Good morning.
Very good recommendation and observation. However, to my experience it is extremely difficult to require your business partners to go electronic (or provide specific file formats, etc.). It is beyond your control and subject to change without notice (just like any other invoicing format).
Whether the invoices are electronically transmitted or scanned and captured; the key to a successful solution is precise integration with your existing accounting system. If the data interface between the two are not well thought out and mapped properly there could be many issues that drastically impact the integrity of your accounting system.
Concerning training for OCR; actually most scanning capture solutions available now are amazingly adept and adaptable and require prolonged and in-depth training only for system support staff. Actual end users rarely interface directly with the OCR process. The key is to provide your solution provider with as many actual invoice samples as can be provided during development and testing. Most vendors that provide these solutions have a lot of experience in this area and with adequate samples and access to your AR staff; can have a system set up and requiring relatively little reconfiguration during installation and training.
If you need and decide to go with an automated scanning capture system for your invoices (which by the way can also be configured to receive electronic invoices as well) there are many, many examples of successful implementations of automated invoice capture solutions. The key is finding the right software solution (AND vendor) that will take the time to learn your actual business practices and take the time to tweak the solution as needed for how your office does its business. I would recommend a vendor that if not local, at least has the ability to spend significant time on site during discovery, development, installation and training. Your vendor may even be able to provide or recommend conversion services for your backlog.
Quality scanning capture systems for invoices can be pricy. You need to determine what your budget is for such and system and then do lots of research to determine what is the best solution available for your budget.
Sincerely,
Curtis Welch
Project Manager
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6206 Benjamin Road, Ste. 301
Tampa, FL 33634
813-888-8288 ext. 201
800-956-9000 ext. 201
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Pam Barker
Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 4:08 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [RM] Invoice scanning for electronic processing - is it worth it?
As a product marketer for Iron Mountain, while I’m not on the front lines like many in this community are, I have talked to a number of customers about this issue and thought you might appreciate what I’ve learned from them. I do agree with the comment of 20% of creditors/vendors accounting for 80% of invoices. We see this trend with our customers all the time. While sending PDF invoices is good - this is just an incremental step to scanning. And OCR processes take a lot of training to get the capture right, and you may end up shifting labor from paper handling to OCR tuning/error correction.
A more streamlined alternative is to get those high invoice volume suppliers to send you electronic data files (true e-invoices) that you can ingest directly into ERP - you get 100% accurate data down to line item level detail in real time. Suppliers will sign up for this if there's no cost to them, and there are no file format restrictions. They get the added benefit of invoice validation / acknowledgement at the point of submission and eliminate the turnaround time of postal mail and email.
For the lower volume suppliers who send fewer invoices, you can encourage them to sign up for a supplier portal to submit their invoices. This again is a no cost option for suppliers to get their invoices to you quickly with acknowledgements and you have the benefit of receiving electronic data that you can pass directly into ERP.
Finally, you can use PDF attachments/ email or outsourced scan/capture as the "catch all" option for all other vendors who don’t meet the above 2 options.
If you’re making the outsourcing decision and your goal is to lower costs, free up staff/resources & cut processing time, you can consider working with a vendor who can provide this type of service and can archive the e-invoice as well.
Making a business case should be straightforward since there will be no significant up-front capital expense required and recurring processing costs will be lower than your current state.
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