| Workflow |
Document workflow solutions from DocuWare improve a company’s organization: work processes speed up, mistakes and multiple data entries are avoided. Employees in a process chain can use electronic workflow to access all the documents they need. Workflows are easy to set up using the document management program’s stamp feature.
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| Description |
Processes from the Stone Age?
Information bombards us today from every angle – e-mail, contracts, customer requests, invoices, letters… you name it. Business correspondence is increasingly handled in seconds, moving from continent to continent. It seems as if the world is spinning a little faster than it used to. So, why does the modern age give way to the stone age when your employees still waste time gathering information; just to further along a slow, often cumbersome, paper-based process? And at what cost to your company - slower productivity, poorer customer service, your competitive edge?
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Knowledge Base Collecting Dust?
Instead of traveling at light speed, information is still passed around by hand in many companies. Employees spend time printing out electronic correspondences that are then stored in folders and file cabinets – an ideal way for all your company’s knowledge base to collect dust. Knowledge stored away in these folders and cabinets cannot be easily used, monitored or analyzed.
Information Gone Missing?
The mail usually arrives once a day. It’s stamped with the date and then put in someone’s inbox. Then it might sit there for a while. Maybe an employee is on vacation or out sick. No wonder then, that your company doesn’t always benefit from early payment discounts and the like because of missed deadlines. And what about those customer files that a salesperson grabbed to take on a call? It’s data that is considered missing-in-action until the sales trip is over and the files show up again. In the meantime, your customer service department is scrambling because some of the answers they need are on the road. But not all missing information is out traveling. Some of it is simply stuck somewhere in-house. Even incoming orders can get hung up in several processing steps, and it’s not always clear on which desk the missing documents are accumulating. Customers have to wait because internally things are not running like they should. With this kind of productivity, your company can’t stay competitive.
Processing Invoices
The time between the arrival of an accounts payable invoice and when it is paid, often becomes a slow authorization process. The result: your company misses out on early payment discounts, and late payments damage your vendor relations and your credit ranking. Invoice copies circulate through several desks before payment can be made. In some cases, information needed, such as contracts or proof of delivery slips, are missing and the invoice can’t be verified. Long waiting and processing times are the norm. The status of an invoice is usually unclear. Vendor queries can also result in long searches and additional copies. No way to avoid storing both document originals and copies – and thus live with a constant source of confusion. Answering questions about outgoing accounts receivable invoices is also time-critical. While customer inquiries go unanswered about the products they purchased, their invoice from you remains unpaid. Your company’s cash flow suffers and the income you expected is delayed.
Faster Accounting
Accounts payable invoices can be processed much faster with DocuWare allowing you to benefit from early payment discounts. The authorization process is clearly structured by DocuWare with digital stamps. DocuWare can also be used with a wide variety of accounting systems. You always have complete clarity about the status of accounts payable and receivable invoices; who has them and at which processing level. Customer questions about received invoices can be answered immediately. Quick turnover and reaction times then help to drive your revenues, enhancing your cash flow.
Capturing Proof of Delivery
Slips Shipments are late going out of the warehouse. The reason: slow recording of incoming/outgoing shipments or incorrect data entry, which has a great impact on overall inventory. Warehouse workers scan or enter delivery slip data into a PC by hand, make copies and send over records to accounting/administration via internal mail. This might only happen once per day, so the record is only booked hours later. The risks: customer inquiries about items in stock are answered incorrectly thus delaying or losing a sale.
Maximum Productivity
By scanning delivery slips for incoming/ outgoing shipments and having them automatically transfer to administration, your circulation and processing times are significantly reduced. In addition, the data is captured without error. This alone increases the productivity of your organization tremendously. You have now set the groundwork for further growth and extended your lead beyond the competition.
Customer Service Lots of companies face the same issue: support needs and customer requests go unanswered or remain pending far too long. It’s not always easy to find the culprit, but it’s even harder to bring back unhappy ex-customers.
