Top tips on reducing invoicing costs
Inbound invoices can cost you a lot more than just the payment they request, especially if you lose track of what you owe and when.
Cost-cutting is a critical part of running an efficient business, and there's no better place to start than with your invoicing processes, as this is where much of the money flows out of your business.
Streamlining your incoming invoices via a digital mailroom is one way to collate all of the different forms of bills and invoices you receive into a single, manageable digital archive.
What are digital mailrooms?
Digital mailroom solutions take all of your inbound communications and transform them into digital formats.
For invoices, that can involve document scanning and digitisation to turn paper invoices into PDFs or editable formats as appropriate.
It allows all of your invoices — including those received digitally via email - to be kept together in one place, with the earliest payment deadlines prioritised.
How does a digital mailroom work?
Microform's digital mailroom solutions operate on a basis of automated processing, so every bill or invoice you receive is automatically routed through our document scanning and digitisation processes.
You can view your e-invoices 24/7 so you always know exactly what you owe and can follow the digital paper trail as required for auditing and regulatory purposes.
Seamless integration with your existing software means the Microform e-invoicing platform works with your current admin procedures, rather than adding to the burden on your finance team.
How does e-invoicing save money?
Digital invoicing has several direct cash benefits when you digitise inbound invoices:
Prioritise invoices with early payment discounts.
Prioritise earliest payment deadlines to avoid late payments.
Prioritise invoices you can pay without incurring business overdraft fees.
This is in addition to the cost savings you get by streamlining your finance and accounts processes to reduce the number of hours spent by employees on keeping track of paper invoices and overdue payments.
What formats can a digital mailroom process?
Digital mailrooms can turn almost any format into an electronic document that you can access in real-time via your web portal.
This includes invoices in all the common formats, for example:
Paper invoices received in the post.
Paper invoices received by fax.
Electronic invoices received in the body of emails.
Electronic invoices received as email attachments.
Electronic invoices received via downloads.
Whether it's a standalone invoice sent to you as a document in its own right, or a request for payment included as part of a longer letter or contract, it can be digitised and included in your online invoice archive.
Can I trust e-invoicing?
Yes, you can trust Microform's e-invoicing and digital mailroom services, but we don't expect you to take our word for it.
We adhere to British Standards including:
BS ISO/IEC 27001:2013 - Information Security Management System
BS 10008:2008 - Evidential Weight and Legal Admissibility of Electronic Information
BS EN ISO 9001:2008 - Quality Management System
BS EN ISO 14001:2004 - Environmental Management System
More than 80% of the documents Microform process are confidential in some form or other, and we take our commitment to protecting your documents and data very seriously indeed.
If you want to know more about how a digital mailroom could help your business, contact us today.