The Castle Analogy: Core Strategy for a Paperless Office

Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Blog

Build Your Moat and Drawbridge: Document Capture, Digital Forms and Workflow

When you look at the medieval castle, it had all the protective measures to insure the occupants were protected from outside threats.  In our modern office, the threat is to efficiency and productivity, especially when examining the flow of paper both in and out.  A core strategy is to surround your organization with a virtual moat, that allows no paper to cross.  Below outlines the use of 3 technologies to help with the goal of the paperless office.

Document Capture and Scanning – Today, it is almost impossible to forbid inbound paper.  Whether it is a small business sending paper invoices, a law firm that sends a FedEx package of contracts or a paper bill of lading for a shipment, paper will still exist for most organizations at some level.  The goal here is to create that virtual moat, across which “none shall pass”.  This can be your mail room, with a core policy of digitizing any paper for distribution within the organization.

Digital Forms – Forms technology can insure minimal creation of paper, through the use of a “born digital” mindset.  Want to request vacation?  Fill out a digital form.  HR new hire paperwork?  Go to the new hire portal and fill out the required electronic forms.  This technology can help eliminate new paper creation internally, and can be expanded for external paperwork as well, reducing the need for scanning and document capture.

Workflow Software – workflow provides the ability to fully digitize any work process, and can integrate with both electronic forms and document capture.  This provides a powerful multiplier effect, letting you combine the advantages of all technologies, and enhancing your efficiency and productivity to a whole new level.  Documents and work can now be digitally routed both internally and externally.

These three technologies can be implemented in stages, one by one to start the improvement process, and begin the elimination of the paper threat.  Thoughts?

 

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Document Capture Software: 6 Key Features

Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Blog

Make Sure You Are Comparing Apples to Apples

So, we often see confusion in customers looking for scanning and document capture software, and trying to figure out what is the right fit.  To give a brief definition, scanning software provides just a means to scan paper to an image.  It provides basic features, and is fine for low volume document imaging when you are just looking to archive or send a document via email.  Document Capture Software focuses on automation, and making the whole process easy.  Below are 6 key features of document capture software, and the power it can provide to any organization:

1. Integration with any scanning device – capture software needs to work with any type of device, or anything that can create an image.  Copiers, desktop scanners, mobile phones, cameras all need to be supported.
2. Document Separation – this feature allows you to “scan the stack”, and let the capture software split the image into individual documents.  This is one of the key efficiency features, and prevents scanning documents one by one.
3. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) – capture software provides an OCR engine for a wide variety of uses, and can create searchable PDFs, zone a certain area on a page and separate by key terms.
4. Document Capture Workflow Steps – scanning documents is a business process, and document capture software supports the division of labor when imaging.  Maybe a mailroom clerk scans the documents, a claims processor enters data, and a supervisor performs QA.  This is essential to a smooth capture and scanning workflow.
5. Complex Extraction – the imaging software should not only be able to extract basic document information, but should also be capable of complex information extraction.  One example is the line items on an invoice.
6. Line of Business System Integration – in addition to document management systems, like SharePoint and OnBase, document capture software should be able to tap into any type of system, and route documents and data.

This is just a short list of features that separate scanning from capture.  You can read more frequently asked document capture questions here: Document Capture FAQ.

 

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The 3 Amigos of Process Automation: Capture, Workflow and Archive

Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Blog

Document Automation: Before, During and After

As organizations try to become paperless, there are 3 key stages in digital transformation, and eliminating as much paper as possible.  To truly achieve automation from end-to-end, all three stages need to be implemented.  Here are some details:

• Capture – the capture stage can mean different things for different processes.  If you have a stack of paper invoices, and are looking to automated you AP process, obviously a scanner with document capture software would be key.  But take a broader look, and capture can apply to other areas.  Maybe you have an AS400 that prints POs?  Implementing a spool to pdf solution would create digital files rather than paper.  Another area might be inbound fax, or perhaps email with attachments.  The overall goal of capture is to set a virtual perimeter around your organization that captures inbound documents and data, and passes them to a line of business system or a workflow process.
• Workflow – a business process management suite or workflow tool can provide a means to move documents and data throughout your organization.  It can be fed information from any capture process, and provides the ability to avoid “efficiency killers” like the email inbox or file share.  Take for example a hospital that has referrals faxed to a number, they are captured and passed to a queue for processing by staff.  This digital process provides maximum efficiency, prevents lost or overlooked items, and with reporting tools, management can have great insight into the process.
• Archive – So what happens when it’s all over?  In today’s environment, documents and data need to be readily available for review, audit purposes and legal needs.  Both workflow and capture can provide an integration to repositories for storage of document and information.  Take the fax process outlined above.  The final step could be an archive of the inbound fax and metadata into a specific SharePoint library, or perhaps an OnBase document repository.  The archive provides easy search for processed information, and create a digital file cabinet for your organization.

