Automated invoice scanning and validation Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX Executive summary Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX is the complete standard solution for the automated processing of incoming invoices. It processes invoices both with and without a purchase order reference as well as partial and collective invoices. From the incoming invoice and its extraction to the validation of all invoice data, these labour-intensive and time-critical tasks can be handled with Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX efficiently, promptly and to the highest standards. Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX can be augmented with further Doxis4 modules to form a full Doxis4 InvoiceMaster suite and allow the enterprise-wide capture (scanning), verification and releasing of invoices in a single application. Like Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX, the Doxis4 InvoiceMaster suite is independent of the archive system used and can be linked to different ERP systems.
Summary The processing of incoming invoices is a time-consuming, costly process. Although increasing numbers of companies are keen to move over to fully electronic data transfer in their business relationships, invoices are still sent predominantly on paper. Retailers and industrial enterprises with a large supplier base numbering thousands or even tens of thousands are confronted daily with a deluge of paper invoices that have to be processed. Documents (invoices/corrections to invoices) have to be captured together with all the required data, allocated, checked for accuracy and reconciled with purchase orders. Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX simplifies the process by offering extensive automation for document scanning. Thanks to the preconfigured system and access to supplier master data (directly from the ERP system or by means of substitution tables), the supplier is detected following installation. Document data, including the invoice number, invoice date or the net amount, tax and gross amount, is extracted. Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX has access to the ERP system, allowing the invoice items to be reconciled with the purchase order information. It is possible to allocate an invoice fully automatically. The verification- and postingrelated information is extracted and immediately reconciled with the purchase order. This can then be transferred to the downstream processes (background posting, verification processes). Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX allows data to be extracted from different document types. These can be supplier invoices in the form of single or collective invoices as well as partial or closing invoices. It is also possible to process invoice corrections. Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX is based on Doxis4 InboundCenter, the standard SER product for the knowledgebased classification of documents and intelligent data extraction. This means additional components of the basic system can be added in order to form a complete solution for incoming mail. Overview Capture Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX processes invoices with or without a purchase order reference on the basis of the previous electronic capture of paper documents. Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX thus speeds up the capture of incoming invoices compared to manual capture. Extraction A variety of methods are used to extract and validate "invoice fields" such as the invoice number, invoice amounts and invoice data. Verification pursuant to Paragraph 14 of UStG In addition to the validation described above, the formal requirements to be met by an invoice, as stipulated by Paragraph 14 of the German legislation on VAT (UStG), are verified. Validation Invoices that are not read fully automatically are forwarded to a validation point to allow missing or incorrectly recognised information to be added. Optimisation The scanning results are optimised during operation thanks to self-learning processes. It is thus possible to react quickly and easily to changes in suppliers' documents or to new documents. Thanks to integration in ERP systems, optimisation is thus possible through direct validation at the invoice scanning stage. After invoice scanning The content extracted from the incoming documents is passed to an invoice verification workflow for electronic invoice processing. In addition, the content can be transferred to an ERP system, a workflow or an archive via defined interfaces. Page 2
Benefits at a glance Simplification of mail sorting Support for the formal verification of invoices pursuant to Paragraph 14 (4) of UStG Invoice capture time reduced Automatic assignment to invoice verifiers Transfer of the creditor number to the workflow Optimisation of business processes and acceleration of document flow Clarity with regard to the invoice processing workflow Preparation for the optimisation of liquidity planning through payment periods and discounts Optional: reconciliation with purchase orders/erp system Handwritten document information It may not be possible to extract handwritten document information automatically with Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX. For documents like this, however, Doxis4 provides scenarios for the subsequent capture of the document and the provision of a link to it in the ERP system. In such cases, the document can be captured manually in the ERP system and the paper document can be scanned independently of this. The document can then be automatically assigned for posting by means of a barcode. Technical environment Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX should not be seen as an independent product. It is an invoice-scanning module that can be integrated in existing Doxis4 systems or other existing systems. The following Doxis4 components interact: 1. Doxis4 Capture, the central scanning and capture client 2. The Doxis4 InboundCenter email importer 3. Doxis4 InboundCenter, the universal solution for processing all incoming mail 4. Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX, the part of Doxis4 InboundCenter for processing invoices 5. External applications such as Doxis4 Workflow systems, ERP systems and archives, etc. The external applications do not necessarily have to be part of the Doxis4 product family; they can be third-party components that are already in use. Capture/email importer As a preliminary stage to Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX, the Doxis4 scanning and capture client can be used to scan paper documents. Its features are described in the Doxis4 Capture fact sheet. The Doxis4 email importer module monitors dedicated mailboxes that are used to receive incoming electronic invoices. The module imports the invoices into the invoice scanning process. InboundCenter Doxis4 InboundCenter forms the link between the scanning solution and Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX and allows the scanned documents to be managed. Doxis4 InboundCenter is the solution for processing all incoming mail. Invoice scanning and validation Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX scans invoices as a "project" together with further modules and templates and an export module for transferring the data to downstream systems. The project contains the configuration for invoice scanning. All classification and extraction methods can be easily adapted to suit customer requirements in this project. The modules and tools comprise the verification process pursuant to Paragraph 14 of UStG, additional processes for (optional) table extraction (extraction of item data), logging mechanisms, internationalisation and project templates. ERP systems can be linked via the export mechanisms, and there are export interfaces for further Doxis4 InvoiceMaster products and interfaces to Doxis4 Workflow and other applications. SER offers a standardised interface for SAP. Further ERP systems are linked by means of a universal interface. In addition to the components described, Doxis4 Invoice- Master Read SLX also requires a link to a database for managing the configuration settings, buffering ERP information, etc. Page 3
