This blog comes with a health warning…

WARNING: THIS BLOG COMES WITH A HEALTH WARNING… IT’S A TAD LONG. BUT YOU’LL SEE WHY AT THE END.

Here we are the last day of 2012 and what a year its been. It only seemed like yesterday that I sat at this very desk and typed my epilogue for 2011.

The beginning of the year heralded great expectations and even the economy looked like it was digging its way out of the hole it had dug itself into.

Sadly it didn’t happen and the UK along with the rest of Europe continues to stay in the quagmire.

The onset of New Years Eve can be a time of reflection as we consider the year that has gone before.

With all the ups and downs of the year you could excuse yourself for feeling a little disillusioned at the prospect of 2013.

New Year’s Resolutions?

If you are reading this then I’ve succeeded in holding my audiences’ interest? More importantly we survived the end of the world which was suppose to have occurred on 21st December.

As I stepped on to the plane with my family to travel back from Hamburg on the late afternoon of the 21st, I would be lying if I didn’t experience a little trepidation although its only an hour’s flight back to Luton.

I held my breath as we came into land and the passenger sitting next to me actually “prayed”as he muttered something in german under his breath I couldn’t help but think he knew something we didn’t?

The maya civilisation predicted the end of the world? They didn’t of course. It is the western interpretation of an apocalyptic ending. The maya civilisation predicted that December 21st this year simply marked the start of a new calendar.

“Mayan refers to the indigenous peoples of South-East Mexico, Central America notably Guatelmala. Mayan was actually spoken by the maya people and the maya calendar was used by the mayan civilisation”.

For the Mayan people 21st December represents a joyous event, not an apocalyptic event. What is coming is the end of a calendar and the beginning of a new one.

Are we facing another seismic shift both economically and personally? Isn’t the start of any new year synonymous with change?

Isn’t that indicative of a New Year – new year’s resolutions, a new chapter, new beginnings, changes, planning and a time to be reflective on what we’ve learn’t from the year just past.

Lets reflect on what a great year 2012 has been.

We had the 2012 London Olympic Games to look forward to. The country was at last unified in one common goal and that was achieving olympic success and putting London and the UK firmly on the map. It was sixteen days of amazing sporting finesse and talent exhibited at the greatest show on earth.

Who can forget that one weekend in August! I still get goose bumps thinking about it even now!

Digital Print Management advises and guides companies on the importance of how to go about outsourcing… just about anything so we’ve taken the best of the year’s blogs and stuck them here as a reminder of what were the best and most useful to you our audience and customer and we thank you for reading and contributing.

Round up of the year’s best blogs.

In January we talked about the differences between what is print management and managed print services a simple guide to understanding the differences.

With p60 time looming in April there was a helpful guide on how to go about having hassle free p60 printing

February provided top tips on how to benefit from outsourcing, automate your AR function and how to implement paperless billing in your company.

March saw the launch of our print-2-mail service and how easy it is for companies to manage printing and posting out invoices, statements and practically any customer letter without moving from your desk.

April saw a brief guide on RTI (Real Time Information) and the impact it’s likely to have on businesses in 2013. This is particularly important for payroll managers and business owners.

Paper chasing and outsourcing business processes dominated May’s round up.

June saw us delve into the murky waters of invoice processing and how to automate and streamline the process.

July concentrated on how to save money using hybrid mail and how to reduce print costs in your organisation.

Document Management Systems and strategies, controlling print costs and Invoice Management were the order of the month of August.

September discussed the importance of Accounts Receivable and how to automate payment allocations.

We then provided a guide on how to outsource your debt collection letters and a really important blog about making sure printed information is kept secure.

November – really exciting month firstly because its getting close to Christmas so we in the office start to feel a tad christmassy but we spent some time on payroll outsourcing and my favourite data cleansing and what this means if you do it right.

Wow we are in December, how quickly the year has gone! It is the month of why invoice scanning is so important to the AP process, then there was print management solutions for professional services companies.

Finally if you really wanted something completely different from what you’ve come to expect, we threw caution to the wind.

Working from home use to be such a big deal and now companies actively encourage it what do you think?

Mobile working and how it’s changed our lives.

With so much social media or anti-social media we talked about how great it feels to tune out once in a while and actually read a book. Are you switching off from digital media?

