6 Ways Your Organization Can Use Web Forms

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What forms does your organization utilize? Once you begin to take inventory of all of the forms you rely on to complete common tasks, you may be surprised at how many you use.

How do you and your employees complete these forms? Often they’re completed on paper, making them prone to errors, missing information, and being misplaced. Fillable PDF forms eliminate the paper aspect of the process, but they’re often difficult to complete and don’t save any time compared to paper.

Implementing a smart web forms product can eliminate these issues and create a simpler, more streamlined process for you and your employees. Organizations often don’t realize the full potential of a web forms product and worry that it’s limited to just one specific process or department. The benefit of web forms is that they’re flexible and scalable, meaning they can fit in with just about any process or need, and thanks to Mosaic’s implementation consultants, they can be customized to your organization.

So, exactly where can these forms be used? We’ll review 6 common uses, but the beauty of web forms is that any paper form can be transformed into a web form.

Onboarding Paperwork

The time from when a new hire signs their offer letter to their first week is crucial for an organization to make a good impression on their new employee. Forms such as I-9, W-4, WOTC, 401K, Direct Deposit, and Benefits Elections can easily turn in to stacks of paperwork. These forms also require new hires to write out the same basic information over and over again.

Online forms simplify the process and eliminate redundancy. Each form gets filled out quicker and there is less margin for error. Also, employees simply e-sign their documents, meaning no printing, signing, and scanning necessary.

Timesheets/Time Off Requests

Processing and managing timesheets and time-off requests is a heavy lift for human resources. It’s not uncommon for paper timesheets and time-off requests to go missing or for data to be entered incorrectly. Web forms allow for your employees to quickly fill out their timesheets as well as submit time off requests to their managers for approval.

Contracts

If your organization requires employees, vendors, or clients to sign any sort of contract, you understand the frustration that comes with trying to get a signature. This becomes increasingly difficult if you are sending contracts outside your physical office. Using web forms makes it simple to send contracts to the right people to review, and with wet signatures, they can sign them from their computer, tablet, or even mobile device, no printing and scanning required.

Expense Reports

When your employees submit expense reports, they typically have two choices, scan their invoices and receipts and email them in bulk to accounting, or staple together the physical documents and drop them off in person. Both processes aren’t organized, and there’s a high likelihood for documents to get lost or entered incorrectly. Web forms can eliminate the disorganization of paper expense reporting and can help track employee submissions.

Purchase Orders/Proof of Delivery

If you operate in the manufacturing or distribution space, you likely have countless orders placed weekly. Typically the existing process requires new documents for each step, the purchase order, the picking ticket, verification documents, delivery slip, proof of delivery, and other documentation. Web forms can not only make the order process easier for customers, but it can also help move along your workflow and reduce the number of physical documents attached to each order. Proof of delivery tickets are digital and able to be updated instantly with wet signature verification.

Healthcare

Many nonprofits and healthcare organizations have antiquated patient onboarding processes. Stacks of paper forms are required for patients or caretakers to complete and for your organization to track. Additionally, crucial patient records are left disorganized, which can not only be a point of frustration for your employees, but it can also lead to legal issues.  Web forms can solve that. A custom patient onboarding workflow connects directly to your ECM. Meaning you can quickly onboard patients and easily track them.

 

These are just a small sample of the uses for web forms for your organization. At Mosaic, we can help you determine the perfect use for forms in your organization. Think your organization would benefit from migrating from paper-based forms to web forms but aren’t sure how? Give us a call at 770.452.7373 and we’ll see how your current business processes can benefit.

Comparing DocStar to Free Storage Services

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When organizations are considering migrating to a paperless office they often ask, “why is a paid ECM solution better than the free ones I see online?” It’s a valid question, after all, there are plenty of free file sharing and storing solutions available with enticing features (and of course, an enticing price tag).

In order to understand why free storage solutions may not be an effective content management strategy for your organization, it’s important to understand the differences between free storage and ECM.

But it’s not a viable long-term solution for your organization, and what you may save in upfront costs you may wind up losing down the road in operating expenses, often without even realizing it. So, why should your organization utilize a robust ECM solution vs. a free storage one?

