Digitalisation to support accounting processes: It is high time to use the advantages

Now is the time to take advantage of this trend and bring the benefits of digitisation to the accounting process. Digital workflows can help optimise the entire procedure of processing purchase invoices. This includes electronic transmission as well as digital approval and automated posting of approved invoices.

• The manual process »

• The digital process »

• The opportunities »

• The technology »

• The team »

The manual process

The manual processes for verifying invoices are basically very similar across companies. A purchase invoice is received by the company as a paper document:

• Appropriate information for approval purposes is entered onto the invoice.
• The invoice is transferred to the responsible departments within the company.
• The approved document is returned to Accounts Payable.
• The approvals are checked for whether they have been granted by the appropriate persons in charge and with appropriate authorisation.
• The necessary documents are identified for the approved purchase invoice.
• Based on the information, the cost centre and the account number are determined.
• The purchase invoice is posted manually.
• The paper invoice is stored in the paper form.

The digital process

An important criterion for a successful digital invoice verification is the available data:

• The cost centres and accounts to be posted are determined already when the order is placed and are stored in the digital order.
• The purchase invoice is sent to the company digitally or as a scanned paper document.
• The system automatically recognises the contents of the invoice as optical character recognition programs, such as OCR, are used.
• The purchase invoice is stored in the document management system.
• Then, accounting information is added. It is either the information from the digital order, a digital calculation, or from data added manually.
• As part of the workflow, the following steps are processed automatically.
• Information is transferred digitally to the person responsible for approval. (1. Receipt)
• If necessary, further approvals are automatically obtained as part of the workflow. (Four eyes principle)
• Approvals are granted. (2. Content check)
• If permitted, accounting information can be changed by the accountant/client. (3. Allocation to accounts)
• Treasury approves the payment. (4. Payment)

If all previous steps were handled correctly and all necessary information is entered correctly and available, most invoices can be approved automatically with one approval. The steps are always the same:

The opportunities

• The workload of Accounts Payable is significantly reduced.
• The processes are significantly sped up.
• Accounts Payable has full control over the process because it is monitored entirely digitally.

The technology

An efficient network and a functioning ERP system are a must. The information available in the DMS must be integrated into the accounting system. The security of the application and its availability is the responsibility of the IT department. Last but not least, an easy-to-use and efficient document management system is required.

The systems must also be located in a (private) cloud to ensure that they are accessible from anywhere and at any time. This is the only way to enable decentralised, mobile working.

The team

Not only accountants, but purchasers, project managers and managers are also responsible for approving invoices. These employees must be able to operate the digital process and perform their tasks correctly.

There is a significant change in the tasks of Accounts Payable. The focus is on managing and controlling the process.

As part of our BPO services, we therefore use our internal, web-based solutions. They are integrated and localised in the local ERP systems to ensure that also local tax compliance requirements can be met. Especially clients with international operations appreciate the real-time access to all accounts payable invoices of their subsidiaries worldwide.