Innovative document processing solutions

Automated Invoice Processing

 

On average, it takes 17 seconds to manually enter an invoice into an accounting system assuming only a few fields need to be keyed. This does not include any manual sorting or handling time. Keying in information from paper invoices is still the most time consuming and costly activity in accounting departments, yet it is probably the least value-added task.

 

Industry research shows that companies still receive over 80% of invoices on paper and as much as 70 percent of all invoice processing costs are associated with document handling and data entry processes. Therefore, if a company can reduce the amount of document handling and manual data entry, the costs of processing invoices can be significantly reduced.

 

Advancements in optical character recognition (OCR), intelligent document recognition (IDR) and forms processing have greatly improved the capability of document capture software. Today’s technology can process semi-structured documents, such as invoices, as quickly and accurately as structured forms.

 

Invoices are captured as digital images from which data is extracted, including the invoice number and date, vendor, purchase order number, total amount due and line-item details. The data is then validated against data from other company systems or by an operator before being exported into enterprise resource management (ERP) and enterprise document management (EDM) systems.

 

Benefits of Automated Invoice Processing

 

Reduce Costs

Utilise A/P staff on more value added tasks

Process invoices faster and take advantage of early payment discounts

 

Transfer data to ERP and accounting systems

Directly interface with ERP and accounting systems to reduce manual keying and errors.

 

Rely on accurate information

Enable a real time view of your company’s current liabilities

 

Track and solve problems rapidly

Provide instant on-screen access to invoices when supplier queries arise

 

Improve relationships with suppliers

Gain better terms and improve customer status

 

 

Ÿ	The average time to process an invoice is 27 days

Ÿ	The average cost to process an invoice manually is £8

Ÿ	12-14% of invoices are believed to contain errors

Ÿ	Missing invoices lead to added costs and late payment penalties

A typical automated invoice processing workflow (hover over to enlarge)

 

 

The advantages of imaging and workflow automation

Invoice Processing