You get what you pay for

DropBox, Google Drive, Box, and a wealth of other storage solutions draw you in with their “free” price tag and seemingly limitless possibilities. These cloud-based solutions are excellent for storing simple text-based documents and collaborating and sharing. Unfortunately, you have a limit to how much you can store, and with little sorting and organization beyond basic filing, keeping track of multiple documents can get overwhelming.

You may not be able to organize and track the information from these documents in the way your organization requires. If you’re utilizing a free service to manage your AP/AR documentation, you won’t be able to search the document content itself for specific information such as date, purchase order number, or vendor attached to it. So while yes, this solution will eliminate paper from your PO workflow, it won’t alleviate any of the frustration associated with managing hundreds, if not thousands, unique files.

All of these solutions require you to store your documents in their cloud, which could be a security concern for organizations that need to keep everything on-premise or in a more secure cloud environment. These solutions offer little security for sharing these files as well, so when sharing confidential information you may put your organization at risk.

At the end of the day, these online storage solutions offer just that, storage. While many organizations certainly benefit from these products and features for certain documents, it’s often not the best solution for sensitive financial, employee, or other important business documents.

Why ECM is different

Where these solutions fall short, DocStar thrives. ECM provides more than simply a digital filing cabinet, it provides a more efficient workflow for your documents. Features such as Smart OCR capture can pull information from your scanned and uploaded documents, allowing you to search by the document’s content vs. just its name. This means you can quickly find the exact document you need just by searching for a specific field.

A smarter ECM solution means you can store your records on your terms, either on-premise at your location or in a secure cloud environment. Having options means that you can determine what would work best for your organization’s needs rather than simply be forced one way or another based on what the servicer requires.

While an ECM solution may require upfront and maintenance costs, you’ll quickly find yourself saving more than you spent. With proper implementation and maintenance, your organization will save money, time, and work.

The next step

Once you fully understand the scope of your organization’s needs, having a conversation with our team of experts to understand further how DocStar ECM can help your organization across all departments.

Give us a call at 770.452.7373 to learn more.

DocStar Advanced Workflows Overview

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Many organizations believe that just by storing their records in a document management system they’ve done enough to improve their processes. Savvy organizations know that the next step to further streamline their day-to-day processes is by utilizing advanced workflows. Like most effective processes, workflows are specific to the organization using them, and you may be unsure of how they work and the difference between Basic and Advanced Workflows.

What exactly is a workflow? It’s the sequence of industrial, administrative, or other processes through which a piece of work passes from initiation to completion. Some of these workflows are relatively straightforward, like making a chocolate cake (the tastiest type of workflow) while others may be far more complex, like building a skyscraper.

Within document management, some sample workflows might be requesting approval, PO requisition, or onboarding.

Workflows are incredibly important, they help provide transparency within key processes, and allow you to identify any potential red flags. Also, like a recipe, it moves along processes so you can get to a successful end result.

By creating workflows then using Reportworks to review them, you can ensure that the processes you work to build are successful.

What is the difference between Basic Workflow and Advanced Workflow?

The basic workflow is described as single steps with sequential actions. The easiest example of this is a recipe, each step leads to the next and even though you started with just a few ingredients, you wind up with a great finished (and hopefully delicious) product! In DocStar, standard workflow is included in the base product. Known as a 2-step workflow, it relies on if/then logic then stops. 2-Step workflows are full-featured but limit administrators to only one step with no branching.

Advanced Workflow is 3 step (or more!) workflow that relies on if/then/else logic, that’s when you can really streamline a process. It adds in things such as conditional logic and chaining of multiple workflows to allow complex processing and routing. This would be like if you were making a recipe and depending on what ingredients you added it would go to a different step, but end up even more delicious!

How can workflows be utilized?

While there’s a place for a custom workflow, whether it be Basic or Advanced, in just about any part of your business, our most common use cases are within accounting and finance.

