Purchase to pay automation starts with e-invoicing and guts

Within companies, there is still the idea that the payment process is already organized in a modern way because invoices are processed digitally. Jeroen Rozeboom, Sales Director ICreative: 'Many organizations have replaced the paper invoice for a PDF invoice. But that is not enough. Then there are still people who perform actions to process an invoice: retype data, print it out again, present it to colleagues, and so on.

Data is the new oil

The added value of the PDF invoice compared to the paper invoice is therefore limited. Unless the information on the invoice with "scan & recognize" software is transformed into a data file. However, an original invoice in the form of data initiates a digital transformation within finance departments. Jeroen: 'Data is the new oil, is a frequently heard credo in the business world. And that's right too. After all, data is an essential ingredient in the automation of business processes. '

He continues: 'We use Basware's software to automatically validate invoices in the form of a data file, an e-invoice, with creditor master data from an ERP system, to code them, and to automatically match them with the order placed on the the invoice preceded. "The Basware software makes this possible and forces the approval of an order by the right people. 'If the invoice lines then match the order lines, the invoice can be processed immediately and offered for payment. Straight-through processing. Invoices that do not meet the requirements are automatically returned to the suppliers, stating reasons. Without people's intervention ', says Jeroen.

Standardization is the key

Before more control over (indirect) business expenses and less complexity from purchasing to payment process can be obtained, the data must be correct. And that is perhaps the most important hurdle for companies according to Jeroen. 'Suppliers do not all deliver their invoices in the same way. Both the form (paper, PDF, XML) and the content differ from each other. "These have to be cast in a format that an organization can process, partly through 'scan & recognize' software. That remains a labor-intensive job.

Research has shown that 1 FTE is able to process an average of 15,000 invoices per year at PDF level. Jeroen: 'At first you think: nice number. But that can really be improved. At one of the largest e-retailers in the Netherlands where we have optimized the process, 1 FTE processes 250,000 invoices per year. '

Role of intermediary

It would of course be nice if the standardization was not picked up by the organization itself, but by suppliers. Jeroen: 'That suppliers deliver their invoices as an e-invoice and then also according to the same XML protocol. But suppliers in turn have to deal with several customers who have their specific wishes. To break this deadlock, we take on the role of intermediary. Suppliers send their invoices to us, after which we standardize the different forms and structures to one specific XML file (e-invoice), which is immediately ready for automatic processing. Thanks to our role, e-invoicing can be set up for a company at lightning speed, because adoption of suppliers is no longer a requirement. For this we deploy the largest open e-invoicing network in the world. '

For more information. Please contact Jeroen.

Jeroen Rozeboom
Sales Director, ICreative
jrozeboom@icreative.nl
06 45 974 097

About ICreative

As Basware and Kofax partner, ICreative delivers purchase to pay and e-invoicing solutions to large corporations and institutions. Our solutions offer more control on business spend and less complexity of the purchase to pay process.