1- Find an answer to your questions
No. IRISCapture for Invoices can be used by both very large corporations and SMEs. It is true that the architecture of IRISCapture has been designed to handle the most demanding situations (multi-user systems, SQL-style central databases, large choice of databases including Oracle for large configurations, extremely effective recognition technology, powerful optimisation tools).

However, IRISCapture for Invoices can also run on a single-station system. It is extremely easy to install, as is its connection to the accounting or ERP system. Pricing of the solution, meanwhile, is based on the number of invoices processed per year. Consequently, a small company can deploy this kind of system at a low cost.

2- What is the minimum volume of invoices required to install an automated processing system?
IRISCapture for Invoices provides a good return on investment for annual volumes of at least a few thousand invoices. For SMEs, the volumes are typically between 1,000 and 10,000 invoices per year. In large companies, the volume of invoices processed annually can range from 25,000 to more than 1,000,000 invoices.
For small organisations, a good ROI is possible thanks mainly to the simplicity of installation and the ease of integration with the existing ERP or accounting system. Savings in the time taken to encode invoices and the time taken to locate and view the image of the invoice result in a significant productivity gain.

3- What ERP systems does ICP for Invoices support?
IRISCapture for Invoices exports data read from the invoice in a standard XML format, which can be easily imported into the majority of accounting and ERP applications on the market. The XML file also contains a pointer to the image of the invoice stored in IRISCapture for Invoice’s electronic archive. I.R.I.S. and its partners have already integrated this solution with numerous systems, both for major platforms such as SAP, Baan, Sage Line 100, Microsoft Axapta, Microsoft Navision, etc., specialist ERP systems and some more specialised workflow applications such as BasWare for invoice approval.

4- Can ICP for Invoices be interfaced with an accounting system?
Yes, IRISCapture for Invoices can be integrated with accounting software. Integration is usually performed by the supplier of the accounting software, via the development of an import filter and a link to IRISCapture for Invoice’s electronic archive. Some publishers such as SAGE offer fully integrated solutions. In Belgium, SAGE markets IRISCapture for Line Bob, which can be installed by any SAGE dealer.

5- What is the procedure for advanced integration of IRISCapture for Invoices with my ERP system?
Our teams of consultants study the specific needs of each customer and the characteristics of its invoice processing procedure. Specifications will be drafted for implementation of the automated processing system. And necessary additional functions will be developed and advanced integration will be set up between the invoice inputting and recognition functions and the ERP software. During implementation, it may be possible to work with the customer’s ERP service provider.

6- I do not have an ERP system, but would like to install a complete automated invoice processing chain.
For some customers, in addition to scanning, archiving and recognition functions (IRISCapture for Invoices), I.R.I.S. installs a complete workflow system to cover all stages of the invoice management process. Therefore, your company does not need an ERP platform in order to implement a complete electronic invoice management system.

7- What methodology is used to implement an automated invoice processing project?
A standard methodology is used. Specialist consultants analyse the customer’s needs. The dimensions and budget of the proposed set-up are then presented to the customer. After approval, the project is assigned to a project manager who supervises the specific development phases, installation, acceptance tests, training and provides customer support through to acceptance of the system. I.R.I.S. provides the client with a dual technical and commercial interface, throughout implementation of the project.

8- What is the cost of this kind of project?
The cost of this kind of project will depend on the following variables: the number of invoices processed annually, the level of consultancy services requested, specific developments, installation and start-up. The budget for projects carried out in the past has generally been between €20,000 and €100,000.

9- What is the expected timeframe for achieving an ROI on an automated invoice processing system?
The payback for this type of project is usually very quick, ranging from 12 to 24 months. The installation of IRISCapture for Invoices requires a single initial investment linked to the purchase of licences and scanners, installation services, start-up and any specific tweaks that prove necessary. In subsequent years, only maintenance of the system needs to be budgeted for. The initial investment can be quickly recovered once the system is up and running.

10- What legislative developments can be expected with regard to the electronic storage of invoices?
Developments in legislation are to be expected in Europe as a whole and Belgium in particular. These developments will encourage the use of electronic invoice scanning and archiving technologies. Handling an electronic image of an invoice instead of its paper version ensures huge time savings and greatly increased productivity. Numerous benefits can be drawn from these changes, by both companies and government agencies. Within the framework of administrative simplification procedures, I.R.I.S. expects to see the emergence of legislation that increasingly encourages electronic storage.

11- What fields are automatically recognised by ICP for Invoices?
IRISCapture for Invoices automatically recognises the supplier and automatically encodes a large number of fields: supplier, VAT number, invoice date, invoice number, amount exclusive of VAT, VAT amount, VAT rate, total amount, currency, etc. If necessary, it can also recognise the purchase order, enabling easy matching of incoming invoices with purchase orders issued.

Other information (such as delivery instructions, comments, etc.) can be captured by the operator via OCR, by selecting the text to be read directly on the image (“OCR drag and drop”). A table recognition function also offers the possibility of extracting information regarding the goods and services purchased (“item code” or “line items”).

12- What is the expected performance for the automatic encoding of invoices?
In general, for invoices of a reasonable quality, approximately 70% of fields will be encoded without human intervention (basic performance), which represents a considerable time saving. Unrecognised fields or fields containing an error identified thanks to consistency tests are highlighted by the system and can be quickly corrected by the operator. Moreover, IRISCapture for Invoices contains very powerful tools, which greatly increase the automatic recognition rate for invoices from frequent suppliers. This optimisation can even be performed by the customer, if it so wishes. The intelligent invoice recognition technology developed by I.R.I.S. is particularly effective and optimised. Consequently, the time it takes to process an invoice is extremely short – just 2 to 4 seconds.

13- Can specific fields be recognised?
In addition to the standard fields recognised by IRISCapture for Invoices, it is possible to define numerous other fields which will be recognised by the system; for example, the car registration number on a garage invoice. New functionalities are programmed by an I.R.I.S. specialist or an operator trained to use IRISCapture Studio, the tool for modifying all or part of the application.

14- Must a recognition template be created for each new supplier?
IRISCapture for Invoices reads the entire scanned page, and thanks to semantic algorithms, identifies the fields from which it must extract the necessary data. Therefore, no preparatory work is required when an invoice is received from a new supplier or when a supplier changes the format of its invoices. This new intelligent document recognition technology is particularly well suited to processing large numbers of invoices from numerous different suppliers.

15- Is it possible to modify the invoice approval workflow?
The approval screens and checking rules can be completely redefined. It is possible to link these approval screens to external databases, in the ERP system for example, and implement in-house checking rules. IRISCapture for Invoices can be tailored to the specific needs of each customer.