I’ve always been an advocate of outsourcing no matter how small or large the project, some processes automatically lend themselves to outsourcing, and in my humble opinion debt collection and the ancillary processes fall right into the outsource category.

This will be dictated by the structure and size of your organisation and if it is viable to outsource.

Most businesses are familiar with the cliché cash is king and the only way to ensure that cash flow remains buoyant is to have an effective credit control strategy.

Ensuring that cash flow is high whilst keeping debtor days low is the unenviable task of many companies.

Whilst there is an argument to consider outsourcing the complete process aka department, I’m going to focus on one task that is generally performed daily or weekly and that is the generation and distribution of debt collection letters.

The increasing amounts of debt passed for collection mean debt collection teams and outsource recovery companies need to maximise efficacy when collecting and dealing with delinquent payments.

The case for a document management solution

Document management systems can improve the collection lifecycle from capturing incoming information to speeding up cash collection.

How does a document management system speed up debt recovery?

• Avoiding lost or missing documents by capturing, indexing, and filing electronically ensures they are held in a secure digital cabinet for access by the collection team. Retrieval is quick and documents can be viewed on-screen, which can then be faxed, printed, emailed, or printed and posted.
• Cheques and remittances can be processed quickly. Remittance advice notes received from customers paying by BACS can be scanned and entered into the business workflow. Capturing large volumes of cheques and remittance slips decrease the need to handle paper, speeds up processing, and cash collection.
• Prompt query handling – having a document management system that integrates with your CRM and accounting systems helps with query management. Viewing customer details, contracts, debt chasing letters, and statements in one-place speeds up the query management process.
• Centralisation of electronic documents in a digital file cabinet gives access to debtor case files, letters, legal notices, telephone conversation transcripts, and emails by the credit-control or debt management team.
• Reduce filing and improve compliance – many credit control teams still print two copies of client correspondence posting one and filing the other for record-keeping. Invoices, for example, need to be kept for seven years but an integrated document management system means that all documents can be retained in an electronic format whilst still complying and providing easy retrieval and following audit requirements.

The case for a hybrid mail solution

Where the electronic delivery option of debtor letters is not convenient or suitable and debt collection specialists or in-house teams want to contact debtors via letter correspondence a hybrid mail solution is a very cost-effective alternative to standard print and mail.

For debt collection companies that manage various customer data files containing collection letters, hybrid mail is a low-cost print and mail solution for high and low volume generation.

Letters are uploaded to a secure portal printed and despatched, saving postage, processing, and mailing costs.

In-house credit control teams can upload customer data on a daily basis incorporating different letter templates, inserts, and any other customer letter requirement.

The benefits

• Upload letters from your computer, laptop, smartphone, choose print options, inserts, and backgrounds
• Secure Https portal login easy to set up
• No restriction on the number of users
• No minimum letter upload
• Templates digitally archived for future use
• Cost-effective for short runs or where letters are needed to be posted out
• Send statements with your dispute procedure
• Send copy invoices

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Document capture software can improve the speed of your invoice processing and e-invoices can also be incorporated into the flow.

Are you still printing and scanning PDF invoices from your suppliers?

As of January 1st 2013 the European Union issued new legislation that states companies can now store invoices in the format they are sent.

Having a document capture solution allows you to have invoices sent by email to a specific email address where data capture software will automatically retrieve the email and attachments, read the data and input it into the same flow as your paper invoices. Reducing the time taken, reducing costs and eliminating human error by automating the process.

By removing the need to print the invoice and then scan the document you are cutting down on paper usage.

Encouraging suppliers to send e-invoices by email ensures the process is faster and cheaper.

So how does the document capture solution work?

Data capture software automatically imports email attachments such as invoices, order forms and applications straight into the capture software where information is then extracted and managed.

The software automatically detects any attachment – PDF, XML, TIF, PNG and transfers it to the data capture software. Incoming mail attachments can be approved in a matter of seconds and as each email is processed it is removed from the mail server and archived, there is no limit on the number of invoices or forms entering the system as removing from the server will ensure there is no overload.

Forms processing and Automation 

‘Forms’ captures and processes all types of forms in any format. The software reads handwritten text, machine print, barcodes, check boxes, circles, tables and matrixes.

Automatic forms processing is much faster than the manual keying of information it reduces time and money and the information is accurate.

Automated Document Processing

‘Documents’ automates the processing of incoming email to cut operational costs typically by a third. Staff aren’t tied up in laborious tasks of sifting, sorting, identifying and classifying mail items this task is automatically managed by the process. Any incoming paper mail is added to the scanner without any separator sheets  and the software sorts and classifies the documents. Any electronic documents are easily incorporated into the flow.