With the business landscape having changed so radically over the last 20+ years I found researching this blog particularly relevant what’s in a business relationship?  Do you feel the same way?

Next to my family I love Formula 1 Motor Racing so I knocked this one out after Sebastian Vettel won his third consecutive world championship. The importance of teamwork and why its integral to any business.

If you’ve got to the bottom of this blog without faltering then a big T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U for reading, for liking us, following us and connecting with us in 2012.

My final note for the year:

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts” (Winston Churchill)

Happy New Year from all of us at Digital Print Management.

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Happy New Year.

The post The best of 2012. All you need to know about outsourcing in one place. appeared first on Digital Print Management.

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 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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The post Accounts Payable Solutions. How to automate the process. appeared first on Digital Print Management.

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.

The post Invoice Processing Automation. How to automate your invoice processing! appeared first on Digital Print Management.

With escalating postage and mailing costs any company that sends out bulk mail such as customer letters, invoices and statements requires the flexibility to adopt a combination of either electronic and paper or solely electronic mailings.

How do you implement e-billing?

Firstly it helps to understand what the definition of e-billing is.

e-billing, e-invoicing. Which is it?

E-billing is often referred  to as e-invoicing and customers often say “we are sending out invoices” so what is the difference?

The use of the two terms depends on your perspective as a buyer or a seller.

If you are buying in services managing incoming invoices within the accounts payable department the electronic invoicing process is part of the order to pay process and is e-invoicing.

E-invoicing is a buyer centric model where the buyer actively encourages its suppliers to send them electronic invoices.

If you are selling services and you are sending bills out to your customers via the accounts receivable department the electronic invoicing process is part of the order to cash process and is called e-billing.

E-billing is a supplier centric model where the supplier encourages its customers to receive electronic invoices instead of paper based ones and is less complex to implement than e-invoicing.

In both cases, invoices are processed but the difference is that those invoices that are inbound are referred to as e-invoices and those invoices that are outbound are e-bills. In each case invoices are processed but whether you are a seller or buyer determines whether the process is B2B e-invoicing or B2B e-billing.

Many companies and organisations alike will operate a combination of both the above processes but the functions may not be electronic or automated and likely to be manually intensive.

How do you adopt paperless billing?

How do you adopt paperless billing?

One of the first challenges presented by the customer is: ” it just won’t work our customers like paper too much!” to which my response “have you asked them?

If you want to achieve significant customer adoption then you don’t ask you have a strategic, planned, well thought out campaign to turn off paper and get your customers accepting e-bills.

For more information call us now

Here are 10 top tips to achieving ebilling uptake!

1. Have a clearly defined idea and strategy as to how you intend to implement e-billing
2. Do not think that by having a customer portal on your website where customers login and download their bill will drive your customers in droves to click and register so they can collect their bill. It wont work! Its a bit like asking your customers to drive to your reception and collect their invoices. In reality, they’ll do nothing because a customer portal requires registration, password and a download
3. Think PDF, not a PDF attachment to an email but a PDF that is emailed to your customer, think engaging, personalised and interactive information that incorporates facts, figures andpersonalised marketing messages, are secure and has embedded data which can be extracted out of the PDF
4. Have a clear strategy for collecting email addresses
5. Use your website to drive paperless billing and to advise customers how easy it will be for them to switch off paper
6. Use messages on all your printed invoices, statements, remittances and envelopes to turn off paper
7. Have a sign up process on your website, on your paper invoices and statements
8. Use an email pre-registration campaign for opt in and opt out to encourage the take up of paperless bills
9. Use any marketing collateral sent out to advise customers you are moving to paperless billing to drive the message home
10. Use the process to demonstrate your company’s on-going commitment to being green

How successful was it?

Can e-billing work for the SME or is it the sole preserve of the bigger corporations and Utility companies?

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The post E-Billing. A 10 point checklist to help you implement e-billing in your organisation! appeared first on Digital Print Management.

Many organisations are challenged by wanting to break free from invoice processing which can be a slow and costly paper based system.

Accounts Payable departments are constantly being challenged to cut operating costs whilst ensuring invoices are paid promptly. Manual AP processes are costing companies on average £2-£4 per invoice that’s a staggering on-going cost for a company who may be thinking they are managing the invoice paper flow!