Workflow and operation Overview Once the documents are imported from Doxis4 Capture, they are processed by Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX, and the required information is extracted. Once the document has been reliably or fully recognised, it can be passed on to the export step (e.g. to Doxis4 Workflow and the archive). If the recognition of the document has been categorised as unreliable, it is passed on for post-processing (validation). In this step, data can be confirmed, added or corrected. It is also possible to mark the document for "learning" in order to further optimise the system. Finally, the post-processed document including its extracted information is passed on to a subsequent system (exported). Importing Documents are imported by means of Doxis4 Capture. This is not part of Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX. During the import, the documents are grouped together in "batches" for further processing. Identifying the language of a document is also a form of extraction (in a technical sense). Many generic extraction methods work with keywords to identify correct values (e.g. "invoice number", "invoice date" or "net"). However, because these can vary greatly depending on the language (e.g. "Rechnungsnummer" in German and "invoice number" in English), the recognition rate is considerably improved by the language-related extraction process of Doxis4 Invoice- Master Read SLX. Only those values that are required for subsequent processing are extracted from a document. This processing also includes formal verification (e.g. pursuant to Paragraph 14 of UStG). The extracted data is transferred to the subsequent system (ERP, workflow or archive system, for example) either as a single unit of information (e.g. date, amount, etc.) or in a tabular format (e.g. item data). The information on a supplier comes from the master data of the ERP system and is compared with this by Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX in order to identify the supplier on the document. Processing Each document goes through the following steps in Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX: OCR (optical character recognition), classification, extraction and validation. OCR In OCR, the scanned image information and text information is converted. In other words, characters and words are generated from the image data. This information serves as the basis for the subsequent steps. Classification and extraction Fig. 1: Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX validation screen Classification is used to ascertain whether the document is an invoice and to identify its language. German and English are recognised as standard. However, further languages can added to the system very easily on a project basis. At extraction, the document is analysed in order to obtain information from it. A variety of methods are used for this. Fig. 2: Supplier identification Page 4
In addition to the supplier, the invoice recipient is also extracted and identified in order to distinguish between company codes or tenants. The dependency between the invoice recipient and supplier is thus checked. If the invoice recipient cannot be correctly identified, the correct invoice recipient can be found at the validation stage. At the extraction stage, the invoice's header information (e.g. invoice number, invoice date, customer number, etc.) is identified and extracted. In the main, the invoice number and date are used for further processing. Fig. 3: Header information of an invoice Validation In order to identify any extraction errors, the extracted data is subjected to a check (validation). The extraction results are checked and compared with existing master and transaction data. In addition, the consistency of the data is checked to ascertain that the amounts on the invoice have been calculated correctly. In the ideal case, the extraction results are valid and the document can be exported immediately (e.g. transferred to subsequent systems) If the extraction results are not valid, the document has to be validated manually in a client developed for the purpose. Verification process The document is verified pursuant to Paragraph 14 of UStG, for example, and the results are displayed in the validation screen. The individual verification results are logged and displayed in accordance with the stored verification rules pursuant to Paragraph 14 of UStG as well as any rules specified for the project. An overview of the verification results is then displayed to the employee. At the post-processing stage, the information identified in the document is viewed, validated and modified. The extracted values are displayed in fields, lists or check boxes. Values extracted from a document are also highlighted in the document displayed to the validator. This makes validation much easier. Colour highlighting indicates whether or not values have been "reliably" identified. In addition, function buttons for searching for a supplier or invoice recipient, for example, are offered to the user in the validation client. If a supplier cannot be assigned because it is a one-time supplier or because the supplier data has not been identified correctly, the validator can enter the one-time supplier or initiate a supplier search in Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX and accept the appropriate master data record. Fig. 5: Entering a one-time supplier Amount identification and payment terms At the amount identification stage, both the currency and the amounts as well as the rates of tax are extracted and linked to each other. In addition, the calculations in the invoice are checked for accuracy. The payment terms can be ascertained automatically during extraction and adjusted at validation. Exporting The export module of Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX transfers the document and associated information to configurable subsequent systems such as the ERP system, the verification and release workflow or an archive system. Learning Fig. 4: Document verification information Post-processing A validation screen is available to the user for postprocessing. To improve the extraction result, documents can be marked for learning at the post-processing points. There are two different learning processes available: Monitored learning For monitored learning, the documents are marked for more detailed, purposeful analysis. The optimisations are then made available to Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX. Page 5
