Is a touchless invoice process even possible?

In this blog we’ll answer some of the key questions we get asked when we talk to our customers about touchless invoice processing. What does a touchless process mean? Is it  possible? Is it wise to try and achieve? What’s the impact on you and your team?

Imagine a finance department where no one worries about processing invoices. Where there’s more time to analyse and add value to your business. No constant need to find a manual workaround or need to check then, recheck values or interfere with the invoice process.

A far-off dream for finance teams? Not anymore.  

Invoices being raised and processed without even thinking about them. And with speed and accuracy you’d would never be able to replicate.

You’re picturing a fully touchless invoice process. And today, thanks to Basware and our artificial intelligence (AI) powered tools, it can be a reality.

What does it mean?

Put simply, Touchless Invoice Processing (TIP) is a fully automated invoice process, free of any human intervention.

Today, automation technology is being used by finance teams to help with parts of their process. But too often, these are siloed islands of automation. The result is a disjointed and inefficient end-to-end financial process.

This is where the touchless invoice processing mindset comes in. If you can automate your processes from start to finish, and keep it as simple as possible, you are on to a winner. That’s how you create the most efficient and accurate process.

But is it even possible?

In a word, yes.

First, we look at how you operate today and work with you to finetune your process. Every business is different. In addition, we finetune the engine, configuring our solution to your needs so that we can deliver the best outcomes for your business.

Going touchless isn't a one-day exercise, it starts with fewer touches when performing certain activities in the invoice process. But over time, step by step, as your process becomes more refined, and the engine powering its all starts to hum, it is absolutely possible to achieve  a touchless invoice process.

So, what’s powering the touchlessness?

Touchless Invoice Processing relies heavily on machine learning. An example of this is what we call SmartCoding. It’s a place where process change and engine change come together to:

1. Enable the most efficient process for creating invoice coding, whether it’s an AP clerk activity or a business user, and

2. It can make this process touchless (touchless invoice coding)

SmartCoding is an advanced machine learning (ML) based feature, which helps our customers create coding proposals for invoice documents. It helps to reduce the number of touches to invoices by creating machine learning based coding proposals. This is done by tapping into the history of invoices and invoice dimensions, to create automated coding rules  for invoices, therefore reducing the need for someone to do that.

If you want to find out more about the intricacies of SmartCoding, let us know.

And is it a wise move?

Absolutely.

If you think about it from a purely employee engagement perspective, people work more effectively and are more engaged when they have the backing of great tech tools. In a recent study into Employee Experience Trends, Qualtrics found that productivity-enhancing tech pushes engagement up to 91% vs 24% for those that struggle on with traditional ways, means, and work arounds.

And then there’s the benefit to performance. Our dashboards and reports give incredible insight into department wide performance. The demand for more transparency will inevitably grow in the future. Touchless Invoice Processing gives you incredible amounts of clarity.

We know every business is different. That’s why we work with you to establish your desired outcomes and then plan, implement, measure, benchmark, and monitor your invoice process performance. We’re with you all the way and we’ll work with you to ensure your touchless experience gets better and better and adds more value to your business over time.

Thinking about the broader impact

By its very nature, Touchless Invoice Processing is paperless. And paperless is clearly better for the environment.

So, not only is it a win for processes, it’s also a win for the planet.

And let’s not forget, it’s a win for people, too. Technology liberates potential. And thinking about the next generation of finance professionals, they expect to have tools in place to help them do their jobs to the best of their ability. All things being equal, candidates will always go for the company with the most impressive set of technology.

Ready to Learn More?

Head here to find out more about Touchless Invoice Processing.

Discover more blogs:

• Totally Touchless - the next level of AP 
• What a touchless invoice really is and how you achieve it in Accounts Payable
• Touchless Invoice Processing: The Engine of Financial Analysis

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