The manual capture and further processing of paper-based invoices is a time-consuming and costly process in the Accounts Payable of many companies. Almost every company is affected by this. In addition to time-consuming manual and typing work, every invoice entered manually also involves a media break between the paper document and the invoice. Financial accounting software connected. This is not only personnel-intensive, but also error-prone. At the same time, incoming invoice processing (ERV) can be standardised to a high degree and is virtually crying out for automation.
Increasing importance of incoming invoice processing
While paper-based invoice exchange is still the main practice today, the legislator has now significantly reduced the hurdles for electronic invoice exchange. Above all, the unpopular obligation for users to use the qualified electronic signature (QES) has been abolished. Only a few years ago, this was necessary for the recognition of the input tax deduction for electronic incoming invoices. This makes it possible, for example, to simply send invoices as PDFs per E-mail possible. The main beneficiaries of this simplification are Small and medium-sized enterprises. The latter had some fear of contact with the required signature technologies.
The importance of electronic invoices in the everyday life of all companies is thus increasing as steadily as their distribution. For electronic incoming invoices, however, the legislator requires an electronic, GoBD-compliant filing. Printing and paper-based filing are not permitted.
Vendor for incoming invoice processing
Almost all DMS manufacturers now offer so-called standard solutions for processing incoming invoices. These increasingly take into account incoming invoices as well as paper invoices. ERV solutions, on the other hand, do not replace existing ERP- and document management solutions, but complement them with technical functions. This involves the electronic reading of invoice data, as well as all steps for automated posting in the ERP system and for protected storage of digital invoice documents in an electronic filing system.
Different names are given to the same child:
- Incoming invoice processing
- Invoice processing
- Electronic invoice processing
- (Receipt) account book
- Invoice receipt book
- Accounts Payable (AP) Automation
- Accounts payable workflow
- (Vendor) Invoice Management
- Invoice Processin
- Invoice workflow
- Purchase2Pay
Why process incoming invoices?
Electronic processing of incoming invoices offers numerous advantages over manual invoice processing: The main reason for using electronic invoice processing is clear: to save costs. This is already possible with large numbers of incoming invoices by eliminating typical manual activities. These include sorting and distributing invoice documents for different areas of the company. Furthermore, through the automated Data collection of invoice and, if applicable, other accounting data in the ERP application achieve significant cost savings.
Additional advantages arise from the acceleration of the transport and release of the supporting documents. The employees who process or release the incoming invoices can do this independent of location and time. In addition, deadlines for payment and discounts can be tracked electronically.
The use of functions to monitor the process for processing incoming invoices gives the company more transparency about the status of the invoices, the course of processing. The employees responsible for invoice processing can monitor the processes better control and intervene remotely if necessary. Who hasn't experienced the incoming invoice that has been wandering through the company for weeks until it reaches the right contact person?
Ideally, automated processing of an invoice is possible. No manual intervention in the verification and booking process is then necessary. The processing time is shortened while at the same time the processing quality is increased. If, for example, a suitable purchase order and a suitable goods receipt exist for an incoming invoice in the ERP system, manual checks can be largely dispensed with. The way is clear for automatic posting in the ERP system.
Introduction of incoming invoice processing
The introduction of electronic incoming invoice processing in a company is primarily NOT a technical project. It is first and foremost a Project of the organisation, in which established processes are replaced and people are convincing need to be.
An essential contribution to the successful introduction of electronic incoming invoice processing is the creation of the organisational framework. This includes the revision and Standardisation of processes in the capture and processing of invoice documents. In order to minimise the effort for capturing, a previously decentralised receipt of documents should - if possible - be centralised. The number of different processes also increases the effort for training and administration of the overall solution.
The maximum reduction of manual processing requires maximum integration of purchasing and accounting processes. This concerns, for example, the highest possible proportion of invoices with reference to an order. Releases should be issued as early as possible in the ordering process and thus affect the incoming invoice related to it. Agreement with the DeliveryThe decision to include all the necessary information on incoming invoices should be made at an early stage.
CKS.DMS AP for SAP Business One
CKS.DMS ADC the module for automatic incoming invoice processing for SAP Business One. This way you can process incoming invoices fully automatically. You scan an Invoice and the corresponding document is automatically created in SAP Business One. The advantages are obvious. Electronic processing drastically reduces typing errors during data transfer. The same applies to the time required, which significantly speeds up your processes and thus saves costs. The scanned Document Remains stored in the document and is thus available for visual comparison at any time and is archived
Archiving of e-invoices
MariProject / Tool for e-invoicing
cks.eINVOICE -Addon for XRechnung & ZUGFeRD
GOBD and GOBD myths
E-invoicing for SAP Business One
