• Business and Finance
• Family
• Computers and Internet
• Auto and Trucks
• Education
• Health
• Hobbies
• Home Improvement
• Legal
• Marketing

• Home
• Arthur's Articles Home
• Browse Categories
• Browse Authors
• Submit an Article
• Search for Articles

Home » Business And Finance Articles » Management Of Paperbased Invoices And Bill In Small Business Companies

Management of Paper-Based Invoices and Bill in small Business Companies?

Both big or small business must always deal with accounts processing to handle their invoices and bill payments. As this processes deals with cash flow of the company it must be managed properly with full concentration. In this millennium there are modern equipments like online bill payment, electronic invoicing, and P-card are available that remove the paper based processing from the accounting department. But the fact is these technologies may reduce the paper documents but cannot remove it. According to Aberdeen Group research report research report 80% of invoices come in paper format which increases as the company goes smaller and smaller

Utility of Account Data capture Software

Several companies like Kofax , ReadSoft , AnyDoc and Abbyy manufactures data capture solutions specifically developed to convert all the paper based documents into data to sent to the accounting or ERP systems. Large corporations have seen its utility which has increased efficiency of their accounting departments and achieved significant productivity gain in processing their accounts payable and accounts receivable data. Small business cannot afford the cost of the software. Most of the small companies use software just to scan their paper based accounting documents and manually enter the accounting data into their accounting or ERP system.

Reason for not using Account Data capture software

Beside the cost of the sophisticated software other utilities are

* 1. Licensing Fee for the software (User based or CPU based access)
* 2. Hardware upgrade to install the software
* 3. Training for your employees
* 4. Software support and maintenance

Thus it becomes unbearable for small company to buy this software. Moreover your accounting or ERP system must have a compatible interface with the software otherwise it may not run. Sometimes the software couldn't identify the scanned hand made documents for which sometimes your have to work manually. Software vendors embraced OCR and ICR technologies into their product to capture the account data accurately from the scanned images, they're still long way to go to remove the manual process. So still a long way to go to remove manual work.

Thus big companies using an account data capture solution can affordable it and they can justify the cost of managing it. But for small companies it is not an affordable solution and their in-house manual process is not cost-effective and efficient.

So what is the way ouy from here?

Outsourcing to different offshore vendors help a lot to get account processing documents converted to your account or ERP systemThey can use their existing infrastructure to send the data to offshore location securely through Internet to be processed by the offshore vendor. For more details on how the process works read Cybelink Secure BPO They don't have to change their unique way of management of accounts department

Only change is instead of small business personnel offshore vendor is responsible for converting all the account data from the scanned images to the accounting software or ERP system.

After receiving the scanned images, following are the typical tasks performed by the offshore vendor.

* 1. Use automated and manual process to extract all the data like invoice number, invoice date, and check number from the images.
* 2. Hardware upgrade to install the software
* 3. Enter extracted data to small business accounts software
* 4. Perform other accounting operations like Invoice preparing, Bill payment, and Check Printing in the small business account software.
* 5. Export the work from the accounting software to a file.
* 6. Send the file to the small business to import it into their accounting software for verification.

Once they receive the finished files from the offshore vendor, they can import it into their accounting or ERP systems for verification and further processing it.

Small businesses can achieve several benefits from using offshoring accounts payable and accounts receivable services; cost of processing their paper documents will decrease by 50% to 60%. The cost saving does not come free, small businesses needs to overcome issues like offshore security and offshore outsourcing cultural issues. But by carefully managing their offshore vendors small businesses can gain the cost reduction and operational efficiency in their accounts payable and account receivable operations.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

SuperCharged Secret 4, Credit Card Utopia

YOU SCRATCH MY BACK, AND I'LL BUY SOME MORE BEER!

Let's just take a brief moment to recap:

If you've been following along on this journey with me, learning the 5 Super-Charged secrets to Credit Card Utopia, then you now know 3 very important things:

1. You now know how to take advantage of zero to low interest credit card offers.
2. You now know that there is safety in numbers, and you know the magic "Who's Who" of the major credit card companies. You know that one of them, in my opinion, stands out for consumers.
3. You now know how to take a low interest credit card with a rewards program, and convert it into a money making technology that could seriously improve your financial house.

With me? Good. These are all essential foundations that you need to follow in order to live in Credit-Card Utopia with me.

In fact, you would think that there's not much more that can be done.

Side note: I hope you are realizing the power of this information.

It may seem simple, but are you doing it? No. So, be smart. Study this information, reflect on these insights, and move forward with them so you can truly benefit from this secret knowledge.

On to Secret, #4:

1) It's very important that Utopians cover all bases, and leave no one behind.

The 3 secrets we've covered, really deal with those of us who have fairly good credit.

Now, if you don't have "good" credit, please don't discard these prior ideas.

I didn't have "good credit" once. Who cares? How many people, small businesses, corporations, and large industrial countries, have said the exact same thing?

2) So, don't feel left out.

Move towards Credit Card Utopia as a goal to move you into action.

Our website (and many other fine websites around the internet) can provide you with many, many resources to work on your debt issues, or your credit score issues, or whatever.

You might be surprised how FAST you can go from point A to point B.

(Here's a tip: Don't waste time. Find assistance. Don't go at it alone.)

