Mon, Jun 03, 2013 5 Ways Automated Invoice Management Can Save You Money

With cloud-based services growing more robust and popular, automated invoice management tools present many businesses and organizations with new ways to cut costs. These tools, available as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) subscription, can ease or eliminate data entry and help managers control expenses through improved visibility.

Here are five ways automated invoice management can save you money.

1. Reduce manual processing of paper invoices. An automated expense management service like Chrome River INVOICE can help eliminate inefficient and wasteful paper handling and front-end data entry, without forcing your suppliers to radically change their current processes. Depending on the service, invoices can be faxed, emailed or submitted electronically. Even paper invoices can be converted into electronic images by using scanning services.
2. Lower processing costs through increased efficiency. People who need to approve invoices likely have many more pressing duties. An automated system can help them easily review and approve invoices using a Web browser, email or a mobile app.
3. Capture cost savings through increased accuracy and compliance. An automated system can analyze expenses to identify and eliminate errors, like duplicates and overpayments. This detailed data analysis can be especially useful for companies that deal in multiple currencies and languages, facilitating compliance with such international taxes as VAT, GST, PST, HST and FBT.
4. Reduce late payments and capture early-payment discounts. Providing invoice approvers and managers with greater expense visibility will make it possible to manage spending more effectively, identifying such opportunities for savings as early-payment discounts.
5. Provide an affordable subscription-based system. Rather than needing to purchase software outright or have expensive systems customized for your business, cloud-based invoice management systems are often available as a subscription model for a relatively low monthly or annual fee.

These are just five ways a cloud-based invoice management system can help an organization save money, but each situation is different, and each company has its own unique needs.

We’d love to hear about your experiences. How has automated invoice management saved your organization money? Please share your insights in the comments section below.