The accounts payable department is a necessity for most enterprises - generally viewed as an operational cost – and therefore needs to be run as economically as possible. In an ideal world, the department would generate a high volume of invoices processed per person with short invoice posting times and have checks and balances to ensure high data quality.

Even with SAP ERP, the process of supplier invoice payment can be expensive, with many tasks requiring a lot of manual effort. Invoice posting is usually time-consuming. Process inefficiencies are often identified by intuition rather than with real supporting evidence.

In some organisations, the high cost of document processing is combined by poor data quality. Wasteful tasks also add to the processing costs, such as:

  • manual copying and keying of invoice data
  • printing off invoices send as attachments
  • physical signatures on paper invoices (in the internal mail)
  • conversation with suppliers chasing late payments
  • using email as a workflow tool
  • retrospective invoice archiving

Slow response times of invoice approvers and the rigidity of processes are also cited as common frustrations within the accounts department.

FIS engineer a number of technologies that work together to reduce the cost of processing supplier invoices.

Invoice Data Reading:

Both emailed and paper invoice content can be read and extracted automatically using advanced OCR algorithms – minimal intervention is required by the AP team as data-entry tasks are reduced. Once the data has been automatically validated (checks and balances) the invoice data is then transported into the FIS/edc invoice monitor.

Invoice Posting and toolkits for AP Department:

The FIS invoice monitor works with the existing SAP ERP functional modules and database infrastructure and to improve processes (i.e. automatic invoice posting). The automated tasks and shortened tasks free-up AP time and reduce workload.

The accounts teams also work within a familiar SAP GUI environment and access real-time data as with other SAP ERP modules. The FIS software is designed in this way to ensure that the accounts team can easily work with the additional toolsets for handling invoice exceptions.

The result is that invoices are processed in less time and more economically than with SAP standard, leveraging operational cost savings and empowering the AP department with cutting edge technology to facilitate higher productivity.

Reporting Tools:

In addition, with the FIS/edc reporting tools, constant improvements to the process can be made as root causes of bottlenecks are identified and persistent erroneous invoice suppliers are monitored. Operating costs are lowered and savings made.

Outcome: More invoices processed per person at a lower cost, with higher data quality and an accelerated throughput.

FIS/edc is a technology that can streamline the existing SAP Invoice Processing systems, and please don’t hesitate to contact our dedicated team for any further information.

Phone: 01484 505731 | Email: info@fisuk.co.uk