Fully automated learning Fully automated learning takes place without any manual intervention by the user. Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX analyses the marked documents independently. Further functions Purchase order items for invoices with a purchase order reference Purchase order items can be scanned and extracted from a document. They are displayed in an item table in the validation client. The purchase order items are extracted in order to check an invoice against a purchase order. The items can be reconciled with a purchase order in the ERP system online. The validation client also permits the scanned values to be modified or purchase order data to be entered. It is also possible to change the invoice status from without a purchase order reference to with a purchase order reference. At the extraction stage, a check is carried out for an IBAN (International Bank Account Number) in order to comply with the SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) requirements. Logging Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX uses a logging server for logging. This runs as a Windows server and can accept logging information from any component. The central logging server architecture reduces the load on the clients and permits central configuration. During processing with Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX, every document is logged and invoice processing is documented in full. Statistics The statistics provide an overview of the extraction results and support fine adjustment of Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX to enable the processing results to be improved. User groups Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX supports the use of different requirement profiles by user groups. One person can also be assigned to multiple groups. The following user groups are possible, for example: Fig. 6: Invoice with a purchase order reference item table ZUGFeRD, opentrans and SEPA Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX supports the ZUGFeRD format for invoices. The ZUGFeRD format is a standardised format for electronic invoices that can be used to transfer invoices between companies, public agencies and consumers and that permits structured data to be exchanged between the issuers and recipients of invoices. It allows invoice data to be transferred in a structured form in a PDF/A-3 file (XML embedded in PDF) and to be extracted and processed without any further steps (e.g. OCR). The opentrans format was developed with the aim of making uniform electronic documents available for e-commerce between companies. The format specifies a great deal more information than is required for processing in Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX. Consequently, only the invoice part of the opentrans format is used for invoice processing. Scanning staff (to import the scanned paper documents) Validators (to check and post-process documents) Functional administrators (quality assurance of automatic classification and extraction) Technical administrators (monitoring of the interaction between the different components at the technical level) ERP connection Connection to SAP There is a direct connection from Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX to SAP for the purpose of reconciling the extracted data with the data of the ERP system. The SAP function modules available as standard for communication with SAP offer the following functions: Determination of a supplier's payment terms Extraction of any missing payment terms from table TO52 Page 6
Determination of purchase order information for a purchase order number Reconciliation with the supplier master data is carried out by means of a data export from SAP to avoid burdening the ERP system with data traffic during invoice scanning and validation. Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX provides SAP function modules for exporting the extracted data and the document to SAP. SAP Business Workflow can be started in this way for the purpose of invoice verification and release. Automated preliminary capture can be carried out as part of this process. The account assignment information is passed as well. Fig. 7: Position in the Doxis4 product portfolio If Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX is connected to SAP, the required SAP user rights can also be extracted. Generic ERP connection It is also possible to connect other ERP systems besides SAP via the universal connector (SLX) with the help of substitution tables. The suppliers, payment recipients, payment terms and purchase order information as well as other information can be stored by means of the substitution tables. Doxis4 Invoice- Master Read SLX accesses this information and compares it with the extraction results. Products associated with Doxis4 Invoice- Master Read SLX The following services and components are covered in this fact sheet: Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX Other services or components may be required for further, optional functions described in the fact sheet. Position in the product portfolio Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX is a Doxis4 iecm suite module. Based on the modular principle, it can be augmented at any time with further, additive ECM solutions. Page 7
Product scorecard for Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX Our product scorecards make it easy for you to compare your requirements with the performance features of the Doxis4 iecm solutions. Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX Invoices with and without a purchase order reference Partial and collective invoices Upgradeable to the Doxis4 InvoiceMaster suite Scanning Extraction Validation Verification Release Regardless of the ERP systems used Regardless of the archive system used Previous and subsequent capture is supported Comprehensive export mechanisms SAP connection as standard Validation client for verifying and correcting the documents Support for German and English as standard (further languages on a project basis) Reconciliation with master data in the ERP systems Monitored and fully automatic learning Logging functions Comprehensive statistics module Management of user groups Further benefits Simplification of mail sorting Formal invoice verification Reduction of invoice capture times Automatic assignment to invoice verifiers Transfer of data to the workflow Clarity with regard to the invoice processing workflow Processing of ZUGFeRD invoices Invoice verification to SEPA specifications X Note on the document This fact sheet relates to Doxis4 InvoiceMaster Read SLX V05.7.0. Publisher SER Holding Europe GmbH Joseph-Schumpeter-Allee 19 D-53227 Bonn Phone: +49 228 90896-0 Web: www.ser.de Email: info@ser.de On behalf of SER Holding Europe and all its subsidiaries and legal entities Subject to technical changes. Errors and omissions excepted, including misprints. All trademarks are registered trademarks of their respective owners. Any statements regarding statutory, legal or tax requirements shall not be deemed binding. All information in this brochure shall be considered approximate. The right to make design and content changes is reserved. (12/08/2014 edition, EN) SER Holding Europe GmbH Date: August 2014 Page 8