Automated Invoice Processing: Key Steps, Success Factors, Benefits, Costs

Automated Invoice Processing Software Overview - ScienceSoft

Having 16 years of experience in building financial software and practical knowledge of 30+ industries, ScienceSoft offers custom software development services to help businesses implement effective invoice processing automation.

Invoice Processing Automation in a Nutshell

Invoice processing automation streamlines invoice processing end-to-end – from invoice data capture and validation to invoice approval and routing for payment and invoice posting to the general ledger (GL). Automated invoice processing systems are especially helpful for large companies that need to process a considerable number of paper and digital invoices.

Integrations

Accounting software, ERP, a cash management system, and more.

Automation timelines

6–9 months on average.

Implementation costs

$140,000–$400,000, depending on the solution complexity.

Annual ROI

100–460%.

A payback period

6 months on average.

Main Use Cases of Invoice Processing Automation

Invoice capture and validation

Embrace the capabilities of AI, RPA, and OCR technologies to get 95% faster and more accurate invoice data capture and validation with no manual efforts.

Invoice approval

Benefit from 80%+ faster invoice approval with an automated multi-department approval workflow and seamless 24/7 remote access for the approval teams.

Invoice analytics

Get instant calculation and 100% visibility of the invoice processing metrics. Employ ML to analyze historical invoice data and precisely forecast the due payment amounts.

Invoice Processing Automation: Key Features

Each automated invoice processing solution ScienceSoft creates has unique functionality to serve client-specific needs. Here, we have outlined the features commonly requested by our customers:

Invoice capture

Support of various digital invoice formats (XML, PDF, digital images, e-invoices, etc.).
Support of multi-table invoices, multi-currency invoices, multi-page invoices.
OCR-enabled conversion of paper invoices into a pre-defined digital format.
Capture of numeric and textual invoice content.
ML-powered data extraction from digital invoices.

Invoice validation

Automated invoice coding in the general ledger (GL).
Automated two- and three-way invoice matching (against purchase orders, supplier contracts, goods/service receipts, etc.).
User-defined thresholds for invoice matching tolerance.
Rule-based validation of invoice data at the line-item level (invoice number, date, quantity, price, etc.).
Invoice verification against the pre-set tax rules, region-specific e-invoicing compliance requirements.
Alerts on invoice exceptions (missed, mismatched or inaccurate data, duplicate invoices, tax variances, etc.) that require manual validation.

Invoice approval

Automated invoice routing for approval.
Configurable multi-department invoice approval hierarchies (based on invoice amount, invoice type, location, etc.).
Scheduled email reminders to invoice approvers.
A complete invoice approval history.
Automated routing of approved invoices for payment.

Invoice tracking and storing

Real-time multi-department invoice tracking by validation and approval status, type (PO, non-PO), supplier, period, and more.
Centralized invoice storage.
Configurable invoice retention rules.

Invoice processing analytics

Calculating and tracking essential invoice processing metrics, such as total amount of invoices processed by period, average invoice approval cycle time, total amount of lost cash discounts due to delayed invoice submission for payment, and more.
Trend analysis to forecast non-PO invoice amounts.
Scheduled and ad-hoc reports on invoice processing KPIs.

Invoice processing security

Invoice timestamping.
E-signing for approved invoices.
Comprehensive audit trail for invoice-related activities.
Rule-based invoice fraud detection.
Multi-factor user authentication.
Role-based access control.

Leverage End-to-End Invoice Processing Automation!

ScienceSoft’s team is ready to plan, build and support a reliable invoice processing system to automate time-consuming and error-prone invoice processing tasks.

Contact the team

A Sample Interface of Automated Invoice Processing Solutions We Create

Converting scanned invoices into a user-defined digital format

Data extraction from digital invoices

Configuring the invoice validation rules

Invoice reconciliation

Invoice approval

E-signing for approved invoices

Audit trail for invoice-related activities

Invoice tracking by user-defined parameters

Analytical dashboards on invoice processing KPIs

Key Integrations for the Automated Invoice Processing System

To maximize efficiency and accuracy of invoice processing workflows, ScienceSoft recommends that the automated invoice processing solution should be integrated with the following back-office systems:

Key integrations for the automated invoice processing system - ScienceSoft

Accounting software – for accurate invoice data recording in the accounts payable and the general ledger.
Procurement software – for automated invoice matching with purchase orders generated in procurement software.
ERP – for automated purchase invoice validation against goods/service delivery receipts.
Vendor portal – for faster processing of vendor/supplier invoices uploaded from a vendor portal.
Cash management system – for automated payment of invoices.
BI solution – for comprehensive invoice data and invoice processing analysis and reporting.

