Jun 8 2012

Invoice processing for a conscientious workforce

Businesses are like machines: they have mechanisms, input and output, and a function. Certain businesses might also be compared with domestic appliances: as long as they operate we are happy, looking to improve them only when we notice something wrong. But the forward-thinking entrepreneur will act before problems occur or the system begins to break down, because there is far more at stake when a business stops working than when your hoover gives up. A malfunctioning business cannot simply be disposed of and replaced. It is advisable then to increase the capabilities of an existing system before what works at an acceptable rate starts to fail. It always pays to be one step ahead of the game when you’re in business, and this includes looking after your document management, document processing and invoice processing.

The latter is especially important if your business outsources much of its work. A freelance team of employees will be loyal to a client that respects its worth but as soon as things look shaky they may seek employment elsewhere. This is because freelance work is unpredictable and the self-employed need a constant flow of tasks. One obvious way to keep your mobile employees happy consists of paying them in a timely manner. Once they have billed you, invoice processing should be quick and certainly within the time frame you promised. Allowing your freelancers to email their invoices and paying them by direct online transfer will save time, money and a whole host of complications.

Similar principles can be applied to the work that your team submits: rather than allowing a messy flow of print-outs and scribbled material to come in, you should consider the benefits of electronic document processing. Deadlines are often adhered to much more strictly when document management occurs on a multi-user network or online: everyone knows that their progress is easily traced and that things rarely get lost if they’ve been properly backed up.

Altogether, your business will work like a well-oiled machine if you pay attention to your staff, their payments and the overall workflow affecting the company’s profits. Efficient invoice processing solutions not only increase employee satisfaction, they also guard against fraud. Streamlined document processing can entail working together; relieving pressure on the individual faced with an otherwise insurmountable number of tasks. Indeed, document management should not be top-down in this day and age but rather networked, creative and conducive to business growth.

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

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Mar 7 2012

Document management systems will make your business increasingly efficient

Even if it’s not down to you, there will be someone – or several people – within your business who are burdened with the task of keeping on top of filing and storage. If this is a manual process, not only will it be time-consuming, but as we all know humans are fallible and mistakes can occur. A document may easily be lost, and never found again. There is a much more efficient way to manage your important files, and that is to use an electronic document management system. This will save your business energy, time and money. This is especially pertinent when it comes to financial processes. Making sure your invoice processing is slick and accountable will impress clients and ensure you do not breach regulatory requirements. Invoice processing is in-built in a document management system, along with the processing of the rest of your documents, and so all aspects of your documentary administration will run more easily.

There are many advantages to implementing an electronic DMS. To begin with, routine but necessary procedures including indexing and archiving are instantly simplified and made, most importantly, shareable. Whereas before, information was stored only in individual’s heads or email exchanges, document management systems create an accessible and shareable pool of information that is completely searchable. Unlike paper and microfilm, DMS data can deploy fast, full search functions and multiple indexing which will improve the slickness of daily internal operations. Centralising your resources in this way makes the very most of your data as a valuable business asset.

What is more, the central control DMS exercises over your invoice processing greatly facilitates cash flow. This in itself reduces costs, as do the removed costs of paper storage facilities which will be no longer needed. Implementing a DMS can dramatically increase your working capital in more ways than one.
As well as improving the functionality of your data, and reducing costs, your business will gain extra security. Unlike vulnerable paper documents, DMS data is protected from the threats of natural disasters and theft, as well as the damage that can be incurred by constant handling of important documents. Even if catastrophe does strike, data retrieval means that your information will be secure whatever happens. The further control that DMS provides by making files more easily trackable also means regulatory compliance will be a breeze.

As mentioned above, as well as delivering measurable benefits, from reduced costs and accessible data to improved cash flow and better security, your business will benefit in a less quantifiable way from the installation of a document management system, which is the enhancement of its professionalism. If your employees are better able to offer an excellent customer service, thanks to all the knowledge they need being at their fingertips, then your business will have a competitive edge. Well-managed document processing and invoice processing can also help your business to focus its target audience.

