A/P Invoice Processing Module
 The developers of the IMIGITtm
document imaging software have just announced a brand
new module for processing A/P invoices. The goal of this
new module is to significantly reduce the time and
expense of getting A/P invoice data entered into the A/P
accounting software.
The new A/P Invoice Processing module has four basic
steps. In the first step, the A/P invoices are scanned.
In the second step, a template is assigned to each
scanned image. Each template is unique to a particular
vendor and tells the imaging software where the various
data fields are located. In the third step, the software
reads the data in those selected fields and presents the
data for validation. In the final step, the extracted
data is passed to the A/P accounting software where it
can be imported without any additional data entry
requirements.
While there will always be some invoices that are more
difficult to read than others, the A/P Invoice
Processing module should correctly read and extract 70%
to 80% of the invoice data. This represents a
significant reduction in the time required to process
A/P invoices. Once the A/P invoice data has been
extracted and verified, that data can be loaded directly
into the A/P accounting software.
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Step 1:
Scan the A/P Invoices
The first step is to scan in the A/P invoices to be
processed. In most situations, the A/P invoices will be
first separated by vendor and all of the invoices for a
particular vendor will be scanned as one batch. However,
sorting the invoices into groups by vendor is NOT
necessary with this module. All invoices can be placed
in the scanner and scanned through in one pass without
any sorting or organizing.
As part of the set up for this module, a template is
created for each vendor’s invoice format. The invoice
tells the software how to recognize each invoice type
and where on the invoice the various data fields occur.
As the invoices are then scanned, the software compares
each invoice against the set of templates and attempts
to identify the correct template for each invoice.
On the first screen in this example, the “Auto” option
(1)
has been selected. This
tells the software that there will be a variety of
different invoices being scanned and that the software
will need to identify each invoice as it is scanned.
If the invoices have already been sorted by vendor and
invoices for only one vendor are being scanned in this
batch, the user would select the template for that
vendor rather than the “Auto” template. |
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Step 2:
Verify the Templates
After the batch of invoices has been scanned, the
invoices will be displayed in the main window. In a
small window on the left is a list showing the template
that was assigned to each scanned invoice. If the
software is able to identify the invoice with a high
degree of confidence, a template is assigned. If there
is a question about which template to use, the software
flags the image and waits for the user to look at the
image of the invoice and select the correct template.
In this example, the software has been able to identify
all but one invoice. The invoice for Top Hat was not
recognized
(2).
This may be because there was no template created for
Top Hat or it may be due to a poor quality image. In
either case, the software flags the image so that the
user can review it. If a template exists, the user can
select the appropriate template for this invoice from
the drop down list
(3).
It is also possible to set up a “generic” template that
can be used for vendors who are used only infrequently.
While no data will be automatically extracted with the
generic template, it is one way to get the invoices
scanned and ready for the next step. |
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Step 3:
Confirm the Data
Once the templates have been verified, the next step is
for the software to read the data fields and extract the
information that has been requested for a given
template. This is the real key to the A/P Invoice
Processing module.
In this example, there are three windows displayed. The
top half of the screen shows the image of the invoice,
with various areas highlighted in yellow. These
highlighted areas show which fields the software is
extracting data from. The value that was extracted is
shown in red just above each highlighted area.
In the bottom half of the screen, a copy of the PO that
is associated with this invoice is displayed. This
assumes that there is a copy of the PO in the imaging
system and that the PO Number is printed somewhere on
the A/P invoice. When the software reviews the invoice
and finds a PO Number, it will send a query to the
imaging system, retrieve a copy of the original PO, and
display it in the lower part of the window. This allows
the user to quickly compare what was ordered on the PO
with what the vendor billed on the invoice.
In the left window is a list of the various fields that
were extracted by the template. As the user moves
through the fields, the highlighted area for each field
on the invoice will be displayed. The user can review
the data that was extracted and compare it with the
actual data on the invoice. If there are discrepancies,
the correct data can be entered immediately.
Once all of the data has been reviewed and confirmed,
the user clicks on the SAVE button in the lower left
corner of the screen. This adds the extracted data to a
file that will eventually contain all of the data for
all invoices in this batch. That file can then be
imported into the A/P accounting software without any
other data entry work.
In the top main window
(4),
the invoice image and some of the highlighted areas
where data has been read from is displayed.
In the lower main window
(5),
a copy of the PO for this invoice is displayed. The PO
is retrieved from the imaging system automatically by
using the PO data field
(6)
that is printed on the
invoice. This allows the user to compare the PO and the
invoice.
In the left window
(7),
the various data fields that were extracted by this
template are displayed. As the user moves through this
list, the highlight will move to the next field. If the
extracted data is correct, the user can simply move on
to the next field. If the data is incorrect, the user
can quickly and easily enter the correct data right from
the invoice.
When everything is correct, the user clicks on the SAVE
button
(8)
to add this data to the
batch file that will be passed on to the A/P accounting
software. |
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