Processing Performance Questionnaire

Transcription

1 Processing Performance Questionnaire Any invoice that originates on paper regardless of whether it arrives in the mail or as an attachment must be touched for it to be processed. Also, tasks such as opening mail and manually keying data into your ERP systems are low-value tasks that keep you and your AP team from addressing more important matters. And since hardcopy arrive undifferentiated, you have to manually evaluate every invoice to identify and prioritize the exception documents that need your attention first. Complete this worksheet to examine your current invoice approval processes and find out whether touch free AP automation could enable your organization to eliminate manual, paper-based processes that would give you the freedom to increase productivity and accuracy while saving time and money.

2 Part 1: Do paper keep you from focusing on business? Our current invoice processes require me to touch every document/transaction that comes in. I need tools that route to approvers and match automatically so that I only have to prioritize and process exceptions. 1. How many of your AP processes start with a piece of paper? NONE 10% 30% 50% 70% 100% 2. Out of your entire monthly invoice volume, how many of them are exceptions? NONE 10% 30% 50% 70% 100% 3. How much of your time is spent routing to the correct approver? NONE 10% 30% 50% 70% 100% 4. How much time do you spend manually keying in invoice data? Our invoice data is scanned and captured for automatic entry into our invoice approval workflow 1 hour 2 hours 3 hours 4 hours More than 4 hours 5. How many days does it take for your paper to enter the invoice approval workflow after it is received? The day the invoice arrives 1-2 days 2-3 days 3-4 days 4-5 days More than 5 days 6. How many days does it take for your organization to pay an invoice once it is received? 1-3 days 3-6 days 6-9 days 9-12 days days More than 15 days 7. How many can your AP team process a month? Less than 1,000 1,000-3,000 3,000 5,000 5,000 7,000 More than 7,000 2

3 Part 2: Are your paper difficult to access? I spend more time looking for invoice data than I do focusing on my job responsibilities. 1. How much time are you spending each day looking for invoice data? Instant access to invoice data 1 hour 2 hours 3 hours 4 hours More than 4 hours 2. How often is your workflow interrupted as you wait for required invoice data? Never 10 % of 30% of 50% of 70% of 100% of 3. How much time do you spend searching for invoice data that will help resolve questions/issues from suppliers, clients, and/or coworkers? Instant access to invoice data 1 hour 2 hours 3 hours 4 hours More than 4 hours 4. How many places do you have to look to find the invoice data you need? (select all that apply) I can find invoice data at the click of a mouse over the Internet, even if I am not at my desk I can access from my cell phone or mobile device at any time and from any place When our in-house servers aren t down or running slow, I can find easily, but only from my desk Our AP processes are decentralized, therefore, an invoice stored on the organization s server may be accessible once another processor closes the invoice file Invoices can found within one of our many filing cabinets Invoice can be collected from our off-site warehouse, although it may take a few days to get them I may never find an invoice if it sitting on someone else s desk Decentralized AP processes could mean an invoice is at one of many locations and difficult to find 3

4 Part 2: Are your paper difficult to access? 5. What types of losses do you suffer when invoice data isn t easily available? (select all that apply) Late payments and penalty fees Strained supplier/client/coworker relationships Wasted time that could be better spent on higher-value tasks Decreased productivity Difficulty closing books, managing accruals, and reporting back to the organization Spotty, incomplete audit trails Invoices that get lost in the shuffle or are forgotten while I am waiting for information Compliance with external regulations is put at risk 6. If you could find invoice data faster, what else could you be doing with your time? Paying supplier on time Working on higher-value tasks, enabling me to become a key contributor to the organization s bottom line Creating accurate reports based on real-time information for better cash management and spend analysis Negotiating early-payment discounts with suppliers Changing the role of Accounts Payable from a transactional back office cost center, to a strategic position within the organization Enjoying the peace of mind that comes from knowing that my organization s are paid on time 7. Where do your reside today? At a secure and reliable data center that is protected again service interruptions, even during a disaster Our invoice data is competing for space on my organization s server, which will block me out of the invoice file if another processor has it open Invoices are stored in one of my organization s servers, which are subject to interruptions and outages and are costly to buy, build, fix, and maintain We can find in one of our many filing cabinets stored on-site Our paper are stored at an off-site warehouse, where it is difficult and time-consuming to retrieve 4

