Purchase invoice processing within educational institutions: time for optimization! [3 tips]

What amount was spent on temporary employees? What facility costs did your educational institution incur in the last month? Exactly how much did you spend on materials? In the financial administration of an educational institution, such questions are commonplace. But how do you answer them as quickly and completely as possible? And how do you sketch a realistic picture of both the state of affairs and the future?

How do you optimize your processes?

An efficiency drive seems in order. Not only to get more overview and grip, but also to work faster and easier. After all, boring, repetitive manual work – such as transcribing invoice information – is time-consuming and error-prone. The hours you spend on that are better spent on challenging tasks that you really enjoy doing. The question is: how do you do that? If you use smart OCR software for invoice recognition, you create more space for yourself. Such software identifies invoice data (such as invoice date and number, VAT amount and creditor) and prepares a reliable booking proposal. The system also gets smarter as it uses your feedback on invoice entries as well as that of other users in the community to optimize recognition. You can also use workflow software for the approval process. This way you always know where an invoice is, how long it has been in the process and who is responsible for what. This information is all in a digital environment, eliminating geographical dispersion. Everyone involved in the process has one central digital point to fall back on. As a result, you work a lot faster and more efficiently. Many advantages, in other words. But you only benefit from this if you lay a good administrative foundation.

Working more efficiently in education

7 tips to save time and costs

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To get you started with that, we give you three handy tips!

1. Educate suppliers as well as order takers

If you work in school finance, you know the importance of the BRIN number. If this is stated neatly on the invoice, you can process it quickly. After all, you’ll know immediately which school the invoice belongs to. And if you use an OCR solution, the system will immediately include this information in the booking proposal. That is why it is very important to educate your suppliers and orderers: always have them mention the BRIN number.

2. Communicate invoices efficiently (and as little as possible!)

Need to switch gears with a supplier or colleague about a received invoice? Then you might do so by e-mail. Such communications you eventually want to attach to the invoice for the approver to see. When looking for an automation solution for purchase invoice processing, make sure it enables this. Even better if you can communicate within the system and attach additional information to the approver. Then you won’t have to mail back and forth at all. That saves a lot of time. And your e-mail inbox stays a lot cleaner!

3. Make sure email information is available at the time of booking

Sometimes you receive an e-mail telling you how to book a particular invoice from the various locations. You want to keep such an e-mail with the invoice, because it contains crucial information. If you’re going to work with an OCR solution, make sure you also use a tool that makes this e-mail available during invoice booking. Then you won’t have to drag such emails into the system every time!

Working with a solution from a good OCR party: the benefits at a glance

When you choose OCR software, you are also choosing a vendor. Working with a reliable, experienced party can give you significant advantages. Which ones? We list them for you.

Achieve consistency and optimization together When multiple people within your educational institution book invoices, you want them to do it the same way. A good OCR party helps you hold your processes up to the light. Together you can discuss why you use a certain method of working. And if process optimization is possible, the party in question will advise you.
Uniformity amidst a diverse flow of invoices Suppliers deliver invoices in a variety of ways. Through all sorts of routes, invoices in all sorts of formats find their way to your educational institutions. A good OCR party ensures that all these documents arrive through one flow. This ensures uniformity – and therefore peace of mind and ease of use. For example, new users see very quickly how you work. And the days when you used a different method for each creditor are also over.
Your system, your allocation key As a school, you may be working with an allocation key to divide costs by percentage based on the number of students per location. A good OCR party that has educational institutions as clients takes this into account – for example, by making sure the system understands how to use the allocation key after you make one manual entry. Handy, because then you don’t have to complete all the lines manually!

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Benefits

Administrative efficiency
Digitizing your administration
Uniform document processing

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Back to overview

New Archives Act in 2027: What Will Change for Financial Administration and Procurement?

The new Archives Act is expected to take effect on January 1, 2027. This is a logical step, as documents are increasingly received and processed digitally. Examples include invoices sent via Peppol, contracts stored in a document management system, and approvals processed through digital workflows. The Archives Act primarily applies to government bodies, such as ministries, municipalities, and water boards. Other organizations may also be subject to the Act if they exercise public authority. It is therefore important for employees and managers in financial administration and procurement to take a critical look at the entire document workflow. Documents must not only be processed correctly, but also be reliable, legible, accessible, and easy to retrieve.

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ESG reporting is on the horizon: How your invoice flow is the key to sustainability data

For CFOs, ESG reporting is increasingly shifting from a future concern to a concrete responsibility. New laws and regulations require organizations to provide insight not only into their own performance, but also into that of their suppliers and supply chain partners. This includes CO2 emissions, the origin of goods, transportation movements, and sustainability policies within the supply chain. The challenge? Much of that information isn’t stored in separate ESG systems, but in everyday procurement documents such as invoices, order confirmations, and packing slips. That’s precisely why the quality of financial and administrative data is playing an increasingly important role.