E-invoicing solutions can detect any attachment PDF, TIF, XML, PNG and transfer it to the data capture software

Automated import of email attachments

‘Collector’ automatically imports email attachments such as invoices, order forms and applications straight into the capture software where the information is then extracted and interpreted.

Collector detects any attachment PDF, XML, TIF, PNG and transfers it to ReadSoft’s© data capture software.

Statistics on your invoice processing

The web based ‘reporter’ helps you keep track of documents and costs and provides accurate real time information.

Document capture software enables automation of invoices received via email and the benefits include:-

A reduction in handling costs as there is no need to manually check incoming email attachments. As long as they arrive in the correct inbox they are opened and imported automatically

1. The speed of invoice processing is increased because incoming invoices are automatically entered on to the system
2. Improved control as email is sorted automatically and all sender information is retained
3. The software enables capturing of text files, PDF, XML, TIF, PNG from email attachments
4. Importing of emailed invoices into the system is seamless
5. Easy set up
6. Completely transparent
7. Seamless integration with the majority of financial systems

For more information on how to automate your invoice processing and to implement an e-invoicing solution please fill in the contact form and one of our expert advisors will be touch.

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A digital mailroom captures or converts into digital format all incoming business documents – paper, emails, faxes, indexes them and stores them securely.

Organisations receive thousands of documents every day in multiple formats – paper, fax, emails, PDF, XML (Extensible Markup Language) and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) resulting in disparate systems using manual processes with often high invisible costs.

To first understand how a digital mailroom might benefit an organisation we need to know what it is or does?

“A digital mailroom is the automation of incoming mail processes using document scanning and document capture technology. Companies can digitise incoming mail and automate the classification and distribution of mail within the organisation. Paper and electronic mail can be managed through the same process allowing companies to standardise their internal mail distribution procedures and adhere to company compliance policies”. (Wikipedia)

Why implement a digital mailroom?

Accuracy, faster and cost-effective which helps organisations remain competitive and regain focus in the current global economic climate.

With mail volumes growing at an exponential rate and I include ALL types of correspondence, not just paper-based and with companies having mobile workforces and various regional offices it makes sense to convert all incoming correspondence and communication into a digital format for distribution.

Instant communication accurate information and distribution of this information is vital coupled with the compliance and accountability that companies invest in back up systems, document scanning and storage and compliance solutions all of which are time and money.

A digital mailroom automates the process of distributing incoming documents into a document management system.

How does it work?

Information is captured or converted into digital format with each item classified using intelligent capture. It is then indexed and placed in the document management system

A workflow process notifies the user or group of the existence of the document so that they are able to control the processing of this document to its completion.

An additional workflow process is then created to let the sender of the document know that it is being dealt with.

Once allocated the document is then moved into the correct folder within the document management system which contains all other relevant information and documents.

Management information from incoming documents and their current status within the business is available.

What benefits can be derived from implementing a digital mailroom?

• Turning all incoming paper mail, faxes, electronic mail into images reduces operational costs, reduces manual processes and provides instant access to documents by employees irrespective of where they are located.
• Decision-making processes are quicker because the information is accessible faster.
• Reduced paper storage and archiving costs by encouraging employees to do without paper for example reducing printing and copying of documents.
• Minimal distribution of paper-based mail.
• Creating digital images of incoming mail and establishing a workflow process ensures the document can be tracked through its life cycle.
• A scanned document is accessible by authorised users and can be referenced to other relevant documents in the document management system.
• The security of the process guarantees the authenticity and integrity of the document which aligns with the records management policy of the company.

Finally

What next?

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Invoice scanning solutions are by far the easiest to implement saving a company time and money.

Invoice scanning solutions

Invoice processing and scanning is one of the most effective applications suitable for scanning and OCR (optical character recognition) technology.

As one of our customers pointed out to us recently

“we use to process an invoice on average one every ten minutes we are now able to process ten invoices a minute. The use of scanning technology has completely revolutionised our accounts payable process.”

There a two scanning options:

• Scanning invoices as they arrive into the company which is called “front end scanning”.
• Scanning invoices after they have been dealt with “back end scanning”

Both options are relevant according to the business and industry type.

Depending on a company’s requirement this will determine the scope of a solution employed ranging from archiving to full process automation built around existing technology and the company’s document flows.

What is front end scanning?

