Surely you already know the difficulties the Accounts Payable department faces:
- High cost of the department. VIM allows to optimize costs since each invoice will go to the right person in charge of handling that invoice. The process is faster and more efficient, which translates into lower costs.
- Missing discounts for prompt payment, in many cases due to the lack of visibility of those invoices. For the Accounting department it is difficult to know the number of invoices received between the different departments and, consequently, it is difficult for them to have control over the payment time. With VIM we will have total control of the invoice and we will know through reports the current status of each invoice.
- High life cycle of an invoice. Accounts payable departments tend to spend a lot of time processing the invoice (talking on the phone / email with the different departments or with the vendors for the issues related to the invoice). However, VIM offers tools to greatly streamline these processes. In addition, through the OCR tool, the invoice enters the system automatically, and it would be able to recognize and send to SAP all the invoice data such as the supplier, the amount, etc. eliminating all manual data entry by users.
- Last but not least, the mountains of papers on the desks. Digitization allows the elimination of this accumulation of paper invoices, and the optimization of the invoicing process.
In fact, one of the most important advantages of VIM is that it allows the channelling of invoices of any type and from any channel, as we can see in the following diagram:
If we pay attention to what comes next, which is the electronic invoicing, we can see how it is already being implemented in many countries. VIM integrates seamlessly with these processing standards. It is also important to note that, as a result of the pandemic, the European Union has launched an aid package to promote electronic invoicing in neighbouring countries, so that companies take advantage of the new, more ecological way of invoice processing, and gradually get the elimination of the paper invoice.
We can receive XML and PDF invoices, both solutions accessible to any provider.
We cannot forget about the paper invoice solution, as it is still the most widely used today.
The way to get rid of the paper when receiving the invoice is through a direct connection to a scanner, which has a sophisticated separation of documents, since it is capable of distinguishing different invoices within the same package that we introduce into the scanner. All this will be processed with a good image quality, and we will be able to archive the invoice image and start the flow in VIM. Once the image is archived, the invoice can be saved, and the paper is eliminated from the flow. In fact, such a paper invoice could even be eliminated if we add certified digitization to the process.
The main goal is to process the invoice without any information loss, and with instant access from anywhere, since an internet connection would be enough.
Finally, it should be noted that we are increasingly seeing the popularity of B2B networks and PTP suites, tools widely used by companies to manage purchases, place orders, or receive invoices. Of course, VIM also integrates these invoices that we receive through these channels, from platforms such as Tradeshift, SAP Ariba, Coupa or Ivalua, to name the main ones.
If you would like to get more information about VIM or are thinking of implementing it in your company, do get in contact with us. We would be pleased to help you.
