There’s a significant amount of work that goes into ingesting invoices, and getting them prepped for approval and payment. As you look to automate AP, you’ll want a tool that offers multiple ways to automate invoice data capture to cut down on this work.
How to Automate Invoice Data Capture
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After years of manually processing your invoices, you’re investigating AP automation software platforms to route, process, and pay your invoices online.
That’s all great. But how do you get your invoices into the AP automation solution in the first place? Or to put it another way, automate invoice data capture?
Fortunately, many AP automation platforms offer various options to ingest your invoices digitally, so you don’t have to open envelopes, scan invoices, and then post them to the AP platform.
1) Tap eInvoicing to Automate Invoice Data Capture
Some AP automation companies let you automate invoice data capture with your larger, national suppliers using eInvoicing. It works like this: suppliers send large volumes of structed invoice data directly to your AP automation account, using application programming interfaces (APIs).
Once the supplier starts sending eInvoices, your AP automation tool receives the data automatically. It takes fields like invoice number, property code, invoice total, etc. and populates them onto a ready-for-processing invoice in your account. You just review and route these invoices as you normally would through your approval workflows.
Note: some IT configuration is often required for the supplier.
2) Use REST APIs to Sync Invoice Data Between Different Software Systems
Some AP automation providers also offer a set of REST APIs that let you ingest invoices directly from other software platforms directly into your AP Automation tool. So, if you already use a Utilities Management tool like Conservice, your AP automation tool can “talk” directly to it, pull in your utility invoices, and automate invoice data capture.
When invoices are transmitted through this method, they arrive pre-coded and ready for review in your AP automation tool. There’s no additional manual ingestion work required.
3) Lean on a Supplier Portal for Invoice Upload
Many AP automation tools also automate invoice data capture through a supplier self-service portal. With this tool, suppliers simply hop online, upload an invoice, add some data, and hit submit. They’ll get delivery confirmation on all their invoices, plus have 24/7 visibility into invoice status. So, there’s plenty of incentive to submit invoices this way.
The Best Portals Give Suppliers Options
The best portals give suppliers options and accommodate a broad range of invoice formats (i.e. PDF, JPG, Word, etc.) and offer different upload options.
In the NexusConnect supplier portal, for example, suppliers can choose how they want to submit their invoices:
1. Upload PDF/JPG/Word: Suppliers simply drag and drop the PDF, JPG, or Word version of their invoice onto the screen, add some details like invoice date, number, and total, and then click submit.
2. Upload CSV file: Suppliers can export data to a CSV file from their accounting system and upload that same file directly to NexusConnect. They just need to make sure the column headers match (using a template as a guide if need be). Nexus then generates an invoice image from the data that the supplier can preview before submitting.
In the NexusConnect portal, suppliers have various options for submitting invoices, including uploading a CSV file with invoice data. The portal generates an invoice image from the data.
3. Email CSV file to Nexus: Once the supplier has their file formatting down pat, they can bypass NexusConnect entirely and submit the CSV file directly to a dedicated Nexus email address. Nexus will automatically pick up the invoice and add it your AP automation account.
4. Create invoice from scratch in NexusConnect: Even if the supplier doesn’t have their invoice as a PDF or CSV file, they’re covered. They can create an invoice from the ground up in NexusConnect. They just key in a few fields, click “Create Invoice PDF File from my Data”, and NexusConnect will generate an invoice to preview and then submit.
In NexusConnect, suppliers can even have a PDF invoice created on their behalf. They just key in their invoice details and check a box to have the system automatically generate their invoice.
Pick a Tool with Several Options to Automate Invoice Data Capture
There’s a significant amount of work that goes into ingesting invoices, and getting them prepped for approval and payment. As you look to automate AP, you’ll want a tool that offers multiple ways to automate invoice data capture to cut down on this work.