being able to seamlessly integrate MineralTree Analytics with their customers' financial systems. The ability to consolidate data from multiple workflows provides rich visualizations, enhancing the intrinsic value of solutions they provide to customers, he added.

Armata stated that MineralTree AP automation delivers valuable time and cost savings to end-users by automating mundane tasks related to invoice-to-pay processes. The recent addition of real-time analytics to the platform further enhances our customers' visibility and control over their AP processes by providing valuable, actionable insights. "Our clients play an important role in making our product better," Armata said. "Their feedback is essential to our continued improvement and validates our efforts to make it happen."

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