Avoiding Manual Data Entry and Embracing AP Automation

Manual data entry is a crucial step in the accounts payable (AP) process, but it’s painfully outdated. If your bookkeepers are still manually transcribing data from one document to another, then you should consider AP automation instead.

Here’s why.

1. Manual data entry takes too much time

Manual data entry can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours to complete and can prevent your bookkeepers from performing higher-value tasks. It involves very repetitive steps, making it incredibly exhausting and boring.

Because it’s tedious, anyone doing it can also become susceptible to distractions, decreasing their productivity even further.

2. It’s prone to typos

Human error is one of the greatest disadvantages of manual data entry. Because humans are not perfect, even the most detail-oriented employee is bound to commit a mistake. It could be as simple as a misspelled item name or as potentially disastrous as a financial statement entry with an extra zero.

A human being’s propensity for errors is linked to their emotional state. If your staff is tired, bored, distracted, or stressed as they transcribe crucial data, the risk of typos appearing in your financial documents increases by several folds.

3. It’s susceptible to misinterpretation

People think differently from one another, so it’s not uncommon for employees to interpret data differently from their colleagues. Invoices, receipts, and other documents with handwritten or illegible entries are a good example of this.

Some of your staff may read an “e” as a “c,” or an “s” as a “5.” Technically, they won’t be committing a typo, but their entry would still be erroneous.

4. It costs too much money

Manual data entry can only be done by people. As your company grows, so does the amount of data you work with. Eventually, you’ll have to hire more people who will help your existing team with bookkeeping.

The recruitment process itself is already expensive, but then you’ll have to buy equipment for your new employees too. When you account for training, insurance and other benefits, and other employee-related expenses, you could spend thousands of dollars every year just for data transcription.

Why is AP automation a great alternative?

AP automation software such as PairSoft streamlines crucial steps in the AP process. It’s a high-tech paperless solution that eliminates manual data entry and the issues that come with this outdated task.

AP automation speeds up the data extraction process by letting users capture data straight from the source document. Your staff won’t spend hours manually inputting data from vendor invoices to your digital database.

Using PairSoft, for instance, all they have to do is take a photo of the document using their mobile device. The software then extracts the data and converts it into a digital file that will then be sent to your database, all within a few seconds.

PairSoft’s Electronic Document Imaging technology prevents mistakes due to misinterpreted data. And because you’re essentially converting source documents into digital files, typos are avoided. These contribute to increased productivity for your bookkeepers.

But what about cost? AP automation software handles large chunks of information, so you don’t have to hire more people just to process data as your business grows. The solution will do this for you with the same level of efficiency and accuracy.

If you’re worried about the cost of the software, just consider the 1–10–100 Rule. This states that prevention is always cheaper than correction, which is, in turn, cheaper than failure.

Essentially, if you spend $1 on a software that prevents a problem, you’re saving $10 that could have been spent to correct the problem, and $100 that could have been lost because of the problem.

PairSoft eliminates time-consuming steps and streamlines invoice processing, increasing clients’ efficiency, security, and productivity as a result. Learn more by scheduling a free personalized demo today.