How Accounts Payable Invoice Automation Can Solve Labor Shortages and Rising PTO
July 15, 2021
6 min read
After more than a year of remote working, the end of the pandemic is now in sight. This should bring some sense of relief to AP teams everywhere – right? They can head back into the office – if they haven’t been there already – and manage all the moving parts of their job, just as they did before.
But multifamily and commercial real estate companies aren’t immune from the labor shortages and workforce challenges that are hitting every industry. And there’s just not enough time in the day to process invoices, cut checks, buy goods and services, and pull reports – without a fully staffed team of property managers, maintenance supervisors, AP clerks, financial controllers, and others doing their part.
That’s where accounts payables invoice automation can help real estate companies of all sizes. Digitization saves quantifiable time – and improves efficiency – for everyone that touches an invoice, orders supplies, or cuts a check. And real estate companies who employ these tools don’t have the constant worry about staffing and vacation leave on their AP team.
Abundant Job Openings, Fewer Workers & More PTO
According to a recent report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there simply aren’t enough available workers to fill all current job openings.
On top of that, many employees are thinking about changing jobs this year and/or taking that long-awaited vacation.
Specifically, about 41% of global workers would consider leaving their current employers within the next year.
Many are rethinking what work means to them, how they are valued, and how they spend their time. It’s leading to a dramatic increase in resignations — a record 4 million people quit their jobs in April alone, according to the Labor Department.

At the same time, PTO is on the rise.
Fast Company cited a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) that found 41% of employed Americans feel burned out from their work, and 48% feel mentally and physically exhausted at the end of the workday. Another study conducted by Robert Half found that a quarter of workers forfeited paid time off in 2020, and a third intend to take three weeks or more of vacation time in 2021.
Real estate companies everywhere are feeling all these same workforce pressures. Yet, they have as many, if not more, invoices to process and vendors to pay then they did in the first part of the year.
