Firstly, the invoice automation software needs to be fully integrated with the business’ ERP or financial system, so be sure to invest in a solution that works well with your current software as otherwise you’ll have to go through painful workarounds or expensive reshuffles.
Secondly, new software usually takes time for staff to get accommodated with, but it may be that they also need specialist training which could take weeks or months of practice to get used to, so make sure to try out any new tool so that it’s user-friendly and easy to use for both junior and senior staff.
And, last but not least, the best automated invoice processing software got to be secure. Any new finance solution has to be able to decrease the risk of fraud and increase trust and visibility of payments, so it’s wise to inquire if the solution is regularly tested and updated for any new vulnerabilities.
According to a study on finance departments in 2021 "the State of Automation in Finance",The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically refocused business priorities for organisations in the UK.
76% of finance leaders surveyed said that COVID-19 has accelerated the digitisation of the
accounts payable process, with drastic changes also seen in the pre- and post-Covid priorities
for businesses.
Did you know ?
Invoice approval software - automation technology that approves invoices more accurately, securely and quickly - is able to completely rid companies of manual- and human-based financial errors as well as the consequences of this, such as late payments and strained supplier relationships.
Once an invoice is scanned into the organisation’s ERP or financial system, invoice approval software correlates the data with other relative documents - purchase order numbers, receipts, previous invoices etc. - and records the information into the system.
With this, accounts payable staff are handed a 360-degree view of the entire invoice process - from the approval status of invoices to outstanding notices - and receive real-time notifications when an invoice is approved.
Invoice approval software is helping revolutionise the accounts payable role from pure number crunchers to a vital cog in a business’ financial processes, as well as help improve customer and supplier relationships.
Oracle NetSuite, a cloud business management platform that provides ERP, CRM, and financial planning, helps thousands of businesses improve the way they operate by providing a complete, real-time view of constantly changing factors such as inventory management, marketing, and sales.
But in the digital age, businesses need automated systems to keep ahead of the game. Which is why Yooz is fully integrated with NetSuite, cutting invoice processing costs and time by up to 80% as well as helping businesses remain compliant.
No matter what format or layout the invoices are in, Yooz logs them in the NetSuite system, records the data in real-time, and forwards the invoice information and images into Netsuite for processing. All without the touch of a button.
With Yooz’s ‘Built for Netsuite’ integration, AP professionals can benefit from a faster, more accurate, and more secure automated financial process.
Growth is good news for most companies. It indicates both an achieved goal and the reward for team efforts. However, how you achieve this growth can set the stage for the future. Will it run smoothly, or will the new growth start to overwhelm the business?
Increased business activity translates to more invoices needing processed. However, this can run the risk of quickly reaching the organization’s limits in terms of managing capacity, resulting in new costs and room for error. One of the best ways to prevent this from happening is technology.
This simple solution – the use of automated invoice processing – can play a critical and extremely beneficial role in terms of both performance and productivity for a business. But what does automation really mean? And why should a company specifically focus on how to process invoices in accounts payable in order to reap organization-wide benefits?
Invoice processing - a business’ ability to process and approve payments in the ERP system - may seem simple on the face of things. Invoices received from suppliers need to be validated, recorded, checked against, and approved. But depending on the business and its technology, the time taken to go through this process could range from hours to weeks.
A lot of the issues come with manually logging financial information into the business’ ERP or financial system, as this is where mistakes can creep in. But Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software can almost completely rid organisations of this risk, as well as the time associated with manual data entry.
OCR technology scans paper-based documents such as invoices, takes the key information from it - such as total invoice amount, supplier bank details, and tax deductible - and enters these within their relative fields within the ERP system. Once they’ve been logged, the invoice information can then be compared against historical ones for validation against fraud.
But OCR software on it’s own isn’t enough. Organisations need a solution that covers the entire accounts payable function, combining OCR software with automation so that invoices can be turned into intelligent information that can then be turned into significant advantages - from touchless payment approval processes to heightened financial visibility.
A company operating in today’s digital world are facing more unforeseen challenges at a faster rate than ever before, a rate that only increase each year. Whether it’s a global pandemic and working with remote employees or a talent shortage and frustrations from a lack of tech skills, businesses are having to invest more in the support around them - including their tech stack.
