5 benefits of digital invoice processing

Digital invoice processing today is not an option, but a must. Anyone who wants to work efficiently and quickly can no longer ignore an automation solution. Just think how many actions you have to perform when you still process purchase invoices manually. Upon receipt, you have to select the creditor, enter all data (from invoice amount to VAT amount), break down the invoice and create an entry. And even then you only have an entry, not a digital (pdf) version of the invoice. If you need to review the invoice later, it will cost you a lot of searching. In short, without digital invoice processing software, your work is very cumbersome. Fortunately, this can be done differently. Curious about the 5 most important advantages of digital invoice processing software? We list them for you!

1. Faster processing of purchase invoices.

If you work with good scanning and recognition software, then the purchase invoice processing process goes very smoothly. The system instantly recognizes the details of the invoice: from creditor to invoice number, from invoice date to invoice amount. This means the entry can be created immediately. If you choose a scan and recognize solution that offers a good link with your ERP system, you have virtually nothing to worry about. In that case, you need to perform far fewer actions, leaving you more time for tasks that really add value to the organization.

2. Coordinate flows

As an employee in financial administration, you deal with a stream of incoming invoices. These arrive in many different ways. Digital invoice processing ensures that you can easily coordinate that flow: paper invoices are converted into PDF files after scanning, PDF invoices received by e-mail are immediately recognized and converted into XML files. This way you process invoices in a simple and smart way.

3. Less susceptibility to error

The foundation of digital invoice processing is an OCR solution. OCR is a text recognition technique that recognizes and reads invoice data – such as creditor information, VAT number and Chamber of Commerce number. This recognition eliminates the need for you to retype information. This makes typing errors a thing of the past. If you also choose smart OCR software, you are working with a self-learning system that you can train: if a certain invoice element is not recognized, you only have to indicate once what it is. All subsequent times, the system will recognize this element. This will save you even more time in the long run!

4. Digital archive

When you have posted an invoice in the system, the pdf file hangs with the creditor. This means you can retrieve it at any time. Suppose you want to compare a subscription invoice from this year with one from last year. In that case, you no longer have to run to the filing cabinet in your office to search through various folders. Digital invoice processing means that you work with a digital archive: at the touch of a button, you pull out the invoice in question. If you’re working with a good system, you get to see all communications regarding that invoice immediately as well.

5. More efficient approval process.

Digital invoice processing is not complete without good workflow software. With this, you send an invoice digitally past the appropriate approvers. Gone are the days when paper invoices went from desk to desk to be signed (resulting in delays and lost invoices!). With a digital workflow you automate this ’round’. Moreover, the approval process runs a lot faster – not least because you can set reminders and because approvers see the invoice in a clear PDF image.

Getting started with digital invoice processing software?

Would you like to process incoming invoices more efficiently, faster and easier? And would you like to take advantage of the 5 benefits we described in this blog? Feel free to contact us. We are happy to discuss how digital invoice processing software can help your organization. You will never have to type data again, you will save time and a paper archive will be a thing of the past! Want to compare scan and recognition software? We can tell you all about it!

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