Document processing is a fairly uninspiring term, but it refers to a mixture of technologies that have the capacity to revolutionise how offices work. Put simply, it means taking physical, paper documents and making them into electronic copies. At its most basic, this means scanning them and turning them into straightforward images. But at its most sophisticated, it involves things as advanced as handwriting recognition software, which can be taught to ‘read’ different styles with a very high degree of accuracy. The resulting editable documents can be saved on a document management system, which can be thought of as an electronic filing cabinet – though with some major advantages over the traditional metal monstrosities that sit in the corner of the office. Lastly, invoice processing gives the same advantages for the accounts department, so all the invoices an organisation receives can be dealt with in the same way.

Broadly, then, document and invoice processing encourage you away from using physical documents and more into the realm of the electronic. Paperless offices are desirable for all sorts of reasons, both financial and environmental. Not only that, but sheets of paper get lost. When memos and letters go astray, critical pieces of information are lost. When invoices are mislaid, suppliers don’t get paid on time. That can easily lead to bad feelings and a breakdown in relationship. Of course, emails, Word documents and other electronic communications can and do go astray too. But automated back-up functions mean that it is far harder to lose something for good, and when accounts are put through the computer then forgetting to deal with something is far less of a problem.

Document processing bridges the gulf between old and new: the traditional, paper-filled office and the business which doesn’t use any physical documents at all. As more and more of what we do is being moved onto computers and online, it becomes more important not to overlook that portion of our business which still happens in the ‘real’ world. This is one reason that invoice processing is necessary: organisations will typically be used to paying invoices in one or other format, and may not settle as quickly the ones they are less familiar with. Document management systems allow all employees with the right clearance to view files, making for greater transparency and ease of sharing information.

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Sometimes in business it can feel like you are swamped with document management paperwork. It can get to the level where it seems as though paperwork is the main activity of the company, rather than playing a secondary role to the business’s main lines of operation. Of course, many people have got so acclimatised to this that they maybe do not even see the need to revolutionise their document processing. This can be the result of having fallen into a comfort zone, or, perhaps, having a tendency to desire to oversee everything; essentially a tendency to micro manage, which can end up holding your business back and result in a reduced level of competiveness. However, invoice processing and similar operations can be revolutionised, making your company more dynamic, efficient and competitive.

With automated document managing, costs are reduced in the first place by the elementary matter of reduced stationary costs. And this type of expenditure, in companies beyond a certain size, can add up considerably over the course of, say, a year. But this is only the beginning of the implications that revolutionised document processing can have for the improvement of your company.

Reduced paperwork means not only less paper related costs, but lower costs in terms of the working hours of your staff. After all, if there is paper to be filled in, an employee obviously has to fill it in, and this takes time. As the often cited saying goes, time is money. It is true, too, in the sense that the time your staff spend on processing this paperwork could be spent on more productive activities, thereby increasing the productivity of your company. But, as we all know, the paperwork needs to be done come what may, so until your company adopts an automated system for invoice processing, the time of your employees will always be eaten up by these demands.

Another way in which automated document management can benefit your business is by improving your relations with both clients and suppliers, and in the end boosting you company’s image as an efficient and dynamic force. It may be difficult to see how automated document processing can achieve this. Human paperwork, let’s be frank, is slow when compared to that of a computer. When computer software is assigned to, say, invoice processing, invoices are then processed in an instant, and this, from the point of view of a client or of a supplier, is impressive.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.bottomline.co.uk/

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