Automatic purchase invoice processing with scan and recognition software

As an organization, you undoubtedly have to process incoming invoices regularly. Manually entering (purchasing) invoices is a time-consuming and error-prone task. If you look at it critically, this job often only involves retyping numbers. A scan-and-recognize software offers a simple way out of this. We are happy to explain how it works.

How does the automatic scanning of purchase invoices work?

In our solution, you can automate invoice entry through automatic purchase invoice processing. This means that the mailboxes in which invoices come are linked to your Business Central environment. The scan-and-recognize software automatically downloads and scans the purchase invoice using OCR and recognizes which invoice fields are relevant, such as supplier data, items, quantities, and the amount, including and excluding VAT. Paper invoices can also be scanned and processed in the same way.

Create a template for each seller to ensure the system processes the correct invoice fields. Initially, the system proposes relevant data. In addition, you can indicate which data should be copied from the invoice so that all applicable fields are processed. Business Central remembers your adjustments per salesperson, so you don’t have to do any manual work for the next invoice, and it will be saved automatically from now on.

Subsequently, any authorized employee can approve invoices directly from the Business Central environment, even if they cannot access the inbox where these invoices arrive. Because the system processes the purchase invoice and stores it in Business Central, it can be consulted from any browser. Employees can easily accept, reject, and forward purchase invoices to a colleague and add comments or other relevant documents.

Extra control thanks to 3-way matching

To prevent incorrect invoices or invoices for undelivered products from being paid, each invoice is verified according to a ‘3-way authentication’. To do this, the software uses three different files:

• Purchase orders;
• Packing slips/receipts;
• Purchase invoices.

The system automatically checks whether the original purchase quotation matches what was delivered and whether it corresponds to the incoming invoice. If the data does not match, you, as an employee, will receive a notification from the system, enabling you to solve the problem before the purchase invoice is paid. This prevents you from paying too much for incorrect invoices. In addition to security, the 3-way matching offers time savings, as carrying out an extra (manual) check for the incoming invoices is no longer necessary. Finally, you immediately comply with the latest regulations for financial audits.

Watch the short purchase invoice processing demo

In the video below, we would like to show you the ease of automatic purchase invoice processing and how it works. Check out the benefits of scanning purchase invoices and the solution’s ease.