An example of an Advanced Workflow would be in scenarios within Accounts Payable approvals where different approvers would be notified based on the department making the request. Utilizing branch conditions within Advanced Workflow means the right approvals go to the right people at the right time. Additionally, multi-step advanced workflow can be seen in situations where a workflow needs to search and compare a value on an invoice (such as PO number) to an existing PO in Docstar with a matching value and determine if the total amount of the invoice matches the total amount of the PO. If the totals don’t match, you can easily be notified and work towards getting that rectified quickly, having spent little-to-no manual work on catching the error.

Additional ways advanced workflow can vastly improve your document management process include multi-level approval routing exception reports, matching, mathematical equations to capture options like OCR, barcode, separation, and image enhancement. But with advanced workflow, the possibilities are practically endless.

How Mosaic fits in

As an automation solution provider, we typically see clients who start out using ECM for just record storage then progress into advanced workflows and added products to improve their efficiency. After implementing advanced workflows, they quickly see a transformation in how they process key documents. Mosaic Paperless Solutions has knowledge in creating custom workflows for clients, and we’d love to show you how your organization could directly benefit from them.

Give us a call at 1-800-387-7859 to learn more.

Comparing Sharepoint to an ECM

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Often one of the biggest questions we get from potential and current customers is what’s the difference between Microsoft Sharepoint and an ECM? On the surface, the two seem similar, and their overlapping features may make deciding between the two of them a difficult task.

While there is some overlap in the features of the two applications, their core functionality, and benefit to your business, is very different. Fortunately, you don’t have to decipher the differences on your own. We’ve put together some of the key features and will compare and contrast the two platforms.

To put it simply, companies who are looking to improve processes, reduce the usage of paper, and perform enhanced imaging functions – SharePoint is not the correct solution for you. However, if you’re simply wanting a collaborative site, where people can share ideas, notes and some electronic documents in their native format, SharePoint may be a good fit.

Microsoft SharePoint screenshot

Microsoft SharePoint positions itself as an all-in-one solution for team sharing and content templates for any business scenario, and for some organizations, it can be effective. SharePoint has been growing consistently at 25% annually in the past 17 years it’s been on the market. It boasts solutions such as team file sharing, customization options, approval processes, and other transformative features. At a relatively low cost, it’s enticing for many organizations who are in need of a way to collaborate, host and approve files, and develop a workflow within their business processes. Unfortunately, many organizations realize quickly that SharePoint is technologically intensive, and if they’re switching from paper-based to SharePoint, their employee’s learning curve can be incredibly frustrating. So, why should your organization use an ECM solution instead of SharePoint?

One of SharePoint’s downfalls is that it’s promoted as a turnkey solution for all types of organizations. Not only is it difficult to implement, but the solutions themselves are not industry specific. A legal team is using the same tools as a manufacturer, and while they may certainly need similar solutions, it’s unlikely that SharePoint’s functionality can work perfectly for both of them without intensive customization. That customization is nearly impossible for someone without an IT background, and can quickly become costly to implement.

There are also security concerns. There are no feature access permissions and for IT professionals configuring the system it can be a technical nightmare. While yes, it’s more protected than Google Drive or DropBox, it still has gaps in security which can be detrimental if your organization hosts sensitive information. An ECM system has security features in place from the first day of use to ensure information will not be vulnerable when sharing it with employees, customers, or vendors. By providing granular permission settings, a secure central repository, compliant audit trails, redaction and annotation support, redundant backup using secure 2056 bit encryption, and single sign, you can feel confident about hosting your information within your ECM solution.

Many users believe that SharePoint is free or is included with their Microsoft 360 subscription. While true to an extent (it does come free via download or with Windows Server software operating systems), the main interfacing component for end users is a paid service. The paid features start at $5/month per user but that doesn’t include any customization or support. SharePoint can quickly get expensive, and oftentimes the clear cost is never laid out. While on paper, a more sophisticated ECM solution may seem like a larger investment, what you save in time and frustration, coupled with a clear understanding of costs from the beginning, will be well worth it.

Organizations also aim to use Sharepoint to create custom web forms, which can prove to be difficult and time-consuming. Moreover, these forms may lack specific features, only allowing for basic fields and attachments. These forms are fine for simple information-gathering, but organizations looking to create forms for specific HR processes will find these forms won’t fit their needs in the long-term.

