The term “e-invoicing” has become the catch-all answer to any problem a company encounters with the handling of incoming invoices—presumably because the source of the problem is perceived to be “paper” rather than process.
eInvoicing drives efficiency within an organization by making it convenient for vendors to submit invoices electronically, eliminating all of the inefficient processes associated with handling paper invoices or other unstructured forms of data like digital invoices submitted via email, handled in the same manual fashion.
Errors are the Enemy of Efficiency
The problem, however, is that as defined, eInvoicing does NOT mitigate the potential sources of error that may be associated with manual invoice processing. eInvoicing solutions presume that the data in a submitted invoice is correct and consistent with records maintained within the client’s ERP system.
Without data verification, frictionless AP invoice processing comes to a grinding halt. Unfortunately, discrepancies between the invoice and the customer ERP environment are the norm.
Processing invoices that may contain errors or exceptions, requires an accounts payable automation solution—one that can extract validate data against ERP system records, regardless of how the invoice is submitted for processing.
AP Smart Process Applications Deliver Flexibility, Accuracy and Efficiency
Smart Process Platforms like docAlpha and applications like InvoiceAction from Artsyl Technologies can bridge the gap between eInvoicing solutions and AP automation solutions. These platforms “read” inbound invoices and related data, regardless of how they are submitted. Companies to accept invoices digitally or via multiple other channels including fax, email, ftp, Web portal or even paper without sacrificing process efficiency or accuracy.
That’s because smart process platforms are able to identify relevant information within the unstructured data found in invoice documents or within digital files. Equally important, these platforms are smart enough to interact with ERP and other business systems to cross-reference data to ensure accuracy and follow rules to determine how to best handle errors and exceptions. These systems even apply their own algorithms to the data within a document, cross-checked subtotals and totals to identify and mitigate data entry errors.
To learn how your firm can take advantage of Smart Process Technology to automate your accounts payable process in a way that meets the needs of your organization and supports your partners, vendors and customers, contact your Artsyl Technologies account representative.