At Lockstep, we are constantly monitoring the use of Outlook and Gmail in accounting departments. Why? The use of Outlook/Gmail is the clearest measure of missing automation. Neither email application is integrated into an accounting system. The missing integration means that information in emails is manually transcribed into the accounting system or manually transcribed from the accounting system into emails.

We surveyed 927 accounting staff and found that 853 relied on Outlook/Gmail as their primary tool for working with vendors and customers. In other words, 92% of the accounting departments had no automation behind their inboxes. The manual processing of these inboxes means delays and mistakes in both accounts receivable and accounts payable.

We continue to monitor the state of accounting email automation. The two questions we ask are:

  • What percentage of invoices processed are paper?
  • What solution do you use to works with customers or vendors?

Over the last 9 months, we have collected another 184 responses with 161 of the responses indicating they use Outlook/Gmail. That is 87% of respondents which means the state of accounting email automation remains low.

As accounting departments move to digital, a great place to start is automation behind the inbox. That is why we built Lockstep Inbox. Lockstep Inbox is email designed for accounting teams. Check it out here.