This involves scanning invoices as soon as they enter the company even before they are processed whether paper, electronic or fax and is the first step in the accounts payable invoice process.

Vast amounts of staff time can be saved by the automatic keying of information into the accounting system (indexing).

Scanning is straight-forward and indexing invoices is quick and accurate when using software designed for the purpose.

The fundamental difference between invoice scanning software and standard scanning software is the amount of supplier invoices/templates that need to be allowed for in any invoice scanning solution.

Every supplier invoice will have a different layout and using an Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) scanning solution will effectively recognise content wherever it is on the page of an invoice.

No one company and business are the same and each have a unique method of handling invoice exceptions therefore by integrating an automated system which has to be able to cater for bespoke requirements is a prerequisite for any invoice scanning solution.

What is required is invoice processing technology. In turn this frees up the accounts payable team’s time and enables quick and easy access to up to date financial information.

There has been a steady increase in the various electronic invoice and EDI. A significant number of invoices are still paper based but there has been a steady rise in XML documents, encrypted PDF and digital images.

Any invoice scanning solution must be able to handle all types of documents regardless of how they arrive.

The right invoice scanning solution will manage all invoice formats regardless of how they arrive.

Total Automation

Achieving an automated accounts payable process involves scanning invoices as they enter the business in turn this will increase your flexibility to automate more of the accounts payable process.

What is back end scanning? (Archiving and post process)

If space, resilience and access to documents from multiple locations is the primary objective then scanning invoices after approval is relatively quick to implement and wont require a change to your current processes.

The benefits of the back end process are:-

1. It’s quick and provides easy retrieval
2. Provides an audit trail
3. Saves archive storage space
4. Provides resilience by way of backups

How do I choose the scanning hardware?

• The decision will be influenced by the volume of invoices you capture across a given period
• The type of documents – paper, electronic, digital images
• The budget you have allocated to the project

If you’re not sure where to start then contact us using one of the social buttons or by adding your contact details below on the form and one of our consultants will call you.

For Accounts Payable and Receivable Solutions contact Digital Print Management for help and advice.

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How can outsourcing the payroll process help you?

There are tangible benefits in outsourcing for the SME and I have talked about it here and here.

Small businesses face constant challenges and are often looking for ways to streamline some of their processes and enable them to focus on their core business skills.

Why Payroll Outsourcing?

Payroll is of paramount importance to the smooth running of any sized business because it is concerned directly with a companies primary asset – its personnel. The mechanics of running a payroll in-house has become more complex over time with frequent legislative and changes in taxation.

Outsourcing Payroll Services

Payroll outsourcing has become a cost effective way of overcoming these difficulties coupled with the de-centralisation of finance departments into task specific i.e. AR, AP and Credit Control makes Payroll ideal for outsourcing.

Outsourcing your payroll function is one sure way a company will start to see savings by saving time, money and resources.

Here’s how!

1. Outsourcing once the sole preserve of the corporate is now just as cost effective for the SME’s who are increasingly benefiting from outsourcing their payroll and payslip printing.

Processing your payroll can burn a hole in your proverbial coat pocket particularly if your company has fewer than say 30 employees. Work out the hours your employees are devoting to payroll activities and then work out the costs for printing and distribution of the payslips?

2. An SME payroll can be a time consuming process particularly where you may have an employee who spends a certain amount of time a month on this very specific task and upon completion of the task returns to their preferred job or skill set.

3. In-house payroll can only be as reliable as the people doing the work. Utilising a payroll service will result in increased output, speed and quality will be consistently accurate.

4. Speed – as payroll service providers are specialists with technical resources and industry knowledge; payroll bureau can impart to you their advice and knowledge without you having to spend £’s.

With access to vast resources they can also handle any changes in your personnel and accommodate seasonal fluctuations without you having to worry about upgrading or changing systems.

5. A good payroll service provider will have the inside edge on up and coming legislative and tax changes likely to have an impact on your business and can implement whatever changes are required with minimum fuss to you.

6. Outsourcing mitigates the responsibility to a third party so any delays, paperwork inaccuracies or mishandling its down to the payroll service provider to ensure the issue is resolved.

7. Outsourcing ensures that as your company grows so do the payroll service company tailoring the service to fit with your company growth.

8. Lastly and often overlooked is SECURITY how do you ensure that there is no payroll abuse i.e. time and rate?

Use a checklist to make sure your payroll service company delivers what you want!

