-
The Perks and Challenges of SaaS Automation Models
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models are now widely used in companies across a variety of industries. They help streamline and automate business processes, supporting the company and employees with helpful tools.
Cloud-based Business Process Automation (BPA) software is one type of SaaS that many companies use to power their financial processes. Accounts payable, procurement, and expense reporting are just a few of the processes that you can improve with BPA software. Automation speeds up processing, reduces errors, streamlines workflows, and frees up employees from repetitive tasks.
While there are a lot of perks to implementing BPA SaaS software, there are some challenges as well. Knowing about the potential risks as well as the rewards will help your company implement SaaS in a way that enhances your company and effectively manage the challenges that can accompany new technology.
Significant SaaS Benefits
Practical experience, surveys, and research all show significant benefits for companies that implement SaaS programs to enhance their business. You’ll cut costs, streamline processing, and increase employee satisfaction, along with several other benefits.
Fast, Easy Implementation
Compared to traditional on-premises software, SaaS programs are easy to implement. There’s very little additional work for your IT department; the software supplier handles almost everything related to software deployment. You can be up and running with a SaaS solution in just a few months, compared to a year or so for some on-premises software. SaaS programs also tend to be intuitive and user-friendly, making training easier and faster than it could be with other types of software.
Flexible Pricing Models
One of the big transformations that goes along with SaaS software is usage-based pricing models. Many SaaS suppliers use a “pay-as-you-go” model rather than traditional software licenses. While it’s a change for companies that can affect how they budget for software, usage-based pricing is also flexible and offers greater control over costs. It’s especially good for companies with fluctuating transaction volume. If you have lower volume one month, you only pay for what you use; if you have higher than expected volume another month, the system effortlessly scales to your needs.
Solutions Tailored to Each Company
SaaS software is typically customizable to match your company’s unique needs. The flexibility of SaaS solutions makes it much easier to tailor a solution that fits your company than with traditional software that uses more of a one-size-fits-all approach. When you’re researching potential SaaS partners, ask for a demo of their software. Make sure that their customization options will match your company’s needs, and that they offer integrations with any other software programs you use, such as ERPs like NetSuite or Oracle.
Access to New Technology
Because SaaS software is cloud-based and hosted by the software provider, your company receives immediate access to new updates every time the SaaS company improves its software. For example, NextProcess recently added an innovative new feature for processing purchase order acknowledgments in response to customer feedback. Cutting-edge SaaS software also keeps up-to-date with artificial intelligence (AI) innovations, including the incorporation of machine learning to further enhance software functionality.
Potential Challenges with SaaS
Despite the perks of SaaS systems, there are some potential downsides and challenges to navigate. A lot of these will depend on which SaaS supplier you choose and how your company implements SaaS.
Security Issues
One of the biggest concerns that people have about SaaS involves potential security issues. Because so much data is stored off-site by the SaaS provider, companies need to ensure that they work with a provider that can ensure data security. Companies also need to make sure things are secure on their end for accessing cloud-based platforms online. Potential security issues are very real concerns, but they are challenges that companies can overcome.
Managing SaaS “Sprawl”
With so many SaaS solutions available, some companies can become overwhelmed with the number of SaaS programs they implement. A 2024 survey published by CFO.com found that more than half of the companies represented in the survey (58%) used more than 100 SaaS tools. With so many tools to manage, streamlining SaaS expense management and tracking all the tools is becoming a high priority for companies.
Software Integration Issues
When you’re using dozens or even hundreds of different SaaS tools, there’s a good chance they’re not all going to work together perfectly. This is especially true if you source your SaaS programs from many different suppliers and if you’re trying to get them to work with existing software. You can mitigate this challenge by using the same supplier as often as possible (e.g. choosing one SaaS provider for all your financial automation modules) and choosing a supplier that will work with you on integration.
Lack of Planning
Because SaaS is so easy to implement, there might be a temptation to roll it out quickly without much of a plan. But if you want to get BPA automation right the first time, it helps if you do some research, identify your goals, start educating and training your team about changes in their roles, and decide on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that you’ll use to track the success of your SaaS implementation.
Schedule A Free Demo
NextProcess offers a suite of SaaS financial automation programs that provide an end-to-end financial solution. Our programs streamline, power, and automate your capital project management, procurement & purchase orders, accounts payable, travel & expense, payment disbursements, and document management. The modules work together seamlessly and integrate with your existing ERP, so there are no software conflicts to worry about here.
If you’re interested, reach out to schedule a free demo. It’s a no-strings-attached demonstration of how our customizable software could work in your company. We can also answer any questions you have about how our SaaS BPA system works. Contact us today to get started.