A typical manual process includes:-

• Invoices come into the company from different suppliers or cost centres in different layouts and delivery formats – post, fax, email, EDI
• They are forwarded to the relevant person responsible for that invoice
• There is a longer lead time due to manual routing, processing and sign off procedures
• Inefficiencies due to time spent matching the invoice to the Purchase order, verifying, approving and signing off for payment
• Inability to maximise discount benefits associated with early payments
• If it exceeds the company’s limited amount it may well have to go to senior management for verification
• If approved the invoice is then input into the accounting system ready for payment
• Archive costs for compliance and accounts audits

Typically, there may well be invoice queries, is the vendor valid, is the invoice correct and does it match the PO or is it a duplicate invoice?

Why automate?

1. By automating the process you gain a complete overview of the AP function using an end-to-end invoice management system of all processes and any financial implications.
2. By capturing the invoice information using an intelligent capture tool allows extraction of invoice data whilst at the same time updating your ERP accounts system with no manual entry
3. Consolidation and reconciliation of purchase orders, invoices and payments are automated which helps manage allocations, cashflow and payments
4. Invoice processing automatically matches and verifies scanned invoices with PO’s
5. The invoice process is improved because it is centralised so up to date live information is made available to the accounts team at every stage of the AP process

How does adopting an AP strategy reduce my paper flow?

It is the start toward adopting an ebilling strategy for your organisation.

Automating the processing of invoices and choosing to integrate a straight-forward workflow and document management software with your existing systems will remove manual and repetitive workloads.

Using a centralised accounts payable process integrated into your current systems provides:-

• Automatic allocation of the right invoice to the relevant transaction
• Automatically post invoices for payment
• Automatically queue exceptions for handling
• Deliver information on exceptions to the AP desktop
• Make payment status available to everyone instantly
• Adopt a push ebilling strategy where your customers don’t have to come to your Portal or website (Pull ebilling)

What are the major benefits?

1. Reduce invoice processing costs
2. Time savings
3. Exceptions resolved quickly
4. Supplier conflict resolution
5. Early payment discounts
6. Reduced supplier inquiries
7. No double handling

Do you have a complete view of your AP process?

• Do you wish your accounts payable function was a streamlined automated function giving you total control?
• Do you know how many invoices you have outstanding?
• Do you know how much money you owe?
• Where in the system are the exceptions and and how many?
• Who are the problematic suppliers?

Digital Print Management provide open solutions and our systems can be extended to include the automation of any business process.

If you want to discover how easy the transformation to an automated Accounts Payable system can be then get in touch.

COMING NEXT IN OUR SERIES OF ARTICLES FEATURING INVOICE PROCESSING WILL BE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLES AND WE WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS OF ALLOCATING YOUR PAYMENTS.

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The post Invoice Processing. 5 Great Ways to Reduce Your Paper-Flow appeared first on Digital Print Management.

I ‘m a strong advocate of the benefits that can be enjoyed by outsourcing a component of your business whether its print, payroll, billing I.T or customer services to the outsourcing of a complete department of an organisation as long as it’s a strategic fit for the company and there is utmost transparency in the way an organisation manages the process.

Traditionally when people think of outsourcing they associate it with big corporations who have the infrastructure and the resource to benefit from a large scale re-deployment of one of their business components.

But this is not the only way that outsourcing can be used effectively. Small to medium businesses can use outsourcing to their advantage. Sections 382 and 465 of the Companies Act 2006 define an SME that has a turnover of not more than £6.5 million, a balance sheet of not more than £3.26 million and 50 employees; a medium sized company with a turnover of not more than £25.9 million, a balance sheet of £12.9 million and 250 employees.

I’ve talked about the benefits of outsourcing in the past with particular reference to payroll and billing here!

The same principles can be levied for any business component you are considering.

