In a recent webinar co-hosted by Ardent Partners, What Really Makes Accounts Payable Best in Class?, they surveyed nearly 200 people who work in the Accounts Payable, Finance or Procurement department to ask what challenges they are facing and what changes they plan to make in the future to improve efficiency in the departments. It was revealed that 43% of survey respondents said that their department is still highly manual and paper-driven and 36% said that lengthy invoice and payment processing time is still one of the main challenges. These statistics reveal that departments such as Accounts Payable are still spending most of their time manually processing invoices. When you consider the type of technology that is accessible today, such as invoice management software solutions, it is crazy to think that the majority of invoices are still handled as paper.

One of the many problems that Accounts Payable face is that a typical purchase to pay process involves a host of key documents, such as purchase orders, invoices, receipts and so on, many of which need to be authorised or approved by individuals across an organisation. This is a lengthy process that it very time consuming, very expensive to operate and prone to error. The need to improve process efficiency is one of the top business drivers of 2012 according to Ardent Partners, with 52% of survey respondents saying this something they want to improve within the next year(s).

So how can the Accounts Payable department improve process efficiency and cut down costs? Investing in an invoice processing or an invoice management solution, such as Documation’s Invoice Management Solution, can help to automate and streamline the Accounts Payable department. The benefits of using an Invoice Processing Solution include:

So what is OCR? OCR can be defined as software which converts scanned images of printed or handwritten text into a form that can be recognised and easily processed. An OCR system enables you to extract important business data from a document, feed it directly into an electronic file, and then edit the file using a word processor or other software solution. OCR technology has made a huge impact on the way information is captured, stored, shared and edited. Prior to OCR, if someone wanted to turn a document into an electronic file, each page would have to be typed word for word.

Documation solutions use EMC Captiva’s OCR software, which is a fully customisable capture solution that scans vendor documents and automatically extracts and validates the data they contain before exporting it to business systems for processing. Using intelligent document recognition technology (IDR), the OCR identifies incoming documents such as invoices and immediately begins extracting information such as purchase order number, invoice date, total amounts, line item data and more. The result is a faster, more efficient means of handling invoices.

With industry research showing that as much as 70% of all invoice processing costs is wrapped up in document handling and data entry processes, eliminating manual data entry from your organisation will drastically cut costs and improve business processes. Businesses can spend a lot of time, money and man power manually processing data and finding and retrieving lost or misplaced documents, but with an OCR system the stress of sorting through filing cabinets for hours on end will become a thing of the past. Instead businesses will quickly become accustomed to searching and retrieving a document within seconds, rather hours.

The benefits of utilising software like OCR go beyond time saving; there are all kinds of advantages, including:

• Reduced data entry costs
• Increased speed of data extraction
• Fewer errors in data, increasing data integrity
• Reduced processing times
• Easy and inexpensive to store and locate documents
• Digital copies can be saved in a wide range of available formats
• Multiple people can access the same document at the same time

Businesses can reduce the costs associated with filing, archiving and long term storage with a document management solution which includes OCR. You can also reduce the amount of paper and ink used to print documents. With 7.5% of documents being lost or misplaced, document management software, such as Documation’s Invoice Management Solution, can provide additional security and user tracking to protect scanned documents.

With benefits like these, a business can improve efficiency within the workplace, allowing employees to concentrate on more strategic tasks; saving a lot of money in the process. OCR is a valuable piece of software which many businesses have benefited from and will continue to benefit from for years to come.

To find out more about Documation’s Document Management and Invoice Management Solution, please visit http://www.documation.co.uk or email info@documation.co.uk.

By scanning invoices and automating the process, business are able to reduce the time it takes to process their invoices, whilst also cutting costs.

Documation’s invoice scanning module is a sophisticated solution that enables businesses to scan any invoice in any format. Invoices come in a multitude of formats, layouts and styles, but with invoice scanning software such as Documation’s Invoice Management Solution, all of these can be effectively scanned and processed. The software can cope with invoices in multiple languages, currencies and will adhere to specific tax and financial rules; all helping to improve business performance and ROI’s.

Benefits of invoice scanning as part of a wider invoice processing solution:

• Time Savings: Scanning invoices into an invoice management system can provide huge time savings, compared to manually entering them into the system
• Reduced Data Entry: Optical Character Recognition (OCR) can be used to automatically read the invoice and populate the data into the system
• Better Customer Service: When suppliers contact the AP department with queries, the invoice and all accompanying details can be instantly retrieved, saving time and removing cost of calling them back.
• Improved Control Over Key Business Processes: Invoices are coded, matched or authorised and become ready for payment much faster than with a manual process.
• Improved Productivity: Automating many of the processes enables AP staff to concentrate on more strategic tasks.
• Improved Level of Service to Internal Departments: Authorised users outside the AP department can view the invoice and status in order to answer supplier queries without referring to the AP team.
• Improved Access & Visibility: All scanned files can be easily accessed from any computer at any time, eliminating time spent searching for important documents and saving money on document storage space.
• Enhanced Security: Access can be granted on different levels so only people with the right level of security can gain access. Additionally documents are backed up, so in case of an emergency (such as a fire) all documents remain safe and secure.