As you evaluate your internal processes, and look to automate, make sure you approach all 3 stages of the document automation chain.

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Solving CFO Concerns with BPM

Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Blog

Accounting, AP and Finance Automation

 

Accounting and Finance departments serve a critical function in any organization, and inefficiency not only impacts them, but can have broader downstream impact on other business units and departments.  Today, speed, accuracy and efficiency are paramount to a smooth running flow of work.

So why speed, accuracy and efficiency?  To understand, below is an outline of the top concerns for financial leaders (info from a K2 Finance Infographic):

1. Improving Margins and Earnings Performance – Optimizing resources and the ability to better manage costs is a top concern.
2. Cyber Security Risks – Managing and protesting financial data and controlling access to the ERP/Financial Systems.
3. Strategic Planning – Creating streamlined predictable, standardized processes for planning.
4. Periodic Forecasting – The ability to surface data from all systems of record.
5. Budgeting – Using data for improved budgeting and decisions.

In these key concern areas, the demand for speed and accuracy continues to mount, and expectations grow without the increases in staff and budget.  So, implementing technology solutions to help is key for success, and helps to alleviate concerns.  So what are the top finance processes ripe for automation? Here are the top 5 processes:

1.  Expense processing – providing an automated, rules-based process for submitting and approving expenses can provide a standardized, repeatable reporting mechanism for projections.
2. Invoice Processing – with the majority of invoices still in paper form, automating AP is a key to faster payment (read early pay discounts), reduction in data errors and reduction in processing time.
3. CapEx Approvals – moving away from emailed spreadsheets in the CapEx process, and utilizing a managed digital workflow can provide insight, improved transparency and reporting capabilities.
4. Budgeting – providing a collaborative, social environment for budgeting can lead to enhanced accuracy, and reduce departmental shortfalls.
5. Internal Audits – simplified reporting and “visual” report tools can help smooth out the audit process, and reduce staff time required to comply with demands.

Want to read more?  Contact us to talk to a specialist, and see how inForm Decisions can help you with our workflow software offerings.

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The Evolution of AP: AP Automation Levels for Invoice Processing

Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Blog

Invoice Processing Options: AP Automation Advancement

In any accounting department, there are a number of ways to automate invoice processing and provide efficiency and improve productivity of staff members.  The choice is really based on management’s desire to improve the overall invoice process, and is based on: volume of invoices, number of staff, and complexity of invoices.  Below are the options available, and the benefits/drawbacks:

1. Stick with paper (No automation) – many accounting departments opt for this option, and in certain circumstances, it can be a wise choice.  Typically, if the organization has a very low number of invoices being processed per week, and minimal staff are required to process them, this can be a wise choice.  The disadvantages can be the lack of digital archives for audit and legal purposes, and over time a requirement for space and file cabinets.  Access can also be an issue, especially if remote personnel need invoice lookups.
2. Scan Invoices Upon Receipt (Low Level Automation) – In this scenario, as invoices are received, they are scanned with basic scanning software, routed to AP staff, and indexed with basic invoice header information.  Usually this will also entail a dual monitor setup, where staff will have the scanned invoice on one monitor, and the accounting software up on another.  This removes paper from the process, provides some efficiency/productivity gains, and speeds up data entry and approvals.  Usually email is used for basic approvals.  Invoices are also archived automatically to provide access through a document management system.
3. Advanced Capture & Extraction (Medium Level Automation) – In this type of processing, advanced document capture software is leveraged to auto-extract the invoice header and line item information during the AP process.  The accounting staff sees the invoices and extracted data in a quality assurance step, and once the info is validated, it is then automatically routed to the ERP/Accounting System, as well as archived to the document repository.  This provides a high level of automation, and minimizes processing time.
4. Advanced Capture + Workflow (Highest Level Automation) – This type of solution includes not only document capture automation of all invoice processes, but also adds workflow software to aid in the routing of documents, kickback of invoices to vendors and solving any issues.  The addition of digital workflow adds the ability to track and report extensively on the AP process.