One of the main reasons organizations choose SharePoint is because of its association with its parent company, Microsoft. Since many organizations already use Microsoft Dynamics, Dynamics NAV, GP, or SQL Server, it seems like a natural fit to use SharePoint. What many of them don’t realize is that more robust ECM solutions also integrate just as well, if not better, with their existing ERP, HRIS, ArcGIS and other business applications, allowing you to import your documents and data in one step while storing them in the central repository.

When given the choice between SharePoint and an ECM solution, it may seem like SharePoint is the better option, simply because of its cost and functionality. But when you closely examine SharePoint and compare it to an ECM, it doesn’t even come close to the benefits an ECM will provide.

Want to learn more about an ECM solution that will work for your organization? Give us a call at 1-800-387-7859.

Understanding the Legality of Scanned Documents

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Many organizations who are considering a document management solution aren’t entirely sure if the documents they scan and store in their ECM are going to be legally admissible or compliant. Oftentimes, rather than seek out a more effective storage solution, they let piles of paperwork build up by holding on to documents longer than necessary.

Typically physically storing important records in filing cabinets or closets puts them more at risk for being stolen, destroyed, or lost than digital record keeping.

But before moving all your records into digital storage, it’s important to understand the legalities of the process. What are the rules of records management, and most importantly, are scanned documents legally accepted?

What are the laws?

In the United States, there are two laws that clearly establish if digitally scanned documents managed on an ECM are admissible in court:

1. The Uniform Photographic Copies of Business and Public Records as Evidence Act (UPA) (US 1128‐0020‐00) ‐ Enacted by almost all states, it specifies that reproductions of records have the same legal significance as the original and may be used in place of the original for all purposes including evidence.

What does this mean? In short, it means that copies, microfilm, and other reproductions, documents are the same as physical documents and are just as legally valid.

2. The Uniform Rules of Evidence (US 128‐0060‐00 to 0170‐00) ‐ the other major uniform law, “The Uniform Rules of Evidence“, has been adopted by the United States federal courts and 34 states. The Rules of Evidence allow a duplicate to be admissible in evidence “to the same extent as an original” and defines a duplicate as a counterpart produced by any technique “which accurately reproduces the original.”

What does this mean? It means that as long as your digital duplicates are the same as the original (which with the proper processes and procedures they would be), you can utilize them in U.S. Federal Courts and the majority of state courts.

Both laws state that duplicate records may be admitted into evidence if they accurately reproduce the original. Because document imaging technology is a duplication technology similar to physical reproduction methods such as photocopies, microfilm, and facsimile, digitally stored documents fit within these regulations.

What classifies as a reproduction?

The most widely‐used reproduction techniques, including photocopy, microfilm, facsimile, and document imaging all exhibit the same characteristics:

Image Capture

A photographic, scanning, or another process that identifies and captures the image of the original document.

Image Manipulation

A photographic, electronic, photostatic, or another process that transforms the captured image into a format for storing and reproducing the image.

Visible Reproduction

A photographic, photostatic, printing, or another process that converts the manipulated image into visible form. A document imaging system, for example, utilizes an electronic scanner for image recognition, computer software, memory and optical disk storage for image manipulation, and graphic terminals and laser printers to make the image visible.

A document imaging system is similar to other reproduction technologies, it utilizes an electronic scanner for image recognition; computer software, memory and optical disk storage for image manipulation, and graphic terminals and laser printers to make the image visible.

As long as it’s correctly done, courts have upheld that imaging and scanning are just as legally binding as paper documents.

Regardless of how you store your documents, audit trails are recommended in order to prove that a transaction was properly processed by the organization. With an audit trail, you can instantly know every time an electronic document has been viewed or manipulated. They help ensure document integrity and prove that the image is a true representation of the original ‐ reducing exposure to risk. Mosaic’s solutions allow for the easy creation of audit trails and

In Conclusion

In the United States, records made from a document imaging system will be admissible in evidence to the same extent as the original record, as long as the document imaging records accurately reproduce the original. If that standard has been met, an organization can feel secure in destroying the original records and relying on digital records as evidence.

