Role of Invoice Process Automation in IT Staffing Business
Invoicing, or billing as some call it is an important process in any business because it produces the document that establishes how much money the customer owes the vendor. It is expected to clearly state the service rendered or the product shipped, unit cost, quantity, tax payable and the total amount the customer/client is obliged to pay. This is the case of a simple bill/invoice. There are however complex invoices with more details that require extensive inputs to produce an invoice that is perfect and acceptable to the receiver for processing payment. Complexity in Invoicing IT Staffing business is one of several activities that is reputed to have a complex billing procedure where the number of inputs required to produce the invoice is large, and scattered in multiple locations even within a computer. Sometimes information from paper files, accounting software, emails, contracts, timesheet reports and amended contracts all need to be consolidated at a single point before the invoice is manually prepared. The lack of even a single bit of information can stop the billing process midway. Staffing companies are reputed to lose substantially by under voicing due to multiples of reasons. When this happens, their bills/invoices are silently paid by the customer and only during an audit check will the facts be revealed. By the time the folly is discovered, it becomes too late to seek an additional payment. In the event of the opposite happening – over invoicing, customers are most likely to discover the error and ask for a revised invoice. This again means substantial loss for the staffing business operator.