So, why not just go with the top level?  Depending on your staff, the move to digital can be a big step, and can also be expensive.  So for any project success, you need full management and staff support.  Purchasing software that support all enhanced levels of invoice processing can be key.  Questions?  Contact us today for a demo.

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Accounting Digital Transformation: Capture + Workflow

Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Blog

The New Way to Crunch Numbers

Walk into any accounting department today and you are sure to see piles of paper and file cabinets.  Most of the paper is bound to the AP, or accounts payable process.  Throughout the month, invoices flood in from a variety of vendors seeking payment, and the paper plague never ends.   Adding to the problem is that the AP process doesn’t just deal with paper.  Some will send invoices as email attachments, others may fax them in.  Managing all these inputs, and processing/extracting information is painful at best.  So here are the core problems:

• Multi-channel Input – invoices as paper, email and fax.
• Conversion – the need to convert all inputs to a single document format
• Invoice Data Extraction – the need to automatically extract information
• Approvals – the requirement to route invoices for approvals
• Integration – pushing and pulling data to/from accounting systems

So what is required to accomplish all this?  Utilizing iCapture and iWorkflow combined can drive great efficiency and automation from start to finish of your AP invoice processing.   Here are the benefits:

iCapture

• Scan and capture invoices from desktop scanners, copiers and import from folders
• Automatically split and extract invoice header and line item data
• Send data and invoices to your accounting system, document management system or iWorkflow

iWorkflow

• Route invoices for approvals
• Build business rules for approval routing
• Easy to use forms and mobile enabled

Want to learn more and see a demo?  Contact us today.
Contact us today

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CIO’s Dilemma: Build, Buy or BPM

Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Blog

Choosing the Right Application Strategy Path

CIOs constantly face one of the most complex decisions on the IT Strategy front:

What is the most effective way for our organization to introduce new applications or rebuild old ones?

These discussions are always bound by key options:

1. Build a custom application.
2. Buy an off the shelf commercial application.
3. Buy a BPM/BPA Suite.
4. A hybrid approach.

Build

Ah, the custom application.  The promised land, everything you want, built exactly to requirements ;).  My favorite CIO quote in my time in BPM is: “I am so tired of being a custom software development house.”  The Build option has historically been the de facto path to meeting the exact business needs of a desired application, and truly tailoring functionality.  But building comes with unique resource requirements, longer timelines, and rigid change management that prevents agility.  Add in the standard requirement of Line of Business (LOB) System integration, and even small applications can require large teams with diverse skill sets to deliver.  For this reason, many organizations leverage 3rd party partners to help with development, which adds to overall project complexity.  The benefit?  If managed correctly, you get exactly what you want.  Some great info on Build vs Buy here:  Build Versus Buy Whitepaper

Buy

Whether its Safety, HR, Accounting, or any other core business function, there are focused commercial applications to meet business needs.  Most of these applications will meet about 80% of an organization’s requirements, but what I find is that missing 20% is the true gold.  Many applications offer APIs to extend and add functionality, but this requires custom development or hiring the 3rd party’s services team to extend.  I am seeing more and more organizations that are trying to get their app “bloat” under control, and reduce the number of niche applications in use by their business.  There are some key questions to ask when evaluating focused apps:

• How easy is it to integrate with my LOBs?  Code or configuration?
• Is the system overkill for what we are trying to accomplish?
• How difficult is it to administer?  Will I require certified staff?
• What is missing and what will it cost to extend and maintain?

I find many organizations “settle” when it comes to off the shelf applications, and adjust their business to the application.  The key benefit, in most cases, is you get up and running quite quickly, and can glean advantages and ROI without waiting for dev or build time.

BPM/BPA

The Business Process Management/Business Process Application suites are just about always in the mix, but I find there is always some deep education required on capabilities.  There is quite often core resistance to them, especially from the development teams.  No/Low Code platforms can be perceived as a threat, but smart dev managers see them as powerful tools that can lead to reduced delivery time, increased agility and quite frankly, a driver for accomplishing more with less.  The benefits are shorter dev times, agility when it comes to modifying the applications, and creating process centric applications that map to the business.  These platforms have evolved into a true “swiss army knife” of IT, and can be used as a plugin to provide solutions around all types of requirements.  More on No/Low Code here:  No/Low Code Platforms

Hybrid

The hybrid approach seems to be quite common, and many of the inquiries I see today involve organizations looking for BPM/BPA platforms to round out their existing inventory.  Maybe they have a custom dev project where they need a workflow engine, or a data integration layer, and see the platform as a way to provide core capabilities.  Perhaps they purchased an off the shelf app, and need to extend it, or wrap it with a more capable forms or reporting engine.  To see how a hybrid strategy including BPM/BPA can impact an organization, see this post:  BPM Benefits  The true benefit of this hybrid strategy is that you can have all the benefits of the core BPM engine, and use extended capabilities through the APIs to add value to other existing apps or projects.