In a recent report by AIIM, titled The Paper Free Office: Dream or Reality?, found out that on average, organisations using scanning and capture consider that it improves the speed of response to customers, suppliers, citizens or staff by 6-times or more. 70% estimate an improvement of at least 3-times and 29% see an improvement in 10-times or more. These statistics reflect how invoice scanning can change the way a business runs, for the better.

To find out more about Documation’s Invoice Management Solution and Invoice Scanning software, please visit http://www.documation.co.uk/index.html or email info@documation.co.uk.

In addition to technological progress more and more companies are becoming committed to reducing their paper usage. Why? Because of the benefits of a paperless office, which include:

• Accessibility – All documents are available online 24/7 a day, and you can also do this remotely.
• Security – Access can be granted on different levels so only people with the right level of security can gain access. Additionally documents are backed up, so in case of an emergency (such as a fire) all documents remain safe and secure.
• Simplicity – It can be easier to access historical documents stored online, rather than spending half the day looking through boxes and filling cabinets of old archived documents.
• Automatic audit trail - All activities relating to documents, such as views, prints, forward etc, are noted. Documents cannot be removed from the system from an unauthorised individual or before the legal amount of time has passed, providing a complete and secure audit trail.
• Online storage retrieval – Stores all documents online, making it quick and easy to retrieve. It is very easy to manage the documents and gives instant access anywhere and to anyone who needs it.
• Better customer service – Queries can be answered faster (often immediately) as documents can be accessed immediately and with the support of an audit trail and history it’s always clear where a document is in terms of its processing.

All of the above benefits also helps the environment and reduces the company’s carbon footprint. Additionally it also reduces office costs such as the need to buy paper, ink and photocopying charges; making the idea of not having a paperless office quite ludicrous.

Despite the significant benefits of a paperless office some bad habits still exist, a recent report by AIIM, titled The Paper Free Office – dream or reality?, found that 77% of invoices that arrive as PDF attachments get printed and 31% of faxed invoices get printed and scanned back in. However the report did conclude that instead of disappearing completely, the reliance on paper is slowly decreasing. People still, and always will, find a use for paper, for example it is generally easier to proof read and edit a hard copy than it is to edit on a computer screen, but generally most offices are trying to use less paper.

At Documation, we believe the reliance on paper will slowly decrease in offices around the world, due to technological advances like our Invoice Processing System and Digital Mailroom which are helping companies reduce their paper usage. These, combined with developing technologies such as the cloud, smart phones and general computing are making it easier and cheaper for companies to cut down on their paper usage.

To find out more about Documation’s Invoice Processing System and Digital Mailroom, please visit http://www.documation.co.uk or email info@documation.co.uk.

We are proud to welcome three new employees who have joined the Documation team, Joe McDonald as a Graduate Software Testing Intern, James Hensford as a Junior Support Analyst and Rebecca Copley as a Graduate Marketing Assistant Intern.  

As a Graduate Software Testing Intern, Joe will be responsible for software testing, primarily for our customers systems and our repeatable solutions. James will be responsible for technical and service support for our external customers, as well as providing ongoing administration of our customer systems. Rebecca will be involved in various marketing activities for us, including event management, PR, marketing research and design.

We have a strong history in recruiting graduates from the local area, helping them to grow and develop their IT and marketing skills. Jon Moakes, Professional Services Manager at Documation, said: “This is an exciting time to join Documation, as we look forward to significant growth and the launch of new products and services. Having more support will be very beneficial for our customers as it means that we can continue to deliver the very high level of service and flexibility that they are used to. The whole team are very happy to have Joe, James and Rebecca on board.”

To find out more about Documation and the document management services available, please visit http://www.documation.co.uk or email info@documation.co.uk.

It’s a high-speed solution that works with a wide variety of scanners to produce PD0008 compliant images easily and flexibly. The scanning software provides a wide range of options so that it can be tailored to match your existing business processes and fits within your business. This, and one click scanning minimises your training requirements. With a whole range of quality control options you can be assured of excellent quality images every time.

How does it work?

Documents are scanned in batches (one or more documents/pages) and are separated using the criteria that are most suitable for your business – paper size, colour etc. Documation invoice scanning removes the need to use separator pages as documents can be separated more efficiently using barcodes or batch codes. You can also separate documents after scanning using the advanced software capabilities.

Ease of use

On selection of a particular batch type, a predetermined scan profile is automatically chosen to provide the best quality images for that document type. However, if you have scanned an invoice or other document type that does not fit the scan profile selected, amendments can be made “on-the-fly” and saved for future use – giving the opportunity for the software to “learn” your unique document types.

