Document processing is a rather unexciting term for something that is actually a pretty exceptional group of technologies. It wouldn’t have been possible 20 years ago and, in fact, the technology is still developing and evolving into more and more effective solutions to recurring office problems. In essence, it involves adapting physical (i.e., paper) documents into electronic ones. These can then be kept in a central document management system, as well as emailed around, edited, and so on, by anyone who has access to them. It is a necessary step in the progress to a paperless office; obviously, this isn’t something that happens instantly, and it’s impossible to eradicate paper letters, documents and memos all at once. And there will always be historical documents that you will need to come back to – old contracts, for example. Even if every new document comes in electronic form, you’ll still need a way of integrating older documents into your new system. The same is true of your invoices – some of which may be sent in physical form, others submitted as electronic requests of one type or another. Invoice processing enables your accounts department to bridge the gap between the two approaches.

Whereas document processing was once fairly basic, it is now remarkably sophisticated. It’s not just typed documents that can be turned back into electronic form. Now, even handwriting can be read by software that ‘learns’ a particular style and can transcribe it with at least 97 percent accuracy. That means that no physical document needs to be left outside of your office system, opening the door to a truly paperless organisation.

Consequently document processing has a variety of benefits. It allows you to cut down on the cost, inefficiency and environmental issue of excess paper. Keeping everything in a central document management system means that nothing can get left around any more; you can set permissions so that no one is able to read something they are not supposed to (something you would previously have to trust to lock and key). With regards to invoice processing, there are advantages in that you treat everyone’s invoices the same; there is no two-tier system in which paper invoices are approached with less importance than electronic ones, or vice versa. That can go a long way to maintaining the goodwill of clients and suppliers. Thus this is a group of technologies that makes for a smarter, more efficient and better organised office environment.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.bottomline.co.uk/

51261bd3ad404