Document Management Automates Invoice Procedures

Hull College in the UK is automating its purchase invoice approval processes with Version One's document management and imaging technology.

Version One said that with its software integrated in to Hull College's Distinction QL accounting system, invoice approvers will be automatically notified when there is a purchase invoice for their authorisation.

They will then be able to view the scanned invoice via an internet browser directly from their PCs and accept, reject or query it within a few seconds.

The company added that, in time, Hull College will roll-out Version One's technology to other areas of the finance department and will also look to incorporate it for electronically storing and circulating non-finance documents, including personnel and student records.

Richard Hudson, Hull College's procurement manager, commented: "Currently, our purchase invoice approval processes are far too time consuming and paper-dependent.

Up to 30,000 purchase invoices are posted around the college for approval every year.

With hundreds of authorisers based at 10 college sites and with many also working from home, the approval process is very complex." He continued: "By its very nature, paper-based invoice approval is prone to lost and mislaid documents.

Not knowing exactly where an invoice is and what, if anything is being done with it, makes managing supplier payments more time consuming and costly." Version One claimed that by automating invoice approval it will become virtually impossible to lose invoices and the finance team will know exactly where invoices are in the approval chain.

Using an i160 Kodak scanner and Version One's software, all invoices arriving at Hull College will be scanned centrally and then instantly stored in the Version One archive (accessible via Version One's web browser, or by drilling down through Distinction QL).

Hull College also wants to make the practices and processes it uses as sustainable as possible.

The electronic archive is said to minimise any requirements to photocopy invoices, which reduces carbon footprint and costs.

The authorisation software will automatically notify the relevant approvers that there is an invoice requiring attention.

Once an authoriser has approved, rejected or queried the invoice, depending upon the rules built in to the system, it will either be forwarded to the next approver in the chain or returned to the finance department where it will be paid or disputed, added Version One.

Hudson said: "Version One's software will dramatically streamline purchase invoice approval and ultimately cut costs.

It will also provide us with far greater control over how and when we pay suppliers." And he explained: "By electronically storing all our purchase invoices, we will also be able to free-up storage space and quickly and easily access invoices from the desktop, helping to resolve queries in a more efficient manner.

When we roll-out the software to other parts of the finance department and to other areas of the business, we look forward to even greater efficiency improvements and increased time and cost savings.".

Back to top