Accounting Invoice Processing Saves Time, Reduces Late Fees

This engineering consulting firm saved more than 1,000 man-hours in one year with an invoice processing and workflow solution.

Though Integrated Solutions frequently features stories of companies automating their paper-based processes and managing content electronically, paper is still prevalent in the enterprise. And more significantly, the pain of handling paper is still prevalent. According to a recent study by Coopers and Lybrand, it can cost an organization $30 to properly file a document. Additionally, 7.5% of those documents, on average, will be lost or misplaced. This is the pain American Engineering Testing, Inc. (AET), a multidisciplinary engineering consulting firm, recently experienced.

Like many companies, the pain of paper for AET was acutely felt in processing invoices in the accounts payable (AP) department. The company received approximately 100 paper invoices a week from its vendors, which were mailed directly to the employees who made the purchases. Once employees approved the invoices and sent them back, (physically via interoffice mail and/or U.S. mail), AP processed them and a clerk who came in three days a month filed the invoices.