Checklist for using an outsourced payroll supplier

• Can the payroll  service company tailor the service according to your needs i.e small, medium or large payroll
• Do they have a proven track record with your type and size of business
• Can they supply weekly/monthly/bi-weekly payslips and provide weekly, monthly and annual returns (this is going to change in 2013 with the introduction of RTI)
• Ensure that the charges for setting up the payroll system, printing and e-slip viewing if required are transparent
• Make sure the administrative charges for managing the system are included in your monthly/annual fee
• Do their charges allow for making all the types of deductions
• Are there any additional fees
• How scaleable is the service if you expand and take on more employees
• Is the software they use HMRC accredited and is it compatible with software you use
• Does it keep records in a format that will allow for easy online filing of forms P14, P35, P45 and P46
• Agree that they’ll calculate tax and deductions accurately from the information supplied
• They’ll make these deductions to your timescales
• Ensure mandatory requirements are completed or met within the regulatory timescale
• Stipulate reimbursement for any resulting penalties
• Specify they’ll keep necessary records of any taxes and deductions as required by the HMRC
• Transparency of any additional charges you might incur
• SLA (service level agreements) to ensure that your timescales and deadlines are adhered to

But most importantly ensure the payroll service company provide you with up to date reporting, hold regular review meetings with you and deliver the service they commit to from the outset.

This can only happen if you are absolutely clear about which components of the payroll you intend to outsource and have committed the process to paper. in a detailed brief. Both you, the company and the payroll service company are clear on what is going to happen, by when and by whom. It also provides a valuable document by which both parties can refer to in the event of any discrepancy or disagreement.

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This week I am focussing on the benefits that can be derived from having an automated Proof Of Delivery process.

Doing so will lower your costs, increase efficiency, and improve customer service.

Is this your business?

Still, relying on paper documents coming back to your depot to validate delivery of your goods?
Orders taken at your customers’ premises are they being fed back to the customer service team as fast as you’d like?

Does this represent your proof of delivery process?

Automating the Proof of Delivery process removes the risks associated with manual paper handling of delivery notes through to the invoicing.

•  Manual processing is expensive, tedious, and slow, and of course susceptible to human error.
• Staff costs are increased as the time spent resolving customer queries reduces the team’s time spent servicing your customers.
• P.O.D.’s are easily lost leading to a delay in payment or claims against you for lost goods and the potential loss of a valued customer.
• There is no functionality in place to provide live financial management reporting.

What happens when you automate the Proof of Delivery Process?

Proof of Delivery Solutions and Systems scalable, modular, and affordable.

Any automation should in theory improve the speed of a business process. Automating your proof of delivery removes the following manual tasks:-

1. By removing the printing and scanning of the delivery notes
2. Manually capturing data from the document and keying into the finance system for invoicing
3. Physical distribution of documentation across the organisation
4. Storage, archiving and retrieval costs are reduced
5. Query management and resolution substantially reduced

What are the benefits of automating the Proof Of Delivery Process?

1. Improved efficiency and compliance
2. Improved customer service with the team focused on the customers rather than “fire-fighting” queries
3. Provides full tracking and auditing at each stage
4. Consistent cash flow as the time taken to capture and integrate data into the finance system is reduced minimising customer queries and time wasted on disputes.
5. Cost savings by reducing expenditure on staff needed to manually process delivery notes. Staff no longer have to be engaged in repetitive tasks and can be re-deployed into other areas of the business
6. Confirmation that the products have been delivered assists with any disputes or queries that might arise
7. Job sheet files are centralised and structured and are easily retrievable from any computer on the network
8. Management reporting provides an accurate measurement of the automated POD process within the organisation

Case Study

4 full-time administration staff @ £15,000 per annum were spending 100% of their time keying data from delivery notes into the finance system this equated to £60,000 total cost to the business per annum.

20 depot staff totaling £15,000 per annum spent 5% of their time every day either scanning, faxing, or posting delivery notes to head office for input into the finance system which was costing the business £15,000 per annum.

The Financial Controller @ £55,000 per annum was spending 25% of his time collating data for management reporting and accounts at a total cost of £13,750 per annum.

Automation reduced the staffing level to one person overseeing the process and delivered a total saving of £88,750 per annum for the business.

How does it work?

By capturing and allocating the data contained within the delivery notes that arrive from the depots and drivers. Data uploading is automatic and is deposited in the relevant business system. The documents are then digitised for storage and can then be retrieved if required at a later date.

The integrity of the data that is added to the system is validated and identifies any exceptions this then provides detailed reporting for KPI’s and SLA’s.

