I got into a big argument with a woman at a social event (alcohol was involved on her part) where I was trying to explain that a fifty-fifty relationship wasn’t good enough, and that each couple had to give 100% or it won’t work. The woman thought that I was saying that only one person (the woman) needed to give 100% and not me. She got so out of hand that her husband physically picked her up and took her home. (It was a long time ago – I am a much better communicator now)

So?

What does that have to do with today’s topic, well… not much but it sure was entertaining!

Scanning

A lot of companies enter their AP Automation life with a similar approach to scanning when really the percentage is less important than why you should scan verses them scanning.

Equal?

Not all invoices are created equal, so with that logic it stands to surmise that not all AP Automation service providers are the same too. I think people like nice packages where they say, “I am going to have the service provider scan all the invoices” or “we are going to scan all of the invoice” when the reality is it really depends of the invoice.

Invoice Types

There are certain invoices that should never go to an outsourced scanning facility. Invoices like:

• Construction Packages
• Taxes
• Legal

Now, the movement I write this someone is going to take expectation, especially if they are a service provider that specializes in one of these invoice types, so let me explain the reason why as the teaching moment. Invoices that are more than just invoices are something you have to be very cautious about sending to an outsource scanner. Take construction as an examples. When a construction invoice shows up it is usually a few pages of invoice, with a bid sign off, maybe a release document, and a scope of work. Each of that invoice may needed to be managed separately.

Keep In Mind

Keep in mind that all invoices are not created equally so therefore your scanning strategy shouldn’t be either.

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