E-invoicing Automation: Six Benefits of Automating Your Accounting Processes

Automation is becoming increasingly present in various business areas, including accounting processes. Implementing automated processing allows companies to save time and reduce the number of errors. Despite these and other benefits, most companies still opt for manual invoice processing. What is invoicing automation, and why is it worth using?

What is invoice process automation?

Invoice automation uses specialized software to generate, send or receive, and track documents with little to no human input.

Many stages of invoicing can be automated, including:

• Creating invoices
• Sending and receiving invoices
• Posting invoices
• Handling returns and corrections

Moreover, a good tool for automating the processing of invoices exchanged with business partners will allow integration with each of them. Regardless of the type of internal financial or accounting system (including ERP for company resource management), appropriate invoicing software will adapt to its specifics.

Automation is best suited for companies that issue or receive thousands of invoices per month. In these cases, an employee can focus on other duties, while the appropriate software handles repetitive tasks.

Six key benefits of automated e-invoicing

1. Speed. Automating invoicing allows faster execution of routine accounting tasks, such as data entry or verification.
2. Error reduction. Manual processes are always prone to human error. With invoicing automation systems, errors can be partially or fully eliminated.
3. Cost savings. Automating electronic invoicing can save up to 50-60% of the costs associated with manual document processing.
4. Enriching invoices with additional information. Automated e-invoicing systems allow the inclusion of additional information in the document, which may not be available in the source system but is important to the recipient.
5. Customization to company needs. Internal processes vary between companies, so a key advantage of automation systems is their flexibility.
6. Data analysis. With a large volume of e-invoices being exchanged, real-time access to information about their processing is crucial.

How automation impacts accounting jobs

Contrary to many concerns, invoicing automation is not intended to eliminate jobs. Innovative technologies allow accountants to focus on tasks that cannot currently be automated, such as exception management, client communication, or other activities requiring experience and in-depth analysis of a given situation. Accountants using e-invoicing automation tools say goodbye only to monotonous, often disliked tasks.

Three examples of invoicing automation

Mass invoice processing

One example of the use of invoicing process automation is the mass processing of e-invoices. An appropriate system automates many aspects of processing, such as unpacking (or packaging), translating into appropriate file formats or specifications, generating visualizations, signing documents, or authenticating the entire transmission. Importantly, a user of this system can integrate with it through any channel.

Automatic invoice verification

Every invoice must contain a specific set of information – the appropriate system will automatically check the document's content before sending it and notify the user of any missing information. The software can also fill in missing data according to defined rules (so-called invoice enrichment). 

This functionality is also useful when you or your business partner require additional, optional data. Automatic validation can apply to sales and purchase invoices.

Invoice conversion

Systems that automate e-invoice handling in a company support many formats and document standards – typical for a given ERP system, industry, or region. Depending on the needs, the software can convert files from native formats and standards to the formats and standards required by your company or clients.

E-invoicing automation with Comarch

As e-invoicing is becoming mandatory in many countries, there are various solutions offered by accounting software and ERP providers that facilitate automation. Before making a decision, analyze your company's needs and choose a solution that best suits them.

Comarch e-Invoicing is a proven solution that automates invoicing processes related to sales and purchases, enabling secure data exchange with contractors and customers. Our software is fully compliant with the latest regulations and standards for information transmission.

The system automatically verifies and converts invoices, regardless of the size of the company or business partners. Constant monitoring of the system's functionality ensures that every client always has access to the latest interface version.

Our platform also includes other functionalities, such as:

• Optical character recognition (OCR): Converting text from images or scans into an editable digital format.
• Invoice streaming: Distributing documents to multiple internal systems.
• Invoice enrichment: Adding optional information to the invoice.
• Self-billing: When the invoice is issued by the buyer.
• Correction support: Reducing the number of corrections through business validations and issuing corrective invoices.
• Attachment handling: Enabling the exchange of attachments to and from business partners, also in anonymous mode for partners not using Comarch solutions.

Technological innovations in accounting

Many people fear process automation in companies, associating it with job losses. However, innovative systems are designed to replace humans in performing monotonous, unsatisfying tasks. 

Remember that automation and digitization are not only cost-saving measures but also opportunities to modernize processes, increase efficiency, and gain a competitive advantage in your company. Thanks to e-invoicing automation, accounting processes become faster, more accurate, and less error-prone. Moreover, automation frees up employees' time, allowing them to focus on more demanding tasks.

Don’t view automation as a threat but an opportunity. Leverage it to drive growth and enhance your competitive edge.