5 Part 3: Do paper put your legal and regulatory compliance at risk? With the volume of documents in our invoice processes, I never know how an audit will turn out. During audits, it is ALWAYS stressful when waiting to see if we are meeting all our legal and regulatory obligations. 1. What are some of the challenges you face in responding to audits or legal and regulatory demands? Unclear or incomplete audit trails Inability to decipher signatures and notations Keeping paper organized in a way that is conducive to audits is taxing Collecting documents required by auditors can be troublesome and time-consuming It can be tricky finding space to store all the documents required by auditors Disorganization can easily lend itself to non-compliance Remaining compliant oftentimes requires a lot of rework What do you want your invoice approval workflow to look like? All are scanned and data is captured for conversion into an electronic format for higher accuracy and faster access to data SmartRouting tools that automatically route to the correct approver and exceptions to the appropriate processor Straight Through Processing tools that auto-match based on your pre-defined rules, allowing most of your to be processed with absolutely no processor intervention, and helps your team process a higher volume of without adding to staff A streamlined invoice approval workflow with built-in reminders and alerts, which ensures your get paid on time (if not early), helps your organization take advantage of early-payment discounts Centralized AP processes contained within a SaaS-hosted solution, which enables multiple uses to access invoice data from any computer or mobile device with Internet connectivity, at any time and from any place Hassle-free data storage at a secure and reliable off-site data center, which doesn t require you to house, buy, build, fix, or maintain servers, and guarantees an uninterrupted user experience An AP workflow with built-in best practices, which keeps your invoice data organized and easily retrievable during for audits, keeps your organization compliant A solution that enables quick access to accurate, real-time data for reporting and better spend analysis 5

6 How AP automation and an automated invoice approval workflow can help By implementing an automated invoice approval workflow, suppliers can direct to an invoice conversion center via mail, , scan/upload, fax, or supplier portal. By allowing suppliers to remit in various formats, issues associated with lost or slow moving are significantly minimized. Additionally, not travelling through the mail can enter your workflow faster. At an invoice conversion center, key invoice data is scanned, extracted, digitized, validated, and loaded directly into your invoicing platform. SmartRouting technology then routes to the correct individuals for coding/ approval while Straight Through Processing is deployed, approving according to your matching rules and line item details. With Straight Through processing, your organization can process most with no processor intervention and that fail to match are SmartRouted to the correct processor for immediate handling. With an automated solution in place, you can avoid costly workflow interruptions that incur extra costs associated with overnight shipping of payment and/or late fees. With an automated invoice approval workflow, information is stored in a secure, off-site data center with redundant locations that ensure you can enjoy uninterrupted access to your data. To that end, invoice data is stored safely in the cloud, for quick retrieval via the Internet. Automation enables you to instantly find the data you need so that you can move on to higher-value tasks, and solutions with built-in best practices make compliance to legal and regulatory requirement trouble-free. Implementing an automated invoice approval workflow enables multiple staff members to access digitized invoice data instantly from a secure, centralized repository via the Internet, and at the same time if needed. Your are stored in an electronic format, helping you minimize the confusion of paper shuffling in and out of your processes, thus eliminating the costly issue of storing paper. With all of your invoice data stored in an electronic format, you can instantly access information to questions via the Internet. About Corcentric Corcentric is a leader in financial process automation, specializing in Accounts Payable automation, PO requisitioning and imaging, and workflow solutions. More than 3,000 companies rely on Corcentric to automate their business commerce needs. To learn more call or visit corcentric.com. 6