6 great tips on why companies should outsource

Here are 6 things to consider when outsourcing:

1. What business aspects are you struggling with? Where can your company outsource to make cost savings and streamline the organisation processes for example it might be marketing, web design, payroll printing, invoice processing/printing. All of which are important to a company but are time consuming and manually intensive.
2. Outsource as much as you can but not the core elements of your business after all that was the main reason the business was established unless it’s some manufacturing element that you are considering.
3. Dont be afraid to use the same company for many different things the more services that an outsource provider does for your business in relation to outsourcing the more you are likely to see volume savings. In the same way you see in the supermarket buy two get the second for free. If you are looking to automate your accounts systems such as AR/AP or outsource your invoice processing/printing make sure the provider can manage the distribution element for example you may print, mail and electronically send your invoices so make sure that the company you choose can manage this process for you and more importantly they know what they are talking about and can demonstrate success criteria.
4. Investigate the market place and evaluate who you think best accommodates your requirements. Don’t think short term, think medium term at least otherwise if you get it wrong it might be painful to get of and you may well end up by repeating the exercise again six months down the road.
5. Don’t be swayed by the cheapest option or choose on price alone if you do you will shoot yourself in the foot. There isn’t such a thing as a free lunch! When you see something cheap what’s the first thing that springs to mind “what’s wrong with it?” or “that sounds cheap”! “What does everyone hope for but rarely gets? A great deal?” You get what you pay for and often a company that offers a service cheaply is trying to win your business with a view to a serious price hike three months later or they haven’t understood your requirements. In which case you will find yourself in trouble and the cheaper service could have a detrimental effect on your business. Can you afford for that to happen?
6. Finally, know what area or business function of the business do you want to outsource? Why do you want to outsource? Be realistic about your expectations. Set a time limit to achieve your objective and most importantly work with a company that has the expertise and knowledge and can offer sound, impartial advice!

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With variable or personalised printing why not use the white space to drop a personalised message to the recipient?

You see, gone are the days when the invoice was simply a vehicle for chasing payment for goods and services sold.

But before I go into my rhetoric of how to make your invoices work better for you here are 10 things that should be on your invoice from fellow colleague and F.D Garry Mumford.

Surprisingly; we still see invoices that are missing this fundamental information!

Assuming you’ve ticked all the boxes:-

Here are some ways you can really make your invoices sing:

Are your logo and address details prominent? Why not jazz up your invoices so they stand out from the crowd after all if the credit team are chasing for payment one sure way to find your invoice in the pile is to use colour. Not black and white its a misnomer if you think it costs a lot more to have a colour logo it does not!

Marketing is no longer the sole preserve of the Marketing Department if you are sending an invoice for specific services or goods then hi-light what other products and services you provide; this can be done by adding a strategic personalised message so the recipient is made aware of your other services and if you target a specific product or service you could tie this in with a sales push to promote that given product.

You see gone are the days that an invoice is purely a vehicle used just for collecting money it is so much more than that!

I go into more detail here on ways to make your invoices rock more!

White space management – I am sighing here now because I see 3 lines of transactions and then a big white space – use it, say something even if it’s just to say A big Thank You for the business but mean it and don’t leave it on every invoice run because it then becomes valueless!

I just sent my first invoice to a new client of ours and made a point of asking our accounts team to drop in a”Thank You for choosing Digital Print Management as your payroll provider on your next copier paper order we will give you 5 reams free”; guess what, we took a call from the customer to say how much they appreciated us doing that, we got an order for copier paper. So, it does work!

Judicious use of colour – OK so I’ve covered this earlier BUT I’m also talking about hi-lighting areas of personalised text in colour to draw attention to this relevant bit of information. Research has shown that colour has tremendous power to add impact to communications boosting recall and influence. Pantone® and the the internationally recognised Pantone Color Institute® indicate that consumers are up to 78% more likely to remember a word, phrase printed in colour than in black and white!

When colour is combined with the written word it impacts readers with greater recall, recognition and attention – full colour variable/personalised documents enhanced customer loyalty and retention generating 34% faster response rates; a 48% increase in repeat orders and 32% increase in overall revenues!

Who said invoicing wasn’t a science?

Reverse of invoice – Not just for Terms and Conditions as these should have already been stated prior to the supply of goods and services. This part of the invoice is a great way to show how your customer can get in contact with you; or how to pay you by showing the methods of payment you accept as an organisation.

Of course you can optimise the benefits of multi-channel distribution by combining the benefits of e-billing and paper based solutions.

If you want to stop feeling like this:-

Then why not give Digital Print Management a call we provide free no obligation print audits which include looking at your document flow and invoice processes.

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