In 2013, AvidXchange won the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA) “21 Award” for the Top Mid-Size Company.

Last month, they won the Beacon award for Fast Growth – Large Company at the re-named NC Tech Awards during NCTA’s gala event.

Fast growing, indeed.

AvidXchange, the Charlotte-based accounts payable (AP) and payment automation company, did all the right things to make it easy for the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA) to select them as a winner.

They doubled the number of employees. At the end of 2013, the company had upwards of 145 employees. Now, they’re approaching 300.

They’ve committed to hiring 600 more workers by 2018. (Read more about open jobs.)

And they’re moving into a new facility to house this enormous growth as recognized by inclusion in the Inc. 5000 (four consecutive years) and the Deloitte Fast 500 list.

Michael Praeger, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AvidXchange, has enjoyed this employee growth – especially as it parallels sales growth. While for the last several years they saw increased sales at about 20% year over year, the last two years have been more like 50% year over year.

“It’s fun to come out from under the radar, and be honored,” he says. “We’re changing the way business is being run, helping companies migrate from paper to electronic processing and saving them a lot of money as a result.”

Founded in 2000, AvidXchange initially focused on real estate industry, but now has an extensive following in financial services and even with the government. You’ll find them helping save money for the State of New Jersey, the City of Pasadena, California, and many housing authorities. The company focuses less now on targeting industries, and more on accounting systems — 100 different systems, to be exact, from SAP and Oracle to QuickBooks, Great Plains and Microsoft Dynamics.

Today, consumers are used to automated bill paying, but 85% of mid-market companies are still using paper checks. There are many reasons for non-adoption, including the complexity of core accounting systems, approval processes that require multiple touches. But AvidXchange has developed a system that they hope will be the catalyst for widespread adoption.

“It was our customers who, in 2002, asked us to help them with AP automation,” said Praeger as we discussed the tech-driven environment in which AvidXchange operations. “The value for them was so great, that we switched our focus to AP and invoice automation. Then, 100% of the invoices vendors sent us were paper. Today, 75% are electronic.”

Economic factors are the key, as their clients see cost reduced both from labor of actually processing the payments to uncovering new efficiencies throughout the transaction. In fact, AvidXchange can save $5.15 per payment.

To continue their growth, Praeger says the company will further expand the toolset for automation of AP and payment process. They have recently launched PayExchange, which automates how companies receive payments and applies remittance details automatically.

The more than 600 employees they expect to hire in the next three or four years will need enough space, so the company will move from their current Metropolitan home just outside the downtown loop in Charlotte, to a new space in the Music Factory – inside the loop, where those employees will have plenty to do with their free time.

While the company has offices in New Jersey and Salt Lake City, the vast majority of the new technology-centric workers will be in Charlotte, North Carolina. They may be in professional services or tech support, sales, marketing or, yes, software development.

“This recognition is another great milestone,” said Praeger. “It’s an honor to receive awards from the state where we built the company, and to be acknowledged within the technology industry as a leader from such a revered organization.”

If this growth continues, NCTA may need to add a new category to keep AvidXchange in the running for their next Beacon.