Flexible processing

Selecting a particular case type will also select the predetermined workflow process based on your existing business rules. For example, an invoice will follow a different workflow route to a correspondence document. With Documation, multiple document types can be processed using one system at the same time.

Once the case type has been selected it couldn’t be easier for the operator. They simply have to select “Start scanning”. The operator can view each of the documents on screen as they are scanned for immediate quality control. If you are scanning invoices in a high production environment you can also make quality control a separate stage to avoid any disruption to the high-speed scanner. Documation invoice scanning is also compatible with Kofax VRS.

In-built quality control

Once the images have been scanned their position within a batch can be easily amended with a simple click-and-drop facility. The operator can add pages, replace pages and delete pages as necessary to ensure that all the documents are in the correct order and have the correct number of pages. The software provides a wide range of image enhancements including brightness and contrast adjustments, variable dpi, despeckle, deshade, filter modification, deskew, and document cropping.

It is also possible to review each page within the batch. The software allows the operator to easily skip through the batch, zoom in and manoeuvre the document to view specific areas. You can also rotate the documents instantly. All of these features ensure that you get the best quality images in the least amount of time.

The solution enables you to comply with BIP0008 standards which means that you don’t have to keep the original paper documents. This reduces  your storage requirements and improves document security. BIP0008 features include the ability to add tags to the document, such as, “Copied for Scanning” or “Photo Reduction Used”. These comments are then added to the audit trail and can be easily viewed via the workflow history.

When the batch is completed the operator selects “Stop Scanning”. The batch can either be moved onto the next stage or placed in a workqueue for further action by another operator. Comments, deadline dates, priority levels and configurable escalation rules can be added to ensure the next task is completed effectively.

Benefits of invoice scanning

• Flexible – reflects your business documents
• Supports BIP0008 compliant
• Easy to design and customise
• Intuitive- one click to start and stop scanning
• Reduction of time spent on batch preparation
• Multiple access to system while maintaining high security
• High speed operation
• Scaleable – any number of document types, any number of documents, any number of scanners
• Quality control is integral to the product
• No disruption in a high-speed production scanning environment

Find out more about invoice scanning and how it makes up part of our Invoice Management Solution (IMS).

With 30 workshop sessions over two days, together with 2 expert key note speakers (Debra Searle MBE and Jim Lawless), and superb evening entertainment by BBC television personality Doug Segal – this event is a must in the calendar of every AP professional serious about their organisation and career – www.theiapp.co.uk/conference.

Advantages for your business:

• A 20% discount off the registration price
• A free book on accounts payable fraud

Knowledge management aims to capture all the knowledge in an organisation, from paper documents, web information, electronic reports, employee knowledge or knowledge gained from informal meetings and discussions. Content or document management systems are often the backbone of knowledge management but there is a vast difference in the scope of information captured.

Knowledge management allows employees access to intelligent information and includes features such as collaboration, business intelligence, just-in-time e-learning and CRM. On an enterprise–level, knowledge management carries the largest change to the working practises of an organisation. IT solutions of this nature almost invariably require a change to the working environment. Knowledge management, is highly complex and Implementing a knowledge management solution brings about a large culture change at all levels within an organisation.

Interest in knowledge management has grown recently for several reasons; the Internet has raised users’ expectations of immediate access to relevant information; organisations are realising the value of their corporate knowledge; the shift in employment patterns, with people spending much less time in a company increases the chance of losing knowledge with an employee – it has been said that NASA wouldn’t be able to put a man on the moon now, as the knowledge was not captured at the time.

Knowledge management has a strong link with CRM, (customer relationship management) and a knowledge management system that contains all customer data can be used as a CRM system. This has made these systems especially popular in call centres. The ability to answer a customer query on the initial call not only saves time and the cost of a call back, but also improves customer relations.

Knowledge management systems are expensive and notoriously difficult to cost justify. The main reason for this is that a lot of the benefits are intangible. Improving efficiency, productivity, employee access to information and customer satisfaction are difficult to calculate. The benefits can be vast but the financial outlay and cultural change can be off-putting and hence the market is growing slowly:

“The KM market is projected to be worth between $1,500 and $4,000 millions in one to two years’ time, based on in-depth user surveys” (Strategy Partners).

Apart from the very largest of organisations, there has not been the take-up of knowledge management systems to match the hype.

Summary of knowledge management:

• Manages all knowledge in an organisation
• Often thought of more as a concept then a system
• Strong links with CRM
• Difficult to cost justify
• A new market that is growing but slowly

Summary of Document, Content, Knowledge Management

Document management systems are now the definitive answer for efficient management of documents. The introduction of content management systems provided the ability to manage web content. Whereas knowledge management extends this concept to manage all knowledge existing in an organisation. So while all three manage information using similar methods, the scope and purposes remain quite distinct.

Previous posts

• Document, Content, Knowledge: Part 2, Content Management
• Document, Content, Knowledge: Part 1, Document Management