Automating invoice handling
Several systems today require invoices to be created upon the completion of work for a client or customer. In order to handle this process, some companies manually assemble the necessary information from multiple systems to ensure the invoices are valid and accurate. This can quickly create cash flow delays and require hours of extra labor to complete. Automating invoicing using Gearproxy is quick and simple.
Studies have found that these challenge have not gone away and continue to be an area of improvement. One such study regarding AP (accounts payable) among companies discovered, among other things, the following key takeaways and insights:
- 15% of companies still process invoices through an exclusively manual paper-based process
- 7% are currently using a fully automated accounts payable invoice system
- 65% are planning to switch to AP automation software in the next two years
Other studies have shown the cost is even greater yet due to higher failure rates caused by manual entry. Utilizing Gearproxy to help automate this process becomes a sure win for both the company and their customers due to the rich security and automation nature of the platform.
The process
With these requirements we can start to put together the pieces of how Gearproxy could be used to rectify this accounts payable problem. The following steps show how a simple file based approach would be transferred in an out of a Oracle database that is on premise.
- An order file is placed from by your customer into an existing SFTP (secure file transfer protocol) site.
- Gearproxy then pulls the orders from the order file into your Oracle database to be processed and handled to completion on behalf of your customer.
- Upon completion of the order process, an invoice is created inside your Oracle database.
- Gearproxy pulls all newly generated invoice from the Oracle database and sends them securely and automatically to an accounts payable SFTP site.
The above outlined flow and file transfers is monitored at all times providing an instant insight in the case of a failure.
The process that prepares and generates the invoice in step 3 is still done in the same manner as before. This reduces the risk of breaking any invoicing agreements that may be in places such as net terms or general ledger (GL) coding. Once the invoice is available, it is immediately picked up by Gearproxy and sent to the customer.
To summarize
This example illustrates that automation can be added to any existing process and would provide value in the following areas:
- More accurate and timely invoicing process.
- The ability to discover any issues in real-time and having an opportunity to correct those issues.
- Gearproxy can handle processing both cloud based and on premise (i.e. legacy) systems.
- The system can retrieve data as far “up stream” as possible so that existing processes do not need to be reworked.
