Top 5 Invoicing and Gift Processing Problems You Can Solve with Automation

Nonprofit organizations deal with many issues on a daily basis, and top among them are handling IOUs and donations. These tasks are repetitive, labor-intensive, and time-consuming. The worst part is that there are multiple steps involved in managing invoices and donations that can overwhelm even the most organized team. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Implementing a cutting-edge automation system like PaperSave can fix the most common problems with invoicing and gift processing, including:

Slow processing times

Doing everything manually is a huge undertake. Invoices can sit on someone’s desk for several days before being approved, and donations can get lost in an exchange of emails. Common scenarios like these not only lead to higher processing costs, but it also puts your organization at risk to be penalized with late payment fees and damaging donor/vendor relationships.

That’s why you need a solution like PairSoft. It lets you setup electronic workflows that automatically route documents to the right people. You can create a gift processing workflow that forwards any incoming donations to planned giving coordinators who will then record and verify pledge details. You can even make accounts payable workflows designed to streamline approvals and payment so you can secure early payment discounts and eliminate the risks associated with manual processing.

Related article: How Workflow Automation Benefits Your Organization

Inefficient workforce

Subjecting staff to several hours of tedious paperwork is the quickest way to kill morale and productivity levels. Automation saves your employees from mundane back-office tasks. Instead, they can devote their time and energy on more rewarding endeavors like building rapport with donors or handling invoice exceptions. This translates to better resource utilization and, more importantly, higher job satisfaction.

High error rates

Paper-based processes are not only labor-intensive, but they’re prone to error, too. Employees, no matter how experienced, can make minor slip-ups that have big implications. For instance, data entry errors can result in lost donations, incorrect payments, and major discrepancies in your accounting system.

However, automation makes invoicing and gift processing error-free. PairSoft provides document capture features that are powered by text recognition and machine learning technology to extract data and input it directly to your database. If enabled, it can tag files and sort them in specific folders so they’re easy to retrieve.

Incompatible systems

Another benefit of automation is how it brings your applications together under one roof. Modern nonprofit organizations tend to have a variety of applications for accounting, donor and gift processing, and document management. But the problem is these systems run separately from one another, making it difficult for accountants and fundraising teams to work together.

With automation, any data you process on PairSoft flows seamlessly into your accounting and gift processing software. This means employees never have to re-enter data or have multiple windows open to cross-reference information in different databases.

Related article: Robotic Process Automation 101 (Machine Learning)

Data compliance issues

The accounting and fundraising departments manage large volumes of sensitive information every day, but it’s difficult to keep up with data security regulations when everything is done on paper.

For example, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act compels firms to retain invoices and donor records for at least seven years. In an automated system, an administrator can set document retention and deletion policies with just a few clicks of the mouse. The software will then track documents’ received date and delete them once they’ve passed their retention period.

DMS software also lets you encrypt files and manage access privileges from a central console. This is particularly useful for complying with ever-changing PCI DSS regulations, which require companies to secure the privacy and integrity of financial information. What’s more, the software automatically tracks changes made to a document and who approved them. These allow you to hold people accountable for their actions, identify suspicious activities, and promote data security best practices.

If you recognize one or more of these problems in your invoicing and gifting processes, PairSoft’s workflow automation is the solution. Sign up for a free personalized demo to start streamlining your operations today!