Outsource Invoice Processing Services – Pros and Cons

In traditional business operations and bookkeeping scenarios, when manual methods ruled the roost, any accounts department, even of small enterprises, would be inundated with invoices, vouchers, and related documents. Sorting them out by client category, ensuring that every claim was paid on time, and preventing missed deadlines would take up a lot of man-hours and the undivided attention of highly paid accountants.

This scenario took a turn for the better when businesses felt the need to cut costs, save time to focus on core activities, and streamline the invoice payable process so that the true state of the financials could be estimated quickly.

However, there was a catch here. To make this system a reality, businesses needed to make huge investments in the latest accounting software and the most advanced hardware and needed to recruit trained professionals to run the network. This was something that small businesses, start-ups, and even midsized businesses could ill afford.

The solution then lay in outsourcing the work to invoice processing services that offered the same quality of results but at highly reduced costs. The effect was twofold. First, this savings could be better utilized for offering products and services at highly competitive rates, thereby gaining an edge over others in the industry. And secondly, by eliminating the need to track invoices closely, there was enough time to focus on business growth and development.

Outsourcing processing of invoices is here to stay, but is it really as good as it seems? Do the advantages far outweigh the pitfalls? All these can be evaluated if a study is made of the pros and cons of this activity.

The Pros of Outsourcing Invoice Processing

• Single source processing – To prevent a flood of incoming mail, simply change the mailing address on invoices to that of the outsourced agency. The invoices will be received there, date stamped and scanned, and uploaded to you for authentication. Putting the date stamp is crucial as every invoice has a payment deadline after receipt. Once the sanctioning authorities approve and pass them for payment, processing will be initiated, and a track will be kept during the full life cycle of the invoices. This action itself is enough to reduce your workload by several notches.
• Sophisticated Software used by outsourced agencies – Invoice processing services has the latest accounting software to facilitate their work. Nothing is done manually. State of the art recognition tools scan the invoices, and all fields like client ID, date of invoice, due date, amounts, and any special instructions are automatically captured in the system. This speeds up the process manifold and is also highly accurate since any possibility of human error is totally eliminated.

If you analyze the pros and cons, you’ll find that the benefits of the former far outweigh the cons. The latter are merely logistic issues related to mostly electronic invoices. The bulk of the invoice processing system runs on well-oiled wheels and is extremely advantageous for any business.

Also Read: 5 Reasons for Small Business to Outsource Invoice Processing

If you are looking for top of the line invoice processing services with years of professional experience and an ability to constantly achieve benchmarks of excellence in this field, get in touch with us at Cogneesol. We guarantee superior results at all times. Visit us at www.cogneesol.com.