Success Factors for Invoice Processing Automation

ScienceSoft’s experts recommend that the following important factors should be covered to maximize payoff from the automated invoice processing system implementation.

OCR capabilities

to capture and extract relevant data from paper invoices.

AI-powered invoice prioritization

for approval and payment to maximize cost savings.

Mobile access

to enable invoice tracking and approval on the go.

Cloud deployment

to provide secure and scalable centralized storage for digital invoices and enable 24/7 remote employee access for faster invoice approval.

Legal compliance

to ensure accurate invoice processing in accordance with the latest legal standards, such as GAAP, IFRS, SOX, GDPR (for EU), ZATCA requirements (for Saudi Arabia), and more.

How to Automate Invoice Processing

Below, ScienceSoft outlines key steps to introduce invoice processing automation:

Business needs analysis and eliciting requirements for invoice processing digitalization.

Designing the functionality, architecture, and tech stack for the automated invoice processing system.

Project planning: deliverables, scope of work, duration, budget, team composition, etc.

Custom invoice processing software development.

Quality assurance.

Invoice data migration (from spreadsheets or a previously used invoice management tool).

Establishing integrations with the required internal and third-party systems.

User training.

Continuous support and evolution of the automated invoice processing solution (optional).

ScienceSoft’s Tech Stack for Invoice Processing Automation

Programming languages

Back end

Front end

Front end Javascript frameworks

Mobile

Desktop

Databases / data storages

SQL

NoSQL

Cloud databases, warehouses and storage

AWS

Azure

Google Cloud Platform

Big data

AI

Machine learning platforms and services

Machine learning frameworks and libraries

Platforms

DevOps

Containerization

Automation

CI/CD tools

Monitoring

Implementation Costs and Financial Outcomes for Automated Invoice Processing

Based on ScienceSoft's experience, a custom invoice processing automation system requires $140,000–$400,000 in investments, depending on the solution complexity.

Want to know the cost of your invoice processing solution?

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Annual ROI for a custom automated invoice processing system may reach up to 460%. An average payback period for such a solution is about 6 months.

Benefits of invoice processing automation

Up to 90%

reduction in invoice processing cost
4x

increase in AP managers’ productivity
Up to 80%

shorter invoice-to-pay cycle
Simplified

regulatory compliance and audit preparation

When a Custom Invoice Processing Automation System is Your Best Choice

ScienceSoft recommends opting for custom development in the following cases:

	You need an automated invoice processing system to provide specific features, for example, creating custom events to trigger invoice validation and posting to GL or enabling tailored priority rules for invoice routing for approval and payment.
	Your invoice processing automation solution needs to meet specific compliance and security requirements (e.g., in the healthcare industry or public sector).
	You want to avoid costly and effort-consuming integration of the automated invoice processing system with your existing business-critical solutions.

ScienceSoft’s best practice: If you deal with a moderate volume of invoices and don’t have specific requirements to the automation solution’s UX and UI, consider platform-based development. From our experience, using low-code platforms (e.g., Microsoft Power Apps) can reduce the costs of creating an invoice processing automation system by up to 74%.

Invoice Processing Automation with ScienceSoft

In financial software development since 2007, ScienceSoft helps companies implement reliable invoice processing automation.

Invoice processing automation: consulting

Analysis of invoice processing automation needs.
Assessment of the existing invoice management processes, tools and their integration points.
Suggesting optimal invoice processing automation features, solution architecture and tech stack.
Preparing a plan of integrations with the required systems.
Implementation cost & time estimates, expected ROI calculation.

Go for consulting

Invoice processing automation: implementation

Invoice processing automation needs analysis.
Automated invoice processing solution conceptualization.
Architecture design.
Development of the invoice processing automation system.
Integrating the solution with relevant software.
Quality assurance.
User training.
Continuous support and evolution (if required).

Go for implementation

We cooperated with ScienceSoft on the evolution of our Azure-based product for accounts payable management. ScienceSoft was to cover end-to-end development of an intelligent paperless invoice processing module for the product.

The new software module performs stably even under heavy load, which helps provide a high-quality user experience for our customers. ScienceSoft proved to be a reliable tech partner, and we can recommend other businesses to consider ScienceSoft as a software development vendor.

Wadih Pazos, Chief Operating Officer, Paramount WorkPlace

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About ScienceSoft

ScienceSoft is a global IT consulting and software development company headquartered in McKinney, Texas. Since 2007, we help businesses implement effective invoice processing automation. Being ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified, we apply a mature quality management system and guarantee that cooperation with us does not pose any risks to your data security. If you are interested in getting a robust automated invoice processing solution, feel free to turn to ScienceSoft’s team.