Similarly, records required by government agencies can be maintained in document imaging systems. Whenever the government agency requests information, the organization would prepare duplicates from the document imaging system. The government agency may require that original records be kept or that your document imaging system meet certain standards.

Government agencies in the United States may also use document imaging systems to manage and retrieve information. Original short‐term paper records could be destroyed after the images have accurately been preserved in a document imaging system. Since document imaging records are not archival, long‐term (retention over 10 years) or permanent records must generally be maintained in either paper or archival microfilm form. It is not expected that state and federal archives will permit the destruction of long‐term paper records after scanning into a document imaging system, even when document imaging are certified for archival purposes.

Understanding DocStar Reportworks

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Day-to-day, many of your workflows stay relatively consistent. While they may seem like they’re working “well enough,” it’s possible there are gaps you may be missing.

How does an organization identify those gaps and fix them? The first step is gaining a deeper understanding of your current workflow.

This first step is crucial in ensuring that your workflows are working for your organization. By reviewing how effective your workflow is you can quickly identify what’s working and what’s not, and then take the steps necessary to fix it.

This task may sound daunting, but if you’re already utilizing DocStar to help manage your record storage and other processes, you already have the tools required to effectively visualize your workflows.

With ReportWorks you can utilize an interactive display designed to make visualizing bottlenecks in your operations easier. It allows you to quickly analyze system-wide metrics to get an overview of how your workflows are doing as a whole.

ReportWorks empowers you to address any issues it discovers. And just like your DocStar ECM, it integrates seamlessly with other common business applications and technologies, complementing your existing approach rather than just complicating it.

Where can you use ReportWorks?

Accounts Payable:

See the approval status of any invoice, if they’re waiting on approval, and who needs to approve it. This can help speed up your current AP process and help your organization make payments more efficiently.

DOT Records:

Many organizations rely on trucks, construction equipment, or other vehicles to keep your business running daily. With ReportWorks you can quickly review what needs servicing or replacement, meaning you won’t be surprised by any repairs.

Human Resources:

Managing your employees’ certificates, licensing, medical cards, and other crucial items can be a difficult and time-consuming process. With ReportWorks you can be notified when these key documents are up for renewal. Receive automatic updates via email when employees are due for a review.

Contract Management:

Contracts are another type of document that when not managed actively can quickly become a much bigger problem. In ReportWorks you can quickly see any contracts that are about to expire so you can take action before it becomes an issue.

Audit Reports:

Compliance is important for any organization, and audit reporting is a key part of that. Audit reporting in ReportWorks allows you to see what users or groups are active and access rights to specific levels in your security classes.

Document Level Auditing:

Feel confident in your compliance by gaining an overview of what documents, content types, and workflows are assigned to specific security classes.

Customization:

We know not all organizations are the same, so it’s important to allow for the ability to build custom reports from searchable parameters on any document or metadata stored within the DocStar system.

Automatic Emailing:

Another feature of ReportWorks is the ability to have your report automatically emailed to anyone on a custom schedule (ie. hourly, daily, monthly) in a custom format (ie. PDF, Excel, or Word).

Once your workflow gaps are identified, utilizing DocStar ReportWorks for the processes mentioned (and countless others) can help fill those gaps and ensure that your organization continues to succeed.

ReportWorks can help benefit your automation process, and once you become a pro you can utilize it across your organization. Need help learning ReportWorks? Call  1-800-387-7859 to schedule training.

Automating Quality Control

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Compliance is important for any organization but within quality control, it’s especially crucial. Documents that need to be shared with state, federal, and third party agencies must be stored and maintained securely to ensure compliance. By heavily relying on paper-intensive processes for those documents, you put your organization at risk of non-compliance. Beyond that, paper processes are significantly more time consuming than their digital counterparts.  

Why automate?

In traditional processes, documents and paperwork get shifted around from person to person, department to department, with no real way to keep track of them. Key quality control documents including ECN (engineering change notice), SOPs and Inspection Reports can easily be misplaced or deleted, leaving your organization vulnerable.

Leveraging digital document storage and automation, companies can reduce manual routing, and take control of parts of the process such as revision control, automatic assignment of tasks to fulfill a change order process and ensure all steps for compliance were followed. Additionally, to ensure CFR Part 11 compliance documents are securely stored in a document management system to prove intent, and structure process.

