Smart AP is artificial intelligence (AI) that learns how you enter data about invoices – and then does it for you!
This article shows you how Smart AP AI will save you massive amounts of time and money in processing invoices.
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CoreIntegrator Smart AP Robotic Process Automation Technology
Manually entering invoice data is one of the most time-consuming tasks required when processing invoices for accounts payable.
Entering data for a large number of invoices can consume a big part of an AP employee’s day. And can even lead to additional employee resource requirements.
But CoreIntegrator solutions include Smart AP robotic process automation (RPA) that makes your accounts payable data entry far easier and more efficient.
Some companies have invested in OCR technology, which eliminates some data entry by scanning invoice data directly into their system. But OCR systems are expensive.
And with many OCR technologies the data input is so unreliable that you’ll still have to carefully double-check all of the data that the OCR places in your system.
With Smart AP RPA, you can automate most of your AP data entry at a fraction of the cost of an OCR solution.
This frees up valuable time for the AP employees to work on more important tasks for the company.
How Smart AP Robotic Processing Automation Works
Key Values
Smart AP RPA is an artificial intelligence tool that learns how you prepare invoices based on a few “key values”. These key values are indicators to Smart AP so it knows how you want the data entry completed.
For example, if you always prepare your invoices based on the vendor, then vendor is your key field and Smart AP auto-populates your system based on how you processed an invoice from that vendor before.
But sometimes your process isn’t quite that simple. Maybe your key values are a combination of fields, such as company name, then vendor as well as the department or facility the invoice should be charged to.
Now you have three key fields and once you enter those key values, all the rest of the information will auto-populate based on how you processed the invoice with those three key values the last time.
Learned Values
Learned values are the fields that auto-populate based on the key values mentioned above.
These can be almost any field that you enter text into that is consistent from one invoice to the next.
They include but are not limited to:
- Description
- Approver information
- Tax information
- GL distributions
- Distribution reference fields
- etc.
You can have as many learned fields as you need with some configured as “optional” fields!
Combinations
So what happens when you get an invoice from a vendor that goes to various departments, impacting some of the information you enter like GL coding fields?
Smart AP artificial intelligence has the ability to learn different combinations by changing a “key value” (which in this case could be a department value).
All the rest of the fields will automatically populate with the correct data – including the GL information!
GL Distribution Percentages
Since GL coding is based in part on the amount of the invoice, when you have multiple distributions, Smart AP robotic processing automation will calculate the next invoice based on the percentage split from the last invoice.
So, for example, let’s say the first invoice you get from vendor ACME CO is for $1000.00. You split that invoice between two GL accounts and apply $400.00 to one and $600 to the other.
Smart AP RPA will learn from that and then assume a 40% / 60% split for the next invoice from ACME CO and will auto-populate your GL account fields accordingly.
Options For When Things Change
But what if, in the example above, you don’t want to auto-split between GL codes for every invoice from ACME CO?
Or what if you want to change the percentages at some point in the future?
Easy!
Smart AP robotic process automation can adjust or allow for exceptions with a few simple clicks.
For example, you can tell Smart AP RPA to ‘Re-learn‘. This comes in handy when you want to permanently adjust how you want the invoice processed. After clicking re-learn, Smart AP RPA will re-learn the fields that auto populate based on the key fields for that invoice. From that point on your invoice fields will auto-populate based on the re-learned key values and learned values.
Or maybe a particular invoice has some unique coding – just this one time. Just tell Smart AP to ‘Skip‘ the changes for this invoice but still remember how you did it the last time for the next invoice.
Never Learn – Turn Smart AP Robotic Process Automation Off For Specific Invoices
Do you ever get frustrated with auto-correct when you are typing a text on your phone? Sometimes we do too!
So we made it easy to turn Smart AP RPA off when you don’t want to use it for a specific vendor.
After all, not every invoice is set up for repeat values.
Sometimes each invoice from a vender gets processed in a different way.
No problem! You can easily turn Smart AP robotic processing automation off for that one vendor and go back to manually entering the invoice data each time for that vendor’s invoices.
Configuring Smart AP RPA
Wondering how you would customize, configure and use Smart AP robotic process automation for your company’s specific AP and accounting process?
Don’t worry, the CoreIntegrator team will sit down with you to help configure the Smart AP RPA key fields and determine which fields should learn based on those values.
Setup of Smart AP robotic process automation is available for any customer using CoreIntegrator CoreFlow version 3.6.7 or higher.
Bottom Line – Using Smart AP to Make Your Accounts Payable Data Entry More Efficient
Manual data entry is slow, inefficient and repetitive.
OCR technology is expensive and sometime unreliable.
But with CoreIntegrator Smart AP, robotic process automation is built into your CoreIntegrator AP automation solution providing dynamic and intelligent automated data entry!
And the Smart AP automation technology is fully customizable to your AP processes based on any variable you choose including vendor, company, department, GL code (any many more). Or even any combination of those variables!
Smart AP is accounts payable automation that just works!