3) Getting back on track: Want a zero interest credit offer? Want a low-interest, no annual fee, incentive-based offer?

Well, if you're struggling with credit or debt, then the first step is to tackle this issue from a different point of view.

Give up on Visa®, MasterCard®, and AMEX®...At least the "unsecured" kind, and at least for now.

There's nothing wrong with applying, and trying, but if you've been turned down, there are other ways to go.

4) Secret #4, revealed in an analogy:

Do you live in a small town? If you do, you might have a small-town pub. Does everybody know your name? Does the bartender know you, and know the drink you like? Do you go into your pub after work, and down a stiff one, after a long day of working in the coal mines? Maybe it isn't payday yet. Do you think the bartender cares? Of course not! He wants you coming in so he can move his inventory of fine beers and spirits. He knows you. So, what does he do? Let's say this is the 1800s, and there's no such thing as "credit cards" amongst our meager coal-working small town clan. What does he do?

Right! He runs you a tab.

No interest rates, no worries, no big deal. He runs a tab. Why? Because he knows you're good for it, and he's moving inventory. He doesn't care about the interest, because he's making a profit off the sale of his beer. He knows where you live, and he knows you'll pay him back in a few days when you come in for a drink after you get paid. It's a virtual certainty.

Now YOU, the small-town beer drinking coal worker, you're perfectly fine with this. The drink costs you the same whether you had cash now or later, and the bartender runs you a tab, in exchange for selling you more inventory. Everyone works together.

You scratch my back, and I'll buy some more beer.

5) This concept of free "credit" provided to purchase inventory, is not a new concept.

As you can see, it's been around for a long, long time. However, in modern times, it has tremendous application for folks with "poor" credit issues.

The secret is that you buy merchandise (On stuff you already need, or are already buying) almost exclusively from merchants willing to give you credit at low to no interest.

So, while you think you are in a tough position with credit issues, you actually turn it around, and allow it to become consumer buying power.

Only shop with merchants that scratch your back.

With me?

6) Now, where do you find these merchants?

Well, in the real brick and mortar world, it's not that hard.

You can start with department stores, gas cards, furniture outlets, electronics stores, jewelers, and a variety of other stores that you may do business with.

I can't guarantee, of course, that they'll approve you. But many of these merchants run their credit departments in-house, and like our bartender, they're interested in moving inventory.

So, I wouldn't take one "no" to mean that everyone will say "no". Not true.

Many of the larger corporate chains do not offer low to no interest rates. But almost ALL of them offer huge discounts on initial purchases as incentives to get started.

As of the writing of this article, for example, JCPenney® and Target® both offer 10% discounts on "new accounts". In addition, most of them do offer zero interest when balances are paid off each month, and some of them offer different plans to meet different customer's credit situations.

Also, look to no-interest incentive specials that are going on for many larger-ticket items. Televisions, Furniture, etc.

You'll also find many deferred-payment incentives that you can use to your advantage, or that you can utilize as a no-interest situation.

You just have to shop around. They are out there.

7) Now, what about cyber-space? Is there a place to take advantage of this back-scratching secret in Silicon? Actually, YES! There is. Check this out:

Many shopping portals online have realized the advantage of working with "poor" credit customers, and tailor-making a shopping experience that fits these specialized needs. We've listed several at our website, but of course, you can find them at any search-engine or at other reputable websites around the internet.

In a nutshell, the shopping website offers a membership card for making purchases on credit. You go to the online mall, make your purchases for things you would already buy anyway, and build or rebuild your credit score. The shopping portal helps you out by reporting your credit activity to the major credit reporting bureaus, which in turn, improves your credit history.

In addition, the membership benefits often times include such things as travel discounts, rental car discounts, and FREE credit reports.

They almost always advertise guaranteed credit lines of up to $7500, and incentives for joining can include free merchandise (such as a free DVD player), or a merchandise voucher.

Look for 30 day money-back guarantees, and look for no annual fees, and yes, look for "NO INTEREST" on the credit.

Most of these sites will require an upfront membership fee, but then they immediately turn around and provide a merchandise voucher. For example, one portal charges $150 for the upfront membership fee, but then immediately provides a voucher of $200 for merchandise at their site.

Because their customers generally have a history of poor credit, they do sometimes require an initial payment, or "down payment" on purchases until a relationship is established, but hey listen. So what? If you have credit issues, then you have to start rebuilding credit relationships somewhere. It sure beats Layaway!

What a creative way to solve this problem. Everybody wins.

You scratch my back, and I'll buy some more beer!

Meanwhile, you're moving closer and closer to the pearly gates of Credit Card Utopia!

We've enjoyed providing this information to you, and we wish you the best of luck in your pursuits. Remember to always seek out good advice from those you trust, and never turn your back on your own common sense.

Publisher's Directions:

This article may be freely distributed so long as the copyright, author's information, disclaimer, and an active link (where possible) are included.

Disclaimer: Statements and opinions expressed in the articles, reviews and other materials herein are those of the authors. While every care has been taken in the compilation of this information and every attempt made to present up-to-date and accurate information, we cannot guarantee that inaccuracies will not occur. The author will not be held responsible for any claim, loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any information within these pages or any information accessed through this site.