Depending on your industry, you may be required to maintain records of all quality documents for years, even decades. If you are producing or distributing at a high rate, the paperwork builds up quickly. Rather than have stacks of papers within filing cabinets (that are susceptible to fire or flood), upgrading to a digital repository can help save you space as well as time spent searching for records.

By automating your process and managing your documents digitally, you’ll always know where they are and who they’re with, ensuring that you uphold company, industry, and federal standards.

What are some other benefits of Quality Control Automation?

  • Capture, store, distribute, and track production and control record, and link certifications and licenses.
  • Automate tasks for sales order processing
  • Pre-define documentation requirements, approval steps, and due dates, making each document that goes into your system easier to manage.
  • Create collaborative workflows that include alerts, approvals, reporting, and annotation, and distribute documents for approvals in just a few steps.
  • Utilize intelligent data capture and document indexing to make your records easily searchable.
  • Integrate with your existing EQMS, BOM, and ERP Systems

How does automation work?

In simple terms, it’s streamlining the process of collecting, capturing and storing engineering, production and quality control documents while maintaining regulatory compliance.

With automation, all of your files can be quickly captured, processed and securely stored in a central document repository allowing authorized employees to instantly search and retrieve them. Related documents can be linked providing instant access from other related documents. Tasks are routed through workflow according to your defined business rules, user roles, and access rights. All of the steps in your processes can be automated to reduce dependence on time-intensive manual entry and approval processes. A secure web-based interface provides access to documents from anywhere in the world, at any time.

How to get started

Automation can seem like a heavy lift, especially if you don’t know where to start.  Mosaic can help you get the tools you need and assist in building the systems and workflows required for total quality control automation.

Give us a call at 1-800-387-7859 to take the first step!

6 Things to Consider when Implementing Workflow Automation

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Trends can come and go in technology, what was popular one year could be practically antiquated the next. Often the “next big thing” becomes the “same old thing” relatively quickly, and organizations need to keep up with internal and external needs. Beyond just staying on top of what’s driving your industry, external factors such as regulation changes and an increasing need for secure systems can usher in new and necessary technology sometimes quicker than anticipated.

Across all industries in organizations of all sizes, updating old systems that are no longer working isn’t just a luxury, it’s a necessity. By employing a smart workflow automation process, your organization can improve efficiency, save money, and stay on top of compliance and security needs.

Making the decision to implement a workflow automation solution is an easy one, but deciding what’s important in order for your system to be successful can be more difficult.

When deciding that it’s time to take advantage of new software and processes, you should consider the following:

  1. Flexibility
  2. Business process overhaul
  3. Connectivity with Other Systems
  4. Collaboration
  5. Cost
  6. Security

Flexibility

Even just 10-15 years ago, many businesses just relied on a single desktop computer and a (not-so-smart) phone to get the job done. Now, employees work off of laptops, tablets, smartphones, even watches to complete their daily tasks, and their solutions must seamlessly work with whatever tech they’re using. Consider what devices your employees utilize on a daily basis, any solution you look into should be compatible with them.

Business Process Overhaul

Gone are the days of a simple linear workflow. Your organization doesn’t operate in a straight line, why should your ECM? Organizations rarely work in linear step by step processes without coming across roadblocks that can drive key business decisions. A smart optimized process goes beyond basic steps and allows for exceptions and process changes based on your organizational needs. Smarter workflows mean more efficiency in your processes and more time and money saved for your organization.

Connectivity with Other Systems

If an automation solution doesn’t work with your existing HRIS, ERP, or other line-of-business software, then it won’t work with your organization. “One-trick-pony” solutions are no longer, and finding consultants who can link your existing software to an all-in-one business process management solution is absolutely critical.

Collaboration

Collaboration is necessary within organizations, departments, with stakeholders, vendors, and other third parties, and that communication can’t happen without an intuitive system designed for collaboration. Strategic solutions look at all points of contact between an organization’s documents and its key contacts.