Ultimately automation reduces the time to manually keying data from proof of delivery notes, reduces customer queries and disputes, and gives your organisation a tangible and measurable ROI.

Document Management Solutions.

For more information on how to improve your Proof of Delivery process drop your details in the form below and one of our advisors will call you for an informal chat.

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Time sheet processing can be a time consuming and a very manual intensive task for large and small companies alike.

Maintaining accuracy and correct data entry are the cornerstone of any payroll system.

Time sheet automation resolves this problem.

If time sheets are not processed in time then quite simply employees don’t get paid. Late salary payments lead to discord and disgruntled employees irrespective of the cause of the problem.

We are creatures of habit and at the end of the month we expect our salary to arrive in our designated bank account!

Manually completed time sheets present the following issues:-

• They are often illegible
• Tea stained, ripped, folded and written on
• My all time favourite from my recruiter days – crumpled like its ready for the bin.

Payroll staff feel under pressure at the best of times and they don’t want to let employees down. However, manual keying can result in errors, it’s human nature after all particularly when under pressure.

The payroll department are under pressure to get timesheet data into the payroll system. Automating the system speeds up the process.

How do you automate time sheet processing?

Automating the process makes time sheet processing simpler and faster changing the way time sheets are routed into the payroll department.

• Timesheet automation is triggered by paper copies being converted into electronic scanned images
• Data capture technology with a read success rate of 90% the data is extracted from the scanned images
• Data capture helps a business automate the time consuming and error prone process of manually entering data
• Incorporating a Fax solution also helps you manage the process of electronic fax time sheets
• Document Management automates the record keeping by providing storage, retrieval, data protection and security
• The paper flow is improved by removing the inefficiencies associated with time sheet processing being automatically checked and then pushed to payroll

No system is faultless and there can be a small number of exceptions where documents are illegible when this happens an exceptions queue is created and a person within the organisation will usually be responsible for ensuring these exceptions are managed.

Automating the time sheet process = accuracy = results

• The payroll team can access the electronic time sheets, change and add information or send them back to the member of staff by email for re-presenting
• A captured time sheet that is either incomplete or needs further approval can be emailed back to the sender, moved forward to another part of the organisation or sent to the client for clarification
• Full reporting provides compliance and control
• It eliminates the need for repetitive manual keying of time sheet information
• Query handling time is reduced and exceptions are managed in real time as documents are digitally stored making it easier to find them
• There is no need for physical document storage as time sheets are electronically stored in a digital repository
• Time sheet automation has low ongoing costs and delivers a ROI in just a few months.
  

  No organisation is too large or too small to see a ROI in just a few months!

Mistakes are drastically reduced and payroll deadlines are met!

Next steps

The good news is that no company is too small or too large to save money and benefit from this automation

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How to automate your accounts receivable.

A fully automated accounts receivable solution for accurately allocating customer payments quickly and efficiently to the relevant customer accounts will save time and reduce manual intervention.

Automating your cash allocation to your customer accounts minimises manual intervention and saves time.

How is this achieved?

Capture

Most capture tools operate on a template basis which require structure and will not work with thousands of differently laid out remittances. By employing an intelligent capture tool which can extract the data automatically, learning and storing as it goes this in turn automates the collection of data and updates the accounts system seamlessly without the need for any manual intervention.

Managing the Accounts Receivable process enables quick allocation of incoming payments.

Manage

Holds all documents enabling quick retrieval for processing and audit which in turn negates the need for paper storage whilst fulfilling compliance requirements.

Allocate

Allocate incoming payments quickly right down to invoice level. The system remembers this information so that subsequent payments can be matched instantly. This can lead to an 80% reduction in manual allocation.

What are the benefits of automating your Accounts Receivable function?

• Real time view of sales ledger values
• Clean sales ledger with no unallocated balances
• Accurate management information and clear cash flow forecasting
• Efficient credit control as no time is wasted chasing up invoices that have already been paid.
• Efficient credit management with accurate debtor days information available at all times
• Reconciliation is done on a day to day basis resulting in quicker and smoother month end process.
• All banking and remittance documents are electronically stored simplifying the audit process and reducing the amount of storage needed for archiving old invoices and remittances.

Next steps

Digital Print Management are a channel partner for ProcessFlows; world leaders in the capture, process, manage and delivery of documents, voice and data solutions.

For an overview of our Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable solutions and how our solutions can help your company, please call us on 01234-271156 or email us your details below and one of our expert advisors will be in touch.

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Invoice management is all about managing and simplifying the process of accounts payable.

