Invoice management software helps companies automate tasks related to invoice processing. When companies or accounting departments receive invoices, these invoices typically go through an approval process, after which their information is matched with sales and purchase orders, as well as payments. Invoice management software streamlines this workflow by scanning invoices, reading and pulling data into the system, and transferring payments electronically. Some solutions offer a mobile application for remote viewing and approval, in addition to payment allocation and account selection for each payment. Once invoices are processed, they are stored either in the cloud or on premise for easy access at a later date. These tools will often allow manual data entry for invoices in addition to automatic data capture.
These software solutions benefit accounting departments by eliminating the need for paper records, manual data entry, and mailing checks. A number of invoice management tools also provide features of, or integrate with, other types of software, including billing software, procurement software, and accounting software.
To qualify for inclusion in the Invoice Management category, a product must:
- Pull invoices from other software or through scanning and OCR
- Store invoice files, along with approval and payment history
- Consolidate multiple invoices or split an invoice into multiple
- Provide standard approval workflows that can be customized by users
- Match invoices with purchases and sales orders, as well as with payments
- Sync with company accounts to transfer payments for approved invoices
- Track different types of payment such as deposits or partial payments
- Apply multiple payments to one invoice or one payment to multiple invoices
- Monitor due dates and late payments for AR and AP invoices