Shorter Response Times
It’s simple to automate ways to monitor customer service and support with DocuWare. One method is to create detailed access rights. This way, every authorized employee can follow the work steps involved in customer service, and view support contracts and customer inquiries with a click of the mouse. If a customer service representative replaces another, all of a customer’s documents are transferred in seconds – no missing pieces, no human error. This shrinks reaction times to a minimum and vastly improves the quality of your customer service.
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| The Processes |
On target and in seconds – that’s how documents should reach employees who are part of an electronic workflow, no matter where they are working around the globe. A company’s processes must be set up to work seamlessly in the background. No problem with DocuWare!
Invoice Authorization with Stamps
With DocuWare, business processes like authorizing invoices, can be effortlessly managed. Accounts payable invoices, for example, are labeled with a barcode containing a serial number and then scanned – right in the mail room. They are then automatically forwarded to the Accounting department. Accounting then adds a digital cost center stamp to the document, which will automatically route the document to the correct cost center. The head of the cost center can then either add a stamp that approves it for payment or one (containing a special field for comments) which declines approval. The document again advances automatically, sent back to Accounting to be booked or further researched. In seconds, accounts payable invoices have been circulated and authorized. You can now take advantage of early payment discounts and improve your company’s cash flow.
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Overview via Job Lists
Job Lists show every invoice in progress. They provide an overview to the Accounting team of all invoices in circulation – from those pending booking, to those still requiring third-party authorization. You now have the power to see where everything stands in the entire workflow, with a click of the mouse.
Maximum Transparency
All authorized employees can check the status of a workflow set up in DocuWare. All steps in the chain are registered showing user name and date. An electronic invoice, with its annotations and stamps, and authorization process is very much like a paper invoice. But DocuWare also gives you the ability to hide the stamps and annotations on documents if needed for display or printing purposes.
Extremely Easy to Use
This application is easy to implement – digital authorization using electronic stamps is set up to reflect the same process on paper.
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| Real World - American Engineering Testing, Inc. |
With DocuWare, American Engineering Testing, Inc., automated its invoice approval processes, eliminating lost invoices and realizing cost savings. Quick, secure access to information has improved employee productivity and limited legal liability.
American Engineering Testing, Inc., electronically routes invoices for approval to employees in 12 different offices throughout the country. Invoices are scanned and electronically moved through the approval process via DocuWare. An employee simply stamps the digitized document with the appropriate electronic stamp and fills in the P.O. number, job number, amounts and general ledger code. This action consequently updates the document’s “Status“ index field and automatically routes the invoice to a manager or back to the A/P clerk based on a predetermined approval path. The A/P clerk can monitor all invoices and, at a glance, knows if an invoice is open, pending approval, approved, rejected or has been paid. Cost savings have resulted from eliminating late payment fees and taking advantage of early payment discounts. More importantly, DocuWare has bridged the gap between headquarters and the branch offices by making information secure and available from a central electronic archive regardless of office location. This new efficiency has allowed the company to better manage its most important asset – its employees, while improving customer service and strengthening its business reputation.
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Challenge:
- Automate accounting processes
- Improve information flow between offices
- Reduce the physical handling and storage of paper
Benefits:
- Quick access to information regardless of location
- Cost savings from automating the invoice approval process
- Increased employee productivity
- Secure document storage limits legal liability
- Improved cash management and vendor relations
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| Benefits |
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Non-stop workflow – increases productivity and competitiveness |
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Speeds up processes – quicker response times and better customer service |
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Quicker invoice turnover – improves cashflow |
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Stamps – easy to set up workflows and easy to use. |
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Improved data quality – minimizes human error |
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Higher legal security – process auditing and long-term data retention |
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Transparent workflows – ideal for identifying bottlenecks |
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Explore more details on DocuWare solutions with an emphasis on "Workflow" 
Read the case study about American Engineering Testing, Inc.
Workflow - 
Workflow - 
Flujo de trabajo - 
Workflow documentaire - 
Flusso di lavoro