Having a “complete” view of the Accounts Payable (AP) process using a streamlined and automated end-to-end invoice management system gives your company control over all the processes and any financial implications.

Managing the Accounts Payable process and achieving efficiency is discussed here.

Automating the processing of invoices by integrating straightforward workflow and document matching software with existing systems removes manual and repetitive tasks.

Being able to access comprehensive financial management information quickly speeds up the decision making process for audit and reporting purposes as well as providing the “what if” scenario.

By being able to automatically consolidate and reconcile  orders, invoices, payments and related documents to help manage allocations, cash flow, payments ensures that any delinquent payments, exceptions and queries in the system are quickly dealt with improving customer and supplier relationships  respectively.

An accounts payable system which is largely paper based takes up time and the effective management of human resources who are having to manually input invoice content, matching and validating invoices with purchase orders, handling supplier inquiries.

This is further compounded by escalating exceptions and discrepancies to senior management for clarification or sign off which consumes management’s time and is costly having to resolve invoice queries which could be handled by the Accounts Payable team assuming they have an overview of the financial system.

Managing your accounts payable – Can you answer these questions?

Do you know the answers to these questions?

1. How many invoices are outstanding?
2. How much money does the company owe?
3. Where in your system are the exceptions and queries and how many do you have?
4. Who are the suppliers that are problematic?

What are the benefits to automating Accounts Payable?

Invoices typically come into an organisation by post, fax, email and are then categorised.

They are forwarded to the relevant department or person for approval of the invoice which is then matched to a purchase order, verified, approved and signed off for payment.

If it exceeds the company’s payment limit it then has to go up to management for further verification. Assuming the invoice is then ok it is input into the accounting system ready for payment.

Invoice queries slow the process

• Is it from a valid supplier?
• Is the invoice correct and does it match the PO?
• Is it a duplicate invoice?
• Is the invoice just part of the total order value?
• Does the invoice match the delivery note?

The benefits in implementing an effective AP solution?

• Easy financial reporting and tracking of all invoices in the system.
• Reduction in invoice queries having to be dealt with by senior management.
• Automatic matching of invoices and validation so only accurate invoices are accrued.
• Pay suppliers on time and avoiding late payment surcharges which in turn leads to better supplier relationships.
• Avoids month end deadlines because there are no peaks and troughs.
• Reduced stress and pressure on the AP team resulting in a more productive and efficient department.

How much could automated invoice processing save you?

Automating the accounts payable process saves time, money and reduces the exceptions in your system!

In our next blog: How to speed up your Payment Allocation (AR) Process

Next steps

For more information on our AR and AP solutions please call us. Or, contact us by filling in the contact form and one of our expert advisors will be in touch.

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Achieving accuracy and efficiency in your finance department through invoice automation! 

Cost reductions, improved efficiency and better allocation of resources are just some of the savings that can be gained by implementing automated invoice processing.

Accounts Payable if done manually can be time consuming, complex, prone to error and provide any number of challenges for an organisation particularly the finance department. Manual processing includes receiving invoices by post, fax or email which are then categorised.

Invoices will be then forwarded to the person responsible for the invoice for checking and then matched to a purchase order number assuming the person has created one; the invoice may then require further authorisation from senior management.

Finance departments are challenged with needing to cut operational costs whilst at the same time ensuring invoices are paid on time so as not to upset the supplier-company relationship.

Efficient invoice processing can be achieved by implementing an automated invoice processing solution.

Accounts Payable Issues

Typically the following problems hinder the accounts payable process:-

• Collating invoices that come from different suppliers or cost centres, in many different layouts and delivery formats – post, fax, email
• Labour-intensive processes required to input data can be complicated further if linked to different cost centres and/or involve currency conversion
• Errors associated with manual data entry
• Longer lead times due to manual routing, processing and sign-off procedures involving individuals in different departments and possibly different countries
• Inefficiencies due to time spent gathering physical documents in order to match invoices with purchase orders, delivery notes, contracts and accounting system records
• Inability to maximise financial benefits associated with payment schedules such as discounts for early payments or fees for late payments
• Risk of document loss or damage as documents are received at multiple input points and may be routed or classified incorrectly
• Costs associated with manual document routing, shipping, couriers, storage, archiving and auditing
• Inability to easily audit invoice processing and payments to match up document flow with the accounting system

Our solutions are not substitutes for your current systems as they work in conjunction with your existing infrastructure. To find out more about how automating your AP and AR process will save you money fill in the form below and one of our advisors will call you.

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