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

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Nov 29 2011

Invoice processing saves your firm money

Although paperless offices are the ideal in theory, the reality is far from happening. A paper-free office should save time and money, bringing efficiencies as documents are accessible and, essentially, indestructible. However, if the rest of the world hasn’t caught up to your ideals, you will be forced to use both systems: an awkward combination of old and new. Document processing bridges this gulf until everyone is on the same page (electronic or otherwise). It’s a system of turning paper documents into e-versions that can then be used like any other computer file. These can then be filed in a document management system, organising them so that they can be accessed by all of the relevant staff. Similarly, invoice processing streamlines your accounts department, ensuring that you have a computer record of all paper invoices, and that no one gets left behind because they are still employing old technologies.

The benefits of all this are immense. Where other companies and individuals use e-invoicing, you can send instant and secure requests for payments, and receive your money in the same way – without the need for tiresome and time-consuming paper invoices, which have a knack of getting lost. When customers and suppliers send you invoices by snail mail, they can be converted to electronic form by the software, allowing you to treat them in the same way as e-invoices.
This process is especially useful when it comes to invoicing and payments, since your business stands and falls on its cash-flow and reputation. No one appreciates it when invoices are lost or delayed, and this level of automation addresses those kinds of problems. Along with other, related software it can also address the problems of incorrect invoices, including duplicates or more fraudulent ones.

However, the use of these technologies goes beyond invoice processing. Document processing is also ideal for the day-to-day running of your business, since the efficiencies it brings lead to a smoother operation. Document management means that you should never be delayed by a letter or memo sitting on someone’s desk under a stack of paper. Similarly, files can be used simultaneously by any number of employees without photocopying. That can transform meetings and business planning and allow your staff to do their jobs more easily and speedily. That has knock-on benefits for productivity. Whilst the actually paperless office is some way off, then, this group of technologies has the ability to bridge the gap, making life a lot easier in the meantime.

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

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Jul 23 2011

Document management systems lead to environmental bonuses

document management is now a coming-of-age technology that can have widespread benefits on your business’s bottom line as well as on the environment. Like many green technologies, document processing has financial benefits as well, since it reduces the consumption of resources that threaten both the planet’s sustainability and your profit margin – cutting down on waste is win/win. Invoice processing is another side of this, and this can have further benefits. Taken together, these technologies bring efficiencies to your business, streamlining the way your offices are run without entailing the major upheaval that converting to a paperless system would if carried out in one fell swoop.

These document processing systems, described at their simplest, convert physical documents such as letter, memos, invoices and reports, into electronic versions that can be stored on your computer network and accessed like any other file. This means that no one has to spend time looking for a lost piece of paper ever again; so long as things are filed in the right place (the document management system is the virtual filing cabinet), you don’t need to photocopy sheets of paper to make them available to more than one person. Neither do things get forgotten merely because they have been placed at the bottom of a stack of paperwork. This is particularly important with invoices, since if you have a two-tier system where electronically-sent invoices are paid first and fastest using BACS, and physical ones are paid more slowly (and possibly irregularly, since they are becoming less common and more problematic), you risk upsetting clients or suppliers.

All of this means that document processing ticks all three boxes for the so-called triple bottom line. Running an effective document management system brings economic, environmental and relational advantages through increased efficiencies, lower waste, faster payments and happier, less stressed staff. One aspect of this your business may not have considered in the past is invoice processing, which avoids the problems of sending pdf invoices with its own fully-compliant system that enables e-invoices to be sent instantly and directly to clients and suppliers. Incidentally, it also removes most of the errors associated with fraud and invoices that have been sent accidentally, including duplicates – something you should certainly bear in mind since the cost savings alone can be substantial, before you even start to weigh up the other advantages.

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

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Oct 17 2010

Document management makes life less stressful

Sometimes in business it can feel like you are swamped with document management paperwork. It can get to the point 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 accustomed 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 wish to oversee everything; essentially a tendency to micro manage, which can end up holding your company 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 basic matter of reduced stationary costs. And this type of outgoing, 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 efficiency 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, someone obviously has to fill it in, and this takes time. As the well-known 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, therefore 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 eventually 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.

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