The most common challenge faced by companies when processing incoming business documentation is the management of incoming and outgoing financial documentation.
The most common problems faced by companies are:
- The information about the arrival of the incoming financial document, which represents an expense, but also a certain legal obligation, is not available on time to everyone who needs it;
- Losing documentation in the process of processing and distribution is a very common phenomenon;
- The exchange of paper financial documents between business units, usually with the aim of verifying expenses, is a rather long process;
- Impossibility of tracking how far the processing process has progressed, i.e. information with whom the document is currently located;
- The impossibility of automatically creating different types of reports that would instantly provide accurate information about incoming obligations (even before they were recorded in the bookkeeping and accounting software), sector costs, and therefore also about plans and forecasts for the future period;
For most organizations, incoming financial documentation begins to exist only when it reaches the appropriate services, such as finance and accounting, i.e. when their processing is accessed in the ERP or bookkeeping accounting system. Before this moment, depending on the size and complexity of the business system, these documents pass through several workplaces located in different organizational units of the company, which are often physically dislocated. Along the way, these documents must be filed, and then sent for further checking, approval and certification, so that they are finally handed over to finance for payment and accounting for processing.
Very often incoming invoices go through a large number of checks and approvals and receive a dozen or even more initials before they are finally approved for payment. This process usually takes quite a long time, documents pile up, often stand at one of the checkpoints, and recognizing priorities and finding individual documents in the process becomes very difficult, often impossible.
For the automation and successful management of this part of the processing of incoming invoices using the UniDocs DMS system for managing documents and business processes (Document / Workflow Management System), everything becomes incalculably faster, simpler, and more transparent. The implementation of UniDocs DMS enables the introduction of documents into electronic records and archives, filing, adding metadata, exchange between users for verification and verification and potential transfer of all data to the ERP system already implemented in the organization for further accounting processing and payment. Each of the workplaces through which the document passes, performing its part of the work, performs part of the processing and data entry, which fully realizes the concept that data is entered at the place of its origin and is never overwritten.
All participants in the process work with the electronic version of the document created by scanning, importing from email, from a network drive, or with an electronically issued incoming invoice (which may contain the sender’s electronic signature). Paper originals can be stored in the physical archive immediately after receipt and scanning.
The system respects the predefined flow of the document as well as the rights and permissions of the user when working on it. In this way, the user will work according to the already defined procedures and business rules, which are required by the job description, and all through a unique user interface.
Especially important is the aspect of multiple electronic authentication, which in UniDocs DMS can be easily adapted to any business system in just a few minutes. The number of verifications can be unlimited, and their sequence adapted to the rules that apply within the company. Each certification may or may not be accompanied by the electronic signing of the document.
This way of processing incoming financial documents ensures constant and complete control over the process, full traceability of the work, and the location and state of processing of each document is known at all times, long before their final accounting processing. Any invoice or any other incoming financial document can be found in just a few seconds.
Incoming financial documents during the processing process can be attached to certain electronic folders/items that already contain other documents related to a specific job (Contract, Order, Minutes…)
So far, we have had many successful implementations of the process of managing incoming financial documentation, and for the largest number, integration with existing ERP solutions from renowned manufacturers, including Microsoft Navision, Pantheon, ABSoft, SAP and others, has been carried out.
Outbound documentation is usually created in ERP systems and UniDocs has an automated system that allows direct sending to SEF. The output documentation is immediately deposited in the appropriate folder and thus becomes part of the archive.
Implement UniDocs DMS and provide:
- Full control over the process of receiving, filing, certifying and approving incoming financial documents
- Electronic certification of documents with or without electronic signature, which can be adapted to company rules in just a few minutes.
- Instant retrieval of every invoice, regardless of processing stage and workplace.
- Automatic creation of various reports
- Compatibility and full integration with almost all ERP systems.