Factors to Determine the Best OCR Scanning Software For Accounts Payable

Regardless of the size of your business, an efficient accounts payable process is essential to ensure that all your payments, debts, cash flow, etc. are in check. Delayed payments or discrepancies in pay cheques as a result of data entry errors not only dishearten your employees or vendors but also create a negative impression about your business, something that you must avoid at any cost. This is why it is important to have a regulated OCR (optical character recognition) for accounts payable so that your invoicing process is perfectly streamlined. With OCR software in place, you can reduce accounts payable bottlenecks and build trustworthy relationships while keeping track of how your company is doing. 

How does OCR Software for Accounts Payable help?

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a technology that helps in converting scanned documents into searchable and editable text. OCR technology makes the key data machine readable, eliminating the need to manually feed the data wherever you store it. OCR performs several tasks including archiving old documents, mobile cheque deposits, sorting of emails, license plate recognition, etc. In the case of accounts payable, OCR is most commonly used to capture and extract data from invoices. This includes key data like product number, payment dates, price, etc. Through OCR-driven automation for the invoice process, companies can enhance their invoice clearing and handling processes, which is of great help for organizations that deal with a huge number of invoices daily. 

Benefits of using OCR for Accounts Payable

An automated accounts payable system is the need of every modern-day business. If you decide to incorporate OCR in your accounts payable department, you can reap several benefits including: 

Expedite Invoice Processing

One of the biggest benefits of using Accounts Payable OCR Software is that it significantly reduces the time taken to process invoices and make payments. The automated accounts payable workflow not only speeds up the process but also makes it quick and efficient.

Error-free work

Despite the experience and expertise of an accounts payable professional, human errors are bound to happen. And in the case of accounts, one minor mistake can add up to become a disaster. An OCR with a high accuracy rate eliminates this human error and all the other consequences that come with it. Needless to say, it also helps the accounts payable team more efficient.

Cost-Effective

Accuracy and speed mean that more human resources, hitherto tied up with manual data feeding can be freed up to do more high-impact tasks. Minimal errors as a result of OCR invoice processing will also save you costly payment-related expenditures. 

How to choose the right OCR for the Accounts Payable Process?

OCR for accounts payable is a handy automation tool that reduces invoice processing time and eliminates human error. However, like all other automation tools, OCR has its limitations as well. That’s why choosing the right OCR for your accounting software is extremely important to maximize its benefits and get the most out of it. Here are all the factors you must consider before making the final decision: 

Data Capturing Capabilities

OCR is an efficient data capturing tool, however, choose the one that is capable of handling vendor invoices in multiple languages and data points. This way, it can learn from different invoices and increase its accuracy over time. 

Invoice Matching Capabilities

Matching the invoice with POs and GRNs, an OCR might not be able to perform well and require manual matching. However, if you choose a comprehensive accounts payable system, it will handle all matching requirements with effortless ease. For instance, AI is an efficient addition to your OCR that will help in linking appropriate invoice data to correct PO lines and GRNs in cases where the invoices are either partially filled or the available invoice data is incomplete. The automated matching feature will also fill in the gaps within the invoices and empower the accounts payable system. It can perform tasks like validating invoice prices and amounts, escalating invoices if needed, accounting for price variations, and routing invoice queries for resolving issues. 

Invoice processing with Non-PO

If your organization deals with a large number of non-PO invoices, there is very little an OCR will be able to do in reducing the manual work, unless it is coupled with the right automation tools. Choose the AP automation tool that provides the right technical support to OCR in your accounts payable system. With this, you can assign even the non-PO invoices to the appropriate cost centers using pre-configured rules. You will also be able to assign default approval routes for such invoices. 

Integration of ERP

If the invoice data is directly fed from OCR to ERP, there is a chance of posting it without the required data for making the payment or even posting duplicate invoices without validating them. Choose the right OCR that integrates with the ERP system. This will allow you to post complete invoice data after proper matching and linking it with POs and GRNs well within the ERP. 

Intuitive Reporting Dashboard

Reporting is one of the most time-consuming tasks in the overall functioning of accounts payable. However, if your OCR and the accounts payable system has an intuitive reporting dashboard, it can significantly reduce the amount of time taken for finishing this task. These reports include accrual reporting, straight-through processing reporting, operational reporting, payment practice and performance reporting, etc. These reports help expedite the entire process and ensure things are done efficiently. 

If your company is required to process large amounts of invoices, OCR can prove to be an invaluable tool. It seamlessly integrates into your accounts payable system and saves time, money, and effort. Moreover, it keeps your accounts payable teams happy by reducing data entry tasks to a great extent.

However, automation features of different accounts payable systems will further enhance the performance of your OCR. The best way of ensuring this is to choose an OCR with the right automation features that fit your needs, and you will never have to worry about invoice processing. 

Why Infrrd for Invoice Processing?

 Infrrd, one of the most efficient invoice processing software, can prove to be a comprehensive solution to all your invoice processing needs. It provides 400 percent faster claims processing, reduces the error rate by more than 90 percent, and enables 95 percent field extraction accuracy. In today’s competitive business space, you need solutions that are faster than the rest, and Infrrd provides just that. An efficient, fast, and accurate OCR solution that enables you to stay ahead of the demands.