Cost

As with any major investment into your organization, cost is going to be a deciding factor. According to Nucleus Research, for every $1 spent on an effective automation solution a company can expect a return of $7.50.  When looking at the initial “sticker” price of a solution, consider what the return may be, and look into cloud-based options vs. on-site hosting, bundled licensing fees and payment plans, tax credits, and other opportunities to reduce the initial hard cost of acquisition.

Security

Did you know that employees are often cited as the primary cause of data breaches? While file sharing technologies like Google Drive and Dropbox are making it easier to share content, they also lead to gaps in security. Investing in a security-centered solution can reduce your risk of compromising important documents and data. Seek out a solution that allows for group, document, and user-based access rights, redactions, and other features designed to protect your data.

Finding a solution that fits your needs, budget, and existing tech can be difficult. Often out of the box solutions don’t fit all of your needs, but the prospect of acquiring a custom solution may seem daunting. Working with business process automation consultants like Mosaic can help you fully understand your needs and determine the exact solution that’s right for your business.

Give us as call at 1-800-387-7859 to learn more about how you can implement a holistic ECM solution.

The Value of Enterprise Content Management

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Every decision for your organization requires you to take a look at its potential ROI (Return on Investment), even small investments can make a big impact on your organization. Many organizations don’t see the initial ROI when they implement an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution.

There are plenty of benefits of ECM, such as simplifying your existing paper-based processes, protecting your data, and reducing your reliance on physical files. Beyond clear day-to-day benefits, you can further improve its ROI by using your ECM as a stepping stone towards complete automation.

More than just a one-point solution

If you have a bucket with multiple holes, plugging just one of the leaks won’t stop the water from getting out. Just like plugging one hole won’t stop a leak, implementing a single point solution won’t solve all of your organization’s problems. While single pain-point solutions are effective at solving specific problems, they may overlook the cause of the issue.

By investing in multiple single-point solutions, organizations end up spending more money and wasting time. When they embrace complete transformation of their processes, they can eliminate the pitfalls that single-point solutions may have. While the concept of digital transformation can seem daunting to those worried about the initial upfront investment, the decision can be made easier by educating yourself on the specific benefits of a solution as well as how it can integrate with your existing business infrastructure.

DocStar, Mosaic’s software partner, recently published a white paper in partnership with Levvel Research titled “Tackling AP Automation with a Holistic Document Management Approach.” This report primarily focuses on organizations described as middle-market can directly benefit from a holistic approach to ECM.

In it, they identify middle-market as companies with $2 billion to $100 billion in annual revenue, and specifically looked at companies within this revenue range in North America.

They highlight that an approach to establish ECM ROI is by utilizing it on top of existing technology efforts, specifically within the Accounts Payable and Invoice Management space, but also within Human Resources, Contract Management, Sales Order Processing, and Quality Control. By integrating a cloud-based and scaleable ECM, the ROI greatly improves. This also means there’s a longer-term benefit to your organization.

Embracing Digital Transformation

The report highlights AP Automation as the entry point to full-scale digital transformation as described in 3 points highlighted in the report:

ECM drives ROI by expanding the value of a single technology implementation. Organizations seeking to maximize the ROI of an AP automation solution should aim for a best-in-class solution targeting a particular pain point, but that can also be applied beyond that space as resources grow. This enables an organization to increase the long-term value of a single technology investment and enables scalable digital transformation for companies determined to remain competitive.

ECM drives ROI by empowering departments and supporting processes across the organization. With a strong ECM platform, one solution can transform many functions. For example, advanced document management and workflow features can automate AP processes as well as HR onboarding, training, and form management. ECM can also support other departments, such as Accounts Receivable, Procurement, Expense Reporting, Sales, Customer Support, and the C-suite, as the platform is applicable to multiple business functions.

ECM drives ROI by comprehensively improving collaboration and efficiency and reducing costs. ECM helps reduce paper volume, manual data entry, and time-consuming manual workflows. It also facilitates more strategic allocation of back-office labor. By providing secure digital storage, ECM reduces the pressure on an organization’s IT department, which further contributes to better use of company resources and higher ROI. ECM also improves overall communication and streamlines back-office processes. ECM leads to savings from optimized labor costs, strategic staff reallocation, and a reduced need for outsourcing various back-office functions.

