Published on October 11th, 2017 | by Guest

Invoice automation benefits and finer aspects

It is oftentimes said that invoice is not just about sending your payment request. It is much more than just that. Until a few years ago, working out an invoice was done manually most of time. However, more and more companies are switching to automated invoice processing. It is undoubtedly a transition that is crucial for every company.

Although, there might be initial hiccups, all the trouble is worth it, as the long term benefits far outweigh the drawbacks or the hassles involved in the transition.

In this article, let us find out how it can be done in a less cumbersome manner. In order to make the process of transition smooth, you can take a step-wise approach and this is what has been dealt with in this write-up along with the benefits.

1. Clarity matters

Prior to starting the process, you can ask yourself or discuss few questions with your team members and these questions include the following-

The total number of invoices that are processed per year by your company
Number of individuals looking into this process of invoice generation and checking
Total time taken for an invoice to be processed

2. Invoice scanning (automated)

If the organization for which the invoice is processed is large, invoice scanning will take a lot of time. Prior to sending the invoices to the respective clients, these invoices have to be thoroughly scanned. To make matters streamlined, it is best to decide upon a common “assembly point” where the invoices arrive. This can be referred to as the arrival point for all the invoices. This not only prevents documents and records from getting lost but facilitates the process. An automated scanner is worth investing in.

3. Invoice data extraction

This process can be automated too. This is possible only when paper invoices have been digitalized fully. In other words, the manual details have been converted into digital images. With the help of OCR or Optical Character Recognition technology, the same is achieved. The main advantage of automated invoice data extraction is that unlike the traditional (manual) way of sending data for processing, this technology allows data to be analyzed, detected, and automates the process of extraction fully.

4. Validate automated data extraction

Once the OCR process has been carried out, and the extraction of invoice data has been accomplished, the same has to be verified to check for errors and minimize them if they exist. All the fields are carefully verified and checked so that no wrong data is sent for payment request to the respective clients.

In most of the cases, this automated invoice processing works in tandem with the ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning of a company and this allows for checking lists or database of vendors involved and generate a record that provides itemized information of the bill.

In fact, there are many service providers that offer services involving automation of invoice related data. You can also opt for invoice templates of varying designs and features that are pre-built and with ready-made designs. Check out Invoice Home for more options and features of invoice processing.

Benefits of automated invoice processing

Benefits are many and they can be briefly discussed as below:

Cost effective

Automated invoice processing is cost effective because it is estimated that manually to process an invoice it takes around USD$9 to USD$55. Automating the process is the answer.