Intelligent Data Capture: a trend only beginning

Intelligent data capture IDC-, also sometimes referred to as intelligent document recognition or IDR, is the ability to scan documents or electronic pages that have no fixed layout and extract data from specific fields to populate a database or business system. Data must be pumped into major financial applications like Oracle E-Business Suites or my SAP Business Suite, and the sooner the data is entered, the sooner users at a company can begin the financial management process.

Using IDC, documents may be unstructured, with varying layouts, or semi-structured with some fixed fields but mostly varying formats. Examples of unstructured forms are contracts, resumes and letters semi-structured documents may be explanation of benefits EOB- forms, insurance claim documents, invoices and the like. The bread-and-butter application for IDC is the processing of invoices for payment in the accounts payable process. Invoices may be hundreds of pages long and have thousands of line items. It is critical to process invoices expeditiously so that proper and maximum discounts can be taken for payment within a limited timeframe. For instance, an invoice may allow a discount of 5 percent if paid within 10 days, but the full amount is due within 30 days. When companies process thousands--or even millions--of invoices, the annual savings for early payment can be millions of dollars. Why not just pay every invoice immediately and gain the discount? Because holding on to a company s cash for as long as possible improves cash flow and allows a company to invest it in short-term financial instruments, further improving profitability. Source and full article: www.kmworld.coma>