Understanding AP Wellness—and Why It Matters

Accounts Payable (AP) is often overlooked, despite being essential to the smooth functioning of every business department. AP professionals frequently face significant stress, pressure, and fatigue, leading to widespread burnout.

A 2023 study conducted by PYMNTS and Billtrust found that more than 75% of AP teams reported increased invoice processing and extended work hours. Nearly half indicated that these growing demands are causing rapid burnout, and alarmingly, almost 25% of AP professionals are contemplating resignation. Clearly, there's a critical issue that needs addressing.

At Mekorma, we aim to significantly improve the daily lives of AP professionals. We strongly believe AP wellness is achievable and essential for both organizational success and individual well-being. Our commitment is to reduce burnout by developing practical tools and supportive systems that promote long-term wellness.

What is AP Wellness? 

According to the Global Wellness Institute, wellness involves actively engaging in behaviors, choices, and lifestyles that promote overall holistic health.

For Accounts Payable, we define wellness through three core principles: ease, control, and care.

As individuals, our sense of well-being often stems from how much we experience a sense of ease or flow, the ability to influence our environment or workload, and the presence of kindness and empathy in our interactions.

In the professional realm—particularly within AP—achieving ease, control, and care means adopting tools and automations that streamline workflows, enhance visibility and oversight, and eliminate tedious or repetitive tasks. Just as importantly, AP professionals should feel supported, valued, and part of a connected team.

Let’s take a closer look.

Ease: Life is hard enough—your AP processes shouldn’t be.

The Dalai Lama once said, “Simplicity is extremely important for happiness,” and it’s true. Complexity is one of the biggest drivers of stress and anxiety at work. For AP professionals, complicated processes can result in more errors, longer hours, and growing frustration. Streamlining operations isn’t just a productivity boost—it’s a path to peace of mind.

That’s where integrated AP automation and smart tools make a real difference. At Mekorma, we focus on removing bottlenecks and reducing friction in the areas that cause the most congestion. Take our automatic vendor validation tool, for example: it leverages artificial intelligence to verify vendor data and flags errors or warnings—eliminating the need to manually log into external websites and saving countless hours of time.

Ease is also reflected in how we approach product design—with a focus on simplicity, clarity, and ease of use. Beyond the product itself, our commitment to quality control and responsive support ensures that you never feel like you're navigating challenges alone.

Control: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” - Benjamin Franklin 

Feeling out of control or overwhelmed at work is one of the fastest paths to burnout. In contrast, having a sense of ownership and visibility over your work creates a state of flow, builds confidence, and provides the freedom to focus on what truly matters.

We created the Mekorma Payment Hub to empower a more efficient, secure, and vendor-friendly AP ecosystem—supporting better financial management and stronger business partnerships. Within the Payment Hub, AP teams gain stronger control over fraud prevention and vendor data through tools like our automatic vendor validation solution, which includes OFAC (Office of Foreign Asset Control) checks.

By offering a centralized system for faster batch creation and approvals, we also help shorten the time-to-pay cycle. This not only strengthens vendor relationships but also enables your organization to take advantage of early payment discounts.

Care: “Never believe that a few caring people cannot change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” - Margaret Mead 

We see you. We hear you. AP can be a tedious and challenging profession, but it doesn’t need to be. When we hear stories of organizations or individuals struggling with boring, mind-numbing tasks, we don’t just shrug our shoulders and move on—we step in, because we know we can help.

Our Action Board was born from a real customer need—to make work less soul-crushing. One AP team member, responsible for processing payments and printing checks across 40 companies in a shared services department, spent 40 hours a week on the same repetitive task. She was burned out and ready to quit. But by implementing Mekorma solutions for Shared Services-Multi-Entity, she was able to reclaim her time, grow her skills, and transition into a more fulfilling, impactful role.

That’s why Mekorma exists: to solve the real problems impacting AP professionals and businesses. When people feel cared for, heard, and supported, even the heaviest workloads feel lighter. You don’t have to go it alone—think of us as your “Samwise Gamgee.” We may not be able to carry the ring, but we’re here to help ease the journey.

To us, AP Wellness is essential—not just for organizational performance, but for human well-being. The high levels of burnout and stress in this field must be addressed, and we’re committed to being part of the solution.

Have an idea or a challenge you’re facing? We’d love to hear from you!

AP can be a tedious and challenging profession, but it doesn’t need to be. When we hear stories of organizations or individuals struggling with boring, mind-numbing tasks, we don’t just shrug our shoulders and move on—we step in, because we know we can help.