Efficiency and cost savings are two of the strongest concepts in the modern business world. This is also where technology helps the most—the more processes that are automated, the more efficient the enterprise becomes. This is no less true for the accounts payable function, which has remained one of the last bastions of manual processes in the average enterprise. Scan-and-capture solutions, however, are a solid first step on the road to AP automation; it also helps that there are some solid financial benefits to implementing a scan-and-capture solution set. Below are five specific ways that scan-and-capture solutions remove cost from the enterprise. Scan-and-capture solutions can:
- Reduce exceptions due to errors: Scan-and-capture solutions eliminate the need for an AP staffer to manually enter invoice data into the accounting system. This reduction in manual work reduces the possibility of data entry errors, and results in lower exceptions because invoice data is entered directly into the accounting system with minimal human interaction. Combine this with two- or three-way matching (matching a purchase order and invoice, or a purchase order, invoice, and contract), and the potential for exceptions drops even further.
- Shorten invoice-processing times: Scan-and-capture solutions also shorten invoice processing times. Inputting and checking an invoice takes a significant amount of time, as does receiving approvals through every step of a manual process. When paired with an automated routing and workflow capability, scan-and-capture solutions speed invoice processing because business rules that pass the invoice to another approver can come into play when any other approver doesn’t act on the invoice in an allotted timeframe.
- Eliminate storage requirements: Storing paper files gets unwieldy very fast—all those filing cabinets fill up quickly when some regulations require enterprises to keep invoices for seven or more years. With scan-and-capture solutions, enterprises store digital versions of the invoice in either an on-premise server or in cloud storage. The invoices are still filed away in order to retain compliance, but digital files take up much less physical space than a room full of filing cabinets.
- Increase early payment discount capture: The quicker AP staff put invoices through the approval process, the more likely the enterprise can capture early payment discounts. According to Ardent Partners research, the industry average invoice cycle time is 12.4 days. Much of that is waiting for approvals, so with scan-and-capture tools paired with automated routing and workflows, the time is reduced significantly. This results in the availability of more early payment discounts, which can put money back into the enterprise.
- Free up staff workload: Implementing a scan-and-capture solution virtually eliminates data entry from the accounts payable team’s job description. This cuts down on the number of transactional activities the AP staff performs, and can also allow for greater visibility into the invoice process. Greater visibility into the process means the AP staff could end up fielding fewer calls from internal and external stakeholders. This additional free time could result in AP taking a much more strategic role in the organization overall.
While implementing a scan-and-capture solution isn’t a simple process—like any technology—it can drive significant financial benefits to the enterprise. Invoices would move through the approval process quicker, which means the AP team would have more time to focus on tasks of more strategic value to the business. Long-term, changing to scan-and-capture could even result in accounts payable becoming a profit center, not to mention a transition to 100% electronic invoicing. Regardless of what happens, however, scan-and-capture solutions offer the potential of taking significant cost out of the business, which is a good thing for the modern cost-conscious enterprise no matter how it’s looked at.
Check out these related articles for more information:
The Value of Scan and Capture: How Does It Work?
The Value of Scan and Capture: Problems and Solutions
Data Capture & Workflow – Two Important Pieces of Automating AP
