What happens if you continue to process manually?

The hidden costs of analogue processes

- and why automation pays off.

In many companies, central processes such as the processing of invoices, delivery notes or orders are still largely carried out manually. Out of habit, out of concern about changeovers – or because it has ‘somehow worked’ so far.

But this is precisely where the problem lies: these processes cost time, cause errors and block resources. What seems pragmatic at first glance is often expensive in reality – just not at first glance.

Where manual processes become really expensive

The costs of manual processes are hidden in the details. They don’t always appear as a separate item on the balance sheet, but they add up every day:

  • Loss of time in day-to-day business: If invoices are first printed out, manually checked and manually transferred to systems, delays occur – during checking, approval and payment.
  • Errors due to manual entries: Transposed figures, forgotten fields, double entry – small errors with a big impact.
  • Dependence on individual people: If one employee is absent, the entire process comes to a standstill. Knowledge is often not documented, but spread across email inboxes and heads.
  • Limited scalability: As document volumes increase, manual processes quickly reach their limits – unless you increase the number of staff.
  • Lack of transparency: Who processed what and when? Where is a process hanging? Without digital traceability, there is no overview.

Automation: The difference that makes all the difference

Modern document processing solutions – such as those based on Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) – perform these tasks automatically. OCR, AI-supported data extraction and intelligent validation mechanisms ensure that relevant information is read directly from the document, correctly categorised and transferred to downstream systems.

A direct comparison shows how big the differences actually are:

Criterion Manual Automated
Processing time
Several minutes per document
a few seconds
Susceptibility to errors
high
low (thanks to checking rules & validation)
Transparency
Hardly available
Complete traceability
Scalability
Very limited
Almost unlimited thanks to software support
Process costs
High due to staff retention & follow-up error costs
Significantly lower, ROI measurable after a short time
Future viability
Limited
Full compatibility with digital workflow

The question is not ‘if’ - but ‘when’

The good news is that the hurdles for getting started with automation are now low. Solutions such as DocBits can be seamlessly integrated into existing system landscapes such as Infor M3, Infor LN or Infor CloudSuite – and immediately create noticeable relief in everyday work. No media discontinuity, no duplicate data maintenance, no lengthy reorganisation.

And the added value is not just reflected in the figures. The team also benefits – from less routine work, clear processes and greater satisfaction.

Conclusion

Anyone still processing data manually today is paying for it in time, money and nerves. The real costs are not in the paper – but in what results from it: Errors, delays, lack of transparency.

With a modern IDP solution like DocBits, you can get the best out of your processes – automatically, reliably and future-proof.

Curious?

We would be happy to show you what this could look like for you.

Image credits: Header- & featured image by freepik

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