Why Sales Invoice Process should be efficient?

Having efficient sales invoicing process is vital for any organization and it is important not only for cash flow and tax recording but also as it portrays your professional approach to collecting income from your customers.

A sales invoice is a tool that a company uses to converse with clients about the sums that are due in exchange for goods or services that have been sold to them. A sales invoice should include information about items/services the customer has purchased, quantity, discounts, and the total amount he owes. Additionally, a sales invoice should contain a brief summary of the terms of the transaction.

Why invoice processing should be efficient & error free?

Efficiency is the golden rule for the growth of any organization. Organizational success depends mainly upon efficiency from internal processes to labor performance to cash flow. Two key metrics of efficiencies in this segment are as follows:

• Time to process an invoice
• Cost to process an invoice

A study shows that average processing time of an invoice is around 4 days and average cost to process an invoice is approximately Rs 150. As per a survey by E-Payable benchmark series, best average processing time of an invoice is around 2 days and best average cost to process an invoice is Rs 100 approx.

Another study on invoice processing was conducted in March 2011, where 130 organizations participated to identify what separates the high achievers organizations from their less successful peers. The study determined that organizations best in class when compared with the Laggards organizations were:

• 4 times as likely to have invoices archived in a central or searchable location
• 9 times as likely to have automated matching of invoices
• 1 times as likely to have dashboards summarizing current status and performance

(Source: Invoicing and Workflow: Integrating Process Automation to Enhance Operational Performance, Aberdeen Group)

General problems in sales invoice process

Paper invoices or manual process of invoices presents a number of challenges that result in unnecessary costs while undermining productivity. Here are the reasons why manual process of invoices should be avoided:

• Paper invoices and manual processes hinder organizations operations
• Paper invoices are Labor intensive
• Numerous sources expand the chances of mistake
• Paper receipts are difficult to screen
• Irregular delivery of invoices
• Adherence to manual processes, making bill payments difficult and time consuming
• Mismanagement of customer service calls

Why outsource invoice processing services?

What do you think could be the best way to handle invoice processing service? It is when you outsource them. The reason being, if you are novice into a particular field or sector, it is better to take the help of masters of the art. Another option available is to buy the software and work on it but this is not a good choice. Also software will cost you more as it is quite expensive. Therefore choose wisely rather smartly. Furthermore, by outsourcing you can save a lot of your expenditure and also you can access to rich repository of skilled personnel.

Benefits of outsourcing sales invoice process:

• Skilled workforce
• Improved performance
• Improved internal controls
• Reduces or eliminates Errors
• Comprehensive reports
• Reputation and trust of directors
• Extended hours of operation at lower cost
• Minimum day to day managerial responsibilities
• Convenient invoice delivery and payment processes
• Minimum calls to and from customers about lost invoices and several such challenges