Automating your invoice processing systems is one of the quickest ways to improve office efficiency. Not only will it allow your employees to work faster, but it will also cut down on the time it takes for your business to get paid.
With today’s technology, there are many opportunities to implement workflow automation across all areas of your company — including Accounts Receivable workflow automation. From reduced paper costs to improved employee productivity, here are some benefits of automated invoice processing.
1. Improved invoice accuracy
Your bottom line will suffer if your invoicing numbers aren’t accurate. Bad calculations and data entry mistakes can end up costing your business tens of thousands of dollars in the long run.
Automated invoicing can eliminate the consequences of human error. From maintenance calls to product shipments, your company is providing many services to—and collecting large sums of money from—your clients throughout the year. Avoid underpayment by using today’s technology to eliminate invoice inaccuracies.
2. Reduced paper waste
Your business may already have an electronic invoice delivery system in place. But even if you’re emailing invoices to clients, there are still further opportunities to reduce paper waste. It’s entirely possible to digitize the invoice processing workflow from start to finish—not just during delivery.
Under a fully automated AR system, all work orders exist electronically right from creation. As the work order makes its way through various servicing stages, employees can sort, file and view this document digitally. Your workers will no longer have to sort through hardcopy documents manually. They can now focus their efforts on more meaningful tasks instead.
3. Reduced DSO
Automation is one of the best ways to speed up the billing process and reduce DSO. With a manual AR process, your team will require more time to perform simple invoicing tasks. For example, organizing supporting documentation is one of the key reasons behind late or unpaid invoices.
An automated invoicing process will find and sort these additional files for you, allowing you to get paid faster. A manual workflow also tends to be inconsistently applied, since much of it is based on the skill sets of individual employees. This type of inconsistency will prevent your company from monetizing all its invoices.
4. Improved data security
Hard copy invoices will often contain sensitive data, such as a customer’s personal details and payment information. These documents can also be misplaced or stolen, creating opportunities for a security breach. By digitizing your invoices and processing them electronically, you’ll improve overall data security.
5. Complete process visibility
An automated AR workflow provides complete process visibility. Because all tasks and functions are logged in a digitized system, it’s easy to identify gaps and loopholes in the invoicing chain.
This aspect is highly beneficial because it allows your company to easily track data such as invoicing due dates and a customer’s payment history. You can then grab whatever info you need to create highly-detailed audit reports; without asking employees to fumble through hard copies at the end of each quarter.
6. Improved customer service
One of the biggest complaints from customers is the amount of waiting involved when sorting out billing issues with a company. Improve your level of customer service by providing answers quickly and easily.
An automated invoicing system does not mean your clients must interact with a computer each time they want assistance. It allows your team to easily sort through invoicing data to get your customers the info they need. Track payment history, client details and job numbers with a few simple clicks.
By streamlining the billing and invoicing process, you can improve customer satisfaction and grow your business.
For more information about automated invoice processing, call Ash Conversions at 800-719-9621 or submit a contact form by clicking the ‘Contact’ button below.
