AI is everywhere, and every major ERP vendor is making claims about how they’re using it — but what does it actually mean for your business? Why should you care? Is it just hype?
We believe Sage’s commitment to weaving artificial intelligence throughout Sage Intacct is more than a marketing strategy. When deployed strategically, like Sage Intacct is doing, AI tools do just what we expect from our technology: saves us time, increases accuracy, and lets us focus on more high-value tasks. Here, we highlight the specific areas where Sage Intacct uses AI and the results customers see from the technology. To lighten up a heavy topic, we tie each example to a real-world AI use case that colorfully illustrates that the AI hype train really does have a destination.
Get AP Processing In Perfect Harmony
Sage Intacct uses AI tools in its AP automation feature to intelligently eliminate manual processes like entering data, tracking down lost invoices, and getting approvals. Many Sage customers report a 50% (or more) reduction in AP processing times as a result. Across our customer base, we continually see that AP automation initiatives generate a quick and lasting ROI.
In the world of music, AI is revolutionizing how royalties are tracked and distributed. AI-powered tools automatically calculate royalties owed to artists, songwriters, and producers based on digital streaming data and radio play. By integrating with various streaming platforms and utilizing digital recognition technologies, the AI tools can accurately track the usage of songs across the globe and ensure that royalties are correctly apportioned and paid.
The Sport of Finding Data Anomalies
Sage Intacct uses AI algorithms to help identify discrepancies or unusual patterns in your financial data that could indicate errors or even fraud. This proactive outlier detection capability means that your financial managers can address issues swiftly, maintaining the integrity of financial reports. Sage customer interviews show that 10-20% of journal entries typically need adjustment after posting to the general ledger, so the time saved by finding an error before posting can really add up.
Just as AI tools in Sage Intacct can spot financial discrepancies, AI is used in sports to analyze players’ performances and detect unusual patterns or potential injuries. This technology processes real-time data during games to highlight anomalies in player movements that could indicate stress injuries or fatigue.
Fashionable Financials Using Predictive Analytics
Using machine learning, Sage Intacct can forecast financial trends based on your organization’s historical data. This includes predicting future cash flows, budget variances, and financial outcomes, helping businesses plan more effectively and make informed decisions. One Sage Intacct customer slashed its financial close in half — from over ten days to just four.
Another stylish use of AI is to predict upcoming fashion trends and consumer demand. AI helps fashion industry brands anticipate which styles will likely be popular in upcoming seasons by analyzing past sales data, current fashion trends, and even social media content.
Expense Management Is The Star Of The Show
Machine learning algorithms within Sage Intacct can streamline expense reporting and approvals by automatically categorizing and matching receipts and invoices and suggesting approvals based on past behavior. Consider how the value of this capability can add up if your organization processes hundreds of expense reports a year. Each expense report costs an average of $38.72 to file — if no mistakes are found. However, 19% of expense reports have errors and take additional time to fix, increasing the costs associated.
Similarly, AI is used in the film industry to manage and optimize production budgets. Based on past data from similar productions, the technology can predict the potential costs associated with scenes, set designs, or locations. In a supporting role, production companies use AI to automatically approve expenditures up to a certain threshold or flag unusual spending patterns for human review.
The Buzz Surrounding Timekeeping
Sage Intelligent Time is an AI-powered time entry system designed to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of time tracking, particularly within Sage Intacct. It’s an innovative tool that leverages artificial intelligence to simplify the process of recording time spent on various tasks and projects, making it a valuable asset for professionals who bill by the hour, such as consultants, accountants, and lawyers.
AI also helps beekeepers by analyzing bee behavior patterns to predict swarm events, and by monitoring hives with sensors and cameras to collect data on bee activity, hive conditions, and environmental factors. The information helps beekeepers remotely monitor their hives, detect anomalies, and respond to potential threats such as pests, diseases, or adverse weather conditions.
Always Travel With Your Copilot
At the 2024 Transform conference, Sage introduced Sage Copilot, a new generative AI-powered assistant that tackles your to-do list, automates tasks, and recommends ways to help you make savings and drive improvements. Sage Copilot automates workflows, identifies errors, and generates actionable insights that meet the needs of businesses and accountants. It promises to help with forecasting, cash flow management, and generating and sending invoices with simple, natural language commands.
Sage Intacct isn’t the only one who travels with a copilot. AI systems help consumers plan and manage travel by suggesting the best routes, booking times, and accommodations based on personal travel history and preferences, much like how Sage Copilot handles administrative and repetitive tasks.
Time Saved is Opportunity Gained
Artificial intelligence is out there demonstrating its revolutionary, disruptive potential. Still, for small and midsized businesses like yours, it’s the mighty yet humble applications of this technology that serve as the game-changers. By eliminating manual tasks, automating workflows, anticipating actions, and proactively checking for errors, your organization stands to save an enormous amount of time. We’d love to discuss how to incorporate AI and machine learning into your organization. Reach out to our Sage Intacct consulting team.
