Document processing is the term given to a suite of different technologies aimed at turning paper documents into electronic ones. This can entail simple scanning through to more complicated, impressive and costly ones like handwriting recognition. This is a necessary first step along the road to a paper-less office – or one in which paper is less common. This naturally has benefits for the environment and your bottom line, but there are further advantages. When these methods are applied to invoice processing, the benefits multiply. Their main feature is that they can make everything equally accessible, which has impacts on efficiency. Once the paperwork has been converted to electronic form, you can keep it in a document management system. This is the electronic equivalent of a filing cabinet. However, because the documents are kept on a network, you are not restricted in the way that you are with a traditional filing system. Any number of people can use the documents whenever they need to (subject to having the right permissions). Letters, memos and other pieces of paper don’t get lost, or thrown out accidentally, or buried on the boss’s desk under a stack of other paperwork. It’s not necessary to make dozens of photocopies if everyone in the organisation needs to see the same document.

Document processing and the document management it enables therefore have a series of benefits for even small organisations – although the type of solution you require will depend on the size of your outfit. Invoice processing offers further advantages. Troubles soon arise when there are two systems in operation, paper and electronic. But unfortunately, although you can decide which system you use, you cannot force suppliers and customers to do the same. Some will pay or invoice electronically, others will do so physically. The danger is that the two systems are not treated equally by your organisation. That leads to lost income, or cash being paid late – with all the bad feeling and loss of reputation that can bring. Once you have taken the step to convert all your invoices to the same format, however, you can treat them all the same. That means you’re less likely to drop the ball, and will be more likely to keep your accounts up-to-date and accurate – something every business should aspire to but that few actually achieve.

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