One major area of importance is the finance department, where a lack of digital tools and technology is hurting the ability of teams to streamline and optimize processes. Specifically, AP invoice processing automation.
For those business that fully embraced modernization early on, automation technology has replaced time-consuming, labor-intensive tasks. This in turn freed up staff time for more strategically driven work while also greatly reducing the risk of human error or fraud. While businesses have delayed switching to automation for several reasons, these types of benefits are simply becoming too hard to ignore any longer.
An automated invoice processing system with a cloud-based platform is an ideal workflow process for any business to handle their invoices end-to-end, covering all steps from purchase to payment. As a result, businesses will see drastically lowered costs, shorter cycle times, and unlock a treasure trove of actionable insights. But not all automated platforms are the same. Here we explore four key questions and considerations asked by existing and prospective customers.
Walking over to a scanner to scan invoices, upload them onto your device, manually insert and validate the data? Time consuming, old fashioned, and unfortunately still the typical situation found in many businesses today. These - and more - are all reasons why a business needs and will benefit from automated invoice capture software software
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software for invoice processing is becoming increasingly commonplace in finance and accounting automation workflows across the UK. Able to scan, read, send, and make use of data taken from paper documents, OCR software has been one of the biggest influences in digitising accounts payable processes and automation.
But what factor, if any, makes for determining the best ocr software for invoice processing?
If you are one of the companies looking to automate your Accounts Payable and invoice processing workflows or, having already decided and considering various solution providers, you can help ensure a successful transition simply by following some basic guidelines and avoiding common pitfalls.
Six of these accounts payable invoice processing best practices include:
1. Save time processing your invoices.
2. Understand the AP process from both your vendors’ and suppliers’ point of view.
3. Do not ignore the need for an audit trail.
4. Choose an all-in-one AP automation solution provider.
5. Pick an AP automation software that utilizes the top modern technologies to automate your Accounts Payable process.
6. Try before you buy with a risk-free AP automation solution.
In a digital-first world, the old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” simply won’t cut it anymore. Plus, it’s not necessarily true anyway. The digital transformation of the finance and accounting department is occurring at a rapid pace, with the finance leader expected to spearhead tech investment to achieve greater success. Finance and accounting departments have been broken by slow, outdated, and labour-intensive manual processes for decades, running with inefficiencies that have threatened to hurt growth, revenue, and even staff morale. Businesses, accounts payable staff, and vendors deserve better. With automated accounting software, this dream can become a reality.
In any paper-based scenario there is a direct correlation between an increased number of invoices and a higher cost to processing them. An automated process changes this relationship by eliminating the correlation. That means for both accounting professionals and companies, a main attraction to automation is the notably reduced cost of processing an invoice. For example, the cost of manually processing an invoice is estimated at 9£ to 20£, plus the additional costs of storage, archives, and the occasional required information look-up (representing an average of 3.25£ including associated indirect costs such as time spent, storage space and loss and delays). No matter how you look at it, costs quickly add up and can continue to climb.
In contrast digitalizing invoices can lower these costs by as much as 70%. Even better, with digitalization, companies can also automate many additional tasks, make data more accessible, and further increase their return on investment. In the end, it is possible to improve the processing cycle by a factor of 20!
Often in the manually dependent past company accounts payable teams would spend hours on data entry, record keeping, and other processing tasks. Today the use of automated invoice processing software means exactly the opposite: a faster, more cost-efficient workflow that is by far both more accurate and secure.
This is more than just a nice thing. With the economy in constant fluctuation and the supply chain still recovering from the pandemic, businesses expect more than to be paid correctly and within a certain timeframe. In fact, it may be a necessity for survival for those dealing with tight margins and strict project deadlines (such as in the construction or service industry). The fact is that if a business doesn't involve automation in at least in some parts throughout the invoice payment process they risk late payments, mispayments, poor reporting, and even hefty regulatory fines.
To further understand the benefits of an automated process, it helps to break down and understand each stage in the invoice capture, management, and approval process. Read about 5 key accounts payable invoice processing steps that will help to create a successful strategy.
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Yooz delivers the highest automation rates by industry standards, combined with unrivalled simplicity, to help accounting and finance leaders tackle their productivity and security challenges from purchase to payment.
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