Invoice Automation
Benefits of Invoice Automation
Implementing a software solution for automating your invoice processing has many advantages. Some of the most obvious ones are reduction of costs associated with manual data entry and faster processing times. However, there are also other benefits to consider, such as minimized error rates and more efficient usage of the company’s resources.
Costs
The costs of processing invoices manually can be very high. It is estimated that processing a paper invoice can cost anywhere between $8 and $60. Why the high variance? The truth is that apart from the obvious drawbacks, such as labor and storage costs, there are also a number of “hidden” costs that many people do not usually take into account. These include manual routing, classification, multiple handling of the same invoice, as well as losses and misfiling. Locating lost and misplaced documents can reach as much as $200 per invoice.
Automation successfully solves many of these problems and as a result, minimizes costs. Companies that have switched to automated invoice processing can reduce these costs by up to 20 times.
Error rates
Manual data entry is often associated with errors. It is clear that accuracy depends entirely on the individuals that perform the operation. With automation software, error rates are minimized, preventing all types of error-resulting issues, such as delayed approvals, time spent on searching for and correcting mistakes, as well as loss of discounts.
Time
Manual processing of invoices is time consuming. Software solutions for automated invoice processing can eliminate many tasks, such as routing, classification, validation, and manual data entry – thus greatly reducing processing time. With a simple data check to ensure maximum accuracy, the automation software can send your invoices directly from the scanner to the accounting system.
Personnel
Employees responsible for data entry or validation can be liberated from these tedious tasks. You can make a more efficient use of your staff and let them concentrate on more important projects. This will also help them stay more motivated and be more productive. Software solutions for invoice automation typically require very little human interference.