Just a quick overview of App Strategy observations.  Comments?

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What is Your Digital Strategy?

Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Blog

Report: Digital Transformation Success and Failure

Over the weekend, I ran across this great set of stats provided by the Sloan MIT Management Review and Capgemini Consulting.  They interviewed almost 1600 executives and managers across a wide variety of industries, and found some interesting results concerning the transition to a digital workplace and digital strategy.

Below are some key highlights and core findings:

• There is consensus that adopting digital business process is critical to organization success.  Executives and managers are all in agreement that they must all be in sync on the digital transformation journey, and modernize process and core business functions.
• The majority of employees find the transition process difficult, complex and way too slow.  Employees and management are typically frustrated with the lack of progress and a missing sense or urgency.
• Companies who succeed have a comprehensive strategy.  Successful, transformative leaders share a complete digital vision, provide a roadmap for success, reward employees and distribute authority for implementation.

Here are some great stats as well:

• 63% of respondents say the pace of technology change is too slow.
• 93% of employees believe digital transformation is the right path.
• Most agree transformation must happen within a 2 year time frame.
• The top obstacle to success is a “lack of urgency”.

So how do you become a digital business?  There are many paths through our technical solutions:

• Document Capture – provides a seamless way to digitize your incoming paper documents.  This can be accomplished with iCapture Document  Capture Software.
• Digital Process – digitizing your workflow with a business process management solution can be a key facet of any digital strategy.  See our workflow software.
• Digital Forms – digitizing any form can provide great efficiency and help automate process.  See our forms solutions: iForms and K2 Forms.
• iSeries Automation – Automating iSeries and AS400 processes can be challenging, but can provide powerful productivity gains.  See our iSeries Forms Software and Document Management Solutions.

For more info, here is a link to the research:  Embracing Digital Technology

For more on Paper to Digital transformation, see: The Evolution of Business Process

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Document Capture 101: Capture Drives Search

Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Blog

1. Limit your number of fields to 5 or less. So many times i see document scanning customers use way to many fields during their document capture and OCR process.  The more fields you have, the more time for end users to enter index data on their documents, and the more chances fields will get skipped.  Take the time to interview the end users and truly find how they need to search for their documents.
2. Always use a date.  Dates are the ultimate filter that can be a life saver when searching for that needle in a haystack in your document scanning solution.  Invoice date, purchase order date, contract date, etc. give you the power to narrow down your search results to a specified period and can be a huge help in audit based searches or searches for legal support.
3. Use OCR automation to reduce indexing time.  Document capture applications provide automation and efficiency, and can reduce end user keying requirements on documents.  Strong, accurate Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, and Advanced Data Extraction (ADE) are absolutely required.
4. Ensure your technology has a QA step.  If you are going to go to all the trouble of scanning, capturing and sending documents to a repository, make sure you can check your work.  Misfiling a document can a painful experience.
5. Full text search is the insurance policy.  Always, I repeat always, convert your scanned documents to a searchable format using OCR PDF Image with Hidden text.  This will allow for granular searches beyond your index fields/columns, and can help you in the “find a needle in the haystack” tasks.  But do not, I say, do NOT rely on full text search as your primary search method.  Full text does not let you sort by specific document focused dates, cannot let you do range based searches on specific criteria, and restricts sorting and viewing in most repositories.

 

 

 

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Other keywords: iseries forms software, as 400 excel

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Join our seminar: Driving Digital Business with Electronic Signatures

Written by Ly Dinh. Posted in Blog

Join inFORM Decisions, K2 and DocuSign for a Breakfast Seminar at the Microsoft Technology Center in Irvine, CA. This informative event will consist of three unique 45-minute sessions covering legality issues, integration points within the context of business process management, as well as showcase a live demonstration of these capabilities.

There are only 30 slots available for this private event, so register today!

Driving Digital Business with Electronic Signatures

For more information on IFD solutions, contact inFORM Decisions at 800-858-5544, email [email protected] or visit us online atwww.informdecisions.com.

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Other keywords: AS/400 spool file, AS 400 Excel, AS 400 reports

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