How to Make Sure Suppliers Send You the Right Invoices

Sending and receiving the right invoices is paramount to the smooth running of operations and to ensure that accurate records are kept at all times. As such, it’s important that the right invoice processing method and invoice management solutions are found and implemented to ensure that outbound invoices are correct

There are several ways in which this can be done, including tackling things in-house or outsourcing the service to a group of professionals who are fully-trained and highly-skilled in invoice processing, data capture and invoice management. Here’s how you’ll be able to ensure that suppliers are sending you the right invoices, together with a step-by-step guide as to how to start implementing the changes required.

 

The importance of selecting the right invoice processing method  for you

Before any real plans can be set out and subsequently put into place, you must first make sure that you’re selecting the right invoice processing method for you and your business. There are many different ways in which invoice management can be implemented and approaches to the overall process can be changed, including:

 

Tackling invoices in-house vs outsourcing invoice processing services

This may seem like a logical step when it comes to invoice processing and management, but believe it or not, you could be doing more harm than good by tackling it all in-house. There are several problems you could run into, including:

• It could create more work for your team instead of making things more efficient
• You may find that the system is difficult to update and scale
• You could find yourself sourcing equipment or staff to enhance the process, which could be financially draining (e.g. buying scanners or hiring specialists)
• It could prove to be very time consuming
• It could make processes lengthy and difficult to follow, therefore making operations inefficient and unproductive in the long run
• You may experience ups and downs when it comes to invoices, resulting in inconsistencies

However, when you choose to outsource digital mailroom and invoice scanning, you’ll be able to experience and benefit from the following:

• A considerable decline in paper
• Digitisation of the invoice upon its arrival
• Improved management when keeping records – invoices can be uploaded straight to the cloud
• A quick document retrieval process
• The right person in your AP team will receive the appropriate documents
• Reduced costs when it comes to maintenance of machines, such as scanners

 

A series of end-to-end solutions

With all-encompassing, end-to-end solutions available, including digital mailroom, invoice scanning, automated data capture and cloud invoice management, you’ll be able to experience and benefit from:

• Outsourced invoice scanning and mailroom services carried out to a highly professional standard
• Saving a considerable amount of time when it comes to invoice scanning, sorting, mailroom and exceptional handling, for example
• Keeping manual processing to a minimum
• An increased speed when it comes to processing invoices
• The efficient handling of peaks and troughs in amount of invoices received
• The professional management of exceptions and other issues
• Automatic data capture using state-of-the-art software
• Quick and easy data validation
• AP processing tasks and challenges can be managed as one
• A reduction in admin errors
• Speedy payments
• More transparent cash flow visibility 

 

Some questions to ask before getting started

If you’re fairly inexperienced when it comes to invoice processing or if you simply wish to upgrade the way in which invoices are processed in your business, then it would be beneficial to ask yourself and your colleagues a few questions to see whether the switch is right for your company requirements.

Some of the questions you could ask, include:

• What problems exist currently when it comes to invoice processing?
• Does the business understand the true cost associated with invoice processing?
• Is invoice management something the business is ready or prepared for?
• Who needs to be involved from the start?
• What would the future look like with invoice management?
• Should this be part of a larger financial programme?
• Have clear and concise targets and objectives been set out for the project?
• Is there something specific the business would look for in third-party solutions?
• How will the merits of different suppliers be assessed?

 

The ultimate step-by-step guide

Invoice management is essential to ensuring that suppliers are sending accurate information for your records. It’s also paramount to checking that the invoice itself is correct and has been meticulously filled out to a high standard. Implementing invoice management means you’ll never have to worry about this side of the business again. As such, here’s your step-by-step guide to setting up an invoice management process to help make operations run as smoothly as possible.

 

Generate a purchase to pay process map – visualise and evaluate your P2P process and ask yourself the following questions: what systems need to be involved? Where do manual processes occur currently? Are there regular bottlenecks you come across? This will help to identify where the problems lie within your existing invoice processing approach.

Make a list of requirements – think about where your overall focus should be in order to get an invoice from one place to another. List things about your current process that could be done better, perhaps through automation.

Consider your current invoice matching performance – this will help you to identify and determine the overall level of exception handling that will be needed, together with the rules that should be put in place as a result. Ask yourself the following questions when considering the aforementioned: how many invoices will be easy to match? How many of those include all the necessary fields? Are any invoices incomplete or inaccurate?

Map out the full range of exceptions – how likely is it that non-invoice communication is going to come from suppliers? When mapping out a full range of exceptions, consider other things that could be sent out either as well as, or instead of, an invoice, including; credit notes, payment reminders, statements and payment receipts. Think about what can be automated when it comes to this.

Start to plan your new invoice management process – consider the documentation you receive and the format in which these come in –  what process variants are involved in each one? It’s important that you also understand how invoices are currently being received and in what form. Of these, which would benefit most from line item data extraction and/or analysis?

Determine what your core invoice process will look like – in an ideal world, how would you like invoices and exception handling processes to be handled?

Think about how the changes will be rolled out – these changes need to be discussed with your colleagues to ensure that these implementations are doable and realistic. You should also be open to suggestions as they could make the transition smoother. Will you roll the changes out all at once or one department at a time? Will you delegate and offer specific positions to people in order to keep things in check?

Keep in mind that a third-party service may have to be used – do you have specific requirements when it comes to paper invoice storage or document retrieval? If so, then a third-party mailroom or scanning bureau could be just what you need to help with your continued success.

Have a strong communications plan – getting staff and suppliers onboard is essential to the roll out of your new invoice management processes. It’s also important to keep suppliers and stakeholders in the loop about the changes you’re planning to make, just for your own peace of mind. Look into whether a communications position could be assigned to ensure this side of things goes off without a hitch.

 

Here’s how Cleardata can help you today

Cleardata is proud to be able to offer their customers first-class document management services. From invoice exception automation and invoice scanning to invoice mailroom and invoice capture, Cleardata can always be counted upon to provide you with document management services that you can trust. 

With a solid reputation spanning many years, Cleardata scans around 4 million documents a month and during their time in operation, have stored over 250 million documents for companies all over the country, regardless of the industry they’ve come from.

 

For more information about how Cleardata can help you today, get in touch with a member of their friendly, knowledgeable team – they’re always on hand to offer expert help and advice when you need it most.