Beyond those three key factors, there are also additional trends to make note of:

Invoice receipt method: how does your organization receive invoices? Physical? Digital? A mix of the two? Do they come in the mail or over email?

Invoice data entry methods: how does data get input from your invoice to your ERP?

Invoice approval time: how long does it take from the receipt of an invoice to the final approval? A day? A week?

AP pain points: where do you see room for improvement within your AP process? What is slowing down employees in their process?

Barriers to AP automation adoption: what is preventing your organization from moving forward with implementing an automation solution? Timing? Cost? Understanding your barriers can better help prepare for selecting your solution.

Net benefits of AP automation: Understanding your organization’s specific benefits of AP automation can help you gain insight into exactly how a solution will work for you.

Next Steps

By gaining a stronger understanding of your organizational needs, as well as the benefits of ECM and automation, you can make an informed decision about a solution for your organization.

Implementing a complete system overhaul can seem overwhelming, but with the right resources and tools you can start seeing benefits almost immediately.

Give us as call at 1-800-387-7859 to learn more about how you can implement a holistic ECM solution.

Automation in the Procure to Pay process

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When looking for opportunities to improve business functions and save money, many organizations look to their existing accounting processes. Accounts Payable processes specifically are typically antiquated, slow, and costly, and there are plenty of opportunities for improvement. A good place to start your accounting department’s digital transformation is within the Procure to Pay (P2P) process.

In PayStream Advisors’ 2018 Procurement Insight Report, they identified some of the biggest pain points within the P2P process. Some of the top pain points reported were that their process differs across departments, the technology they use is inadequate, there’s too much paper in the process, and that they are using several disjointed systems.

In digging deeper, they identified that almost half of all organizations don’t have centralized procurement, which alone can cause a completely inefficient process cross-departmentally. By not having a simplified, standardized procurement process, you risk late-payments and hiccups within your process. In fact, 25% of organizations don’t even have a formal process for managing and monitoring budgets, which if left unaddressed, can be detrimental to an organization.

What does a typical P2P process look like?

  1. Create requisitions
  2. Approve requisitions
  3. Create a purchase order
  4. Approve purchase order
  5. Accept or reject the receipt
  6. Evaluate supplier
  7. Approve invoice
  8. Pay vendor

Typically each of these steps are done manually. You have someone create the requisitions, someone else to approve them, someone who creates the PO, someone who approves it, and each step is passing paper back and forth between employees and departments until you reach the final step. The biggest issue is that there is a large margin for error within each of these steps. Maintaining consistent communication throughout the process can be difficult, and may lead to problems.

How can you automate each of these steps? It may be assumed that you would need to implement a separate solution for each part of the process, but a holistic, smartly integrated automation suite can solve your workflow woes all in one place.

Invoice Matching

Easily match vendor invoice, purchase order, and product receipt information. A state-of-the-art ECM (such as DocStar) makes matching and routing invoices to their correct recipients is incredibly simple. Many top organizations get started by using an ECM then progress to a system that combines workflow enabled logic with Artificial Intelligence to make their process even smarter (and faster). Quickly identify discrepancies with little manual work by utilizing Smart Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

Create & approve requisitions and purchase orders

Create custom forms for requisitions and purchase orders. These can easily be completed by employees and immediately sent to managers for approval.

ERP Integration

Utilizing an intuitive system that integrates with your ERP is crucial. The key to a successful fully automated P2P process is working with an ECM and solution provider that has pre-built integrations, and the experience to do it successfully. The best ECM providers can work to create integration in areas where you an API or prebuilt integration does not exist by leveraging Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to scrape the UI, extract the data, then push it to your line of business application. With integration, key tasks can be automated with close to no manual efforts and it’s much simpler to monitor procurements and budgets.

How Mosaic can help

Automating your entire P2P process can seem overwhelming, but we’ve had plenty of experience in helping customers simplify complex processes. We can create a fully customized automation plan for your Procure to Payment process. We’ll help you save time, money, and resources while moving towards complete automation.

Schedule a demo with us! Call 1-800-387-7859