Accounts payable automation to save global businesses 6.2 billion hours by 2031, accelerated by business system integration
A new study by global tech strategists Juniper Research forecasts that hours saved per annum by accounts payable (AP) automation systems will rise from 4.6 billion in 2026 to 6.2 billion in 2031; representing growth of 34%.
This growth is being driven by integrating AP automation solutions into key business systems, such as enterprise resource planning and accounting software; removing the need to manually input procurement data. As such, AP automation providers are increasingly competing on the range of integration they offer, to attract customers that already use partnered business systems. The report recommends that, as Western markets reach saturation, AP automation vendors must focus on integration in new markets; creating new growth potential.
Large Businesses to See the Greatest Time Savings
The report forecasts that large businesses will see the greatest number of hours saved by adopting AP automation. While the average number of hours saved across all businesses in 2031 will be around 140 hours per business, large businesses will save over 17,000 hours, on average. This is partly because they save more time due to processing more invoices; however, they also benefit from AP automation in a different way.
“Large businesses will see the greatest cost savings from automation due to the structure of their finance teams” report author Michael Greenwood explained. “AP automation allows them to reduce the size of these teams, whose sole focus is AP and other financial operations. For small businesses, automation frees up staff that are not wholly focused on AP to perform revenue-generating tasks.”
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An extract of the report, Accounts Payable Automation Market 2026-2031, is available as a free download.
