Sage unveils AI features to boost speed & sustainability in finance

Sage has announced a new range of AI-powered features for its Sage Intacct platform, intended to enhance the operations of finance teams through automation, embedded payment capabilities, and sustainability insights.

The company's updates focus on automating key finance tasks, streamlining payment workflows, and delivering actionable sustainability data, aiming to address the growing need among finance leaders for greater speed, efficiency, and strategic value in their roles.

AI-driven automation

The newly introduced upgrades include AI-supported automation for the close process, enhanced accounts payable (AP) workflows, and sustainability monitoring capabilities. These features are designed to simplify operations, accelerate period closures, and provide finance professionals with more time to concentrate on higher-value activities.

Recent research cited by Sage indicates strong demand among finance professionals for advanced tools. According to the research, 84% of surveyed finance leaders expressed a desire to close the books faster, while 87% called for more advanced AP automation to support their objectives.

Dan Miller, EVP, Financials & ERP Division at Sage, emphasised the company's commitment to supporting finance teams with technology that delivers measurable time savings and operational clarity.

"Finance teams are always looking to save time so they can invest in growth and their business's success while maintaining clarity and control," said Dan Miller, EVP, Financials & ERP Division, Sage. "We're delivering AI-powered automation in everyday finance tasks, helping leaders move with agility, reduce risk and operate with greater confidence."

New feature breakdown

The updates to Sage Intacct include several tools set for availability across various markets. In close management, the Subledger Reconciliation Assistant leverages Sage Copilot to monitor subledger and general ledger balances, flag discrepancies automatically, and provide detailed resolution pathways prior to final close. A dedicated Close Workspace offers customisable task templates, checklists, and real-time notifications from Copilot to keep end-of-period financial processes on track.

For accounts payable and procurement teams, embedded vendor payments powered by MineralTree now allow customers to handle payments via a range of methods, including ACH, cheques, and virtual cards within the Sage Intacct interface. Additionally, an AI-powered line-level matching system automatically pairs invoice lines to purchase order lines, highlighting discrepancies and aiming to reduce manual reviews and approval bottlenecks. These AP automation tools are being extended to customers across regions and industries, with US customers gaining immediate access to eProcurement capabilities.

Support features such as Copilot Search Help use natural language processing to answer product-related queries rapidly, a function available to users in English across the US, UK, Canada, South Africa, and Australia.

Sustainability capabilities

Sage has also embedded sustainability insights directly into its finance suite with the launch of Sage Earth Carbon Accounting. This tool provides UK customers with quick, no-setup carbon footprint estimates based on their industry and revenue information, aimed at supporting early-stage sustainability planning and helping organisations prepare for upcoming reporting requirements.

Feedback from partners

Sage's initiatives have been well received by implementation partners, who note tangible benefits to their customers resulting from the new automation capabilities.

"Sage is always at the forefront of helping customers realise the value of automation and insight," said Scott Schimberg, Partner, Armanino. "By further automating reconciliation, payments, and procurement, Sage Intacct is helping them save time and make smarter decisions. It's the kind of innovation finance teams need to stay ahead."

Industry context

The enhancements come at a time when finance teams face mounting pressures from manual operations, fragmented systems, and the need to address environmental, social, and governance (ESG) requirements. Sage's recent global survey of more than 1,700 CFOs and finance leaders highlighted acceleration of closing processes and improved automation as top priorities amid these challenges.

The company reports that the latest wave of updates to Sage Intacct is an extension of its broader High-Performance Finance strategy, aimed at giving finance leaders the integrated tools and insights required to eliminate inefficiencies, reinforce compliance, improve resilience, and support sustainable organisational growth.