UK Expert Info

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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Businesses are like machines: they have mechanisms, input and output, and a function. Certain businesses may also be compared with domestic appliances: as long as they operate we are satisfied, 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 buckle, 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 potential 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 particularly important if your business outsources much of its work. A freelance team of employees will be faithful 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 easy 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 agreed. 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 advantages 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 seldom 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 workers, their payments and the overall workflow affecting the company’s profits. Efficient invoice processing solutions not only increase employee satisfaction, they also prevent 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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