In the dynamic landscape of modern business, staying ahead requires more than traditional processes. The shift towards Digital Receipts and digitising key financial documents such as supplier invoices is not only a step towards efficiency but also a necessity for the contemporary business owner – this is a particularly good adaptation for the construction industry to embrace. Here’s why digital transformation in receipt capture is essential for your business success.
See “Our Recommendation for a Receipt and Invoice capture app” at the end of this blog.
Streamlined Receipt Capture
Transitioning to digital formats allows for seamless receipt capture, reducing the manual burden of sifting through mountains of paper. Receipt capture apps make it convenient to photograph, upload, and store your documents electronically. This approach saves time and helps to ensure that every expense is recorded promptly and accurately.
Combatting Lost Receipts for Business Expenses
Lost receipts for business expenses can be a significant headache, leading to potential financial discrepancies and issues during audits. Digitising receipts ensures that every document is preserved digitally, significantly reducing the chances of misplacement. With a receipt capture app, your business expenses are just a few clicks away whenever you need them.
Efficient Management of Supplier Invoices
Managing supplier invoices digitally allows for better organisation and quicker retrieval. Digital Receipts ensure you have a clear, timestamped record of every transaction, helping you maintain transparency with your suppliers and streamline your accounts payable process.
Enhanced Data Security and Compliance
Digital storage offers robust security measures that physical paper cannot, including encryption and controlled access. This security helps protect your sensitive documents from loss due to unforeseen events. Moreover, digital document management simplifies compliance with tax regulations, ensuring your records are audit-ready with minimal effort.
Improved Accuracy and Reduced Error Rates
Automated data extraction from digitised receipts minimises human error, boosting accuracy in financial record-keeping. This accuracy is crucial for generating reliable financial reports and maintaining a clear understanding of your business’s financial health.
Accessibility and Convenience
With a digital archive, your invoices and receipts are accessible at any time and from any location. For construction contractors and subcontractors, this means having critical documents on hand while on site, enabling quicker decision-making and improved project management.
Collaboration and Business Continuity
Digital platforms facilitate better collaboration among team members and with external partners. Whether through a shared digital archive or integrated financial software, your business can ensure all members are working from the same up-to-date information, promoting efficiency and continuity.
Tips for Digital Invoices and Receipts
Create a new separate folder (locally on your computer or in the cloud) for each new financial year to store your supplier invoices and receipts for that year.
Make sure that you are backing up your digital folders and files – either by using cloud storage or manually backing up to an external hard drive.
Note: Even if you are uploading your receipts to your accounting package such as you can do with Xero accounting, we would still recommend keeping a separate copy and backing up.
For supplier invoices – receipts that you have in hard copies only, you can use a receipt capture app to digitise a copy of the invoice – receipt.
See “Our Recommendation for a Receipt and Invoice capture app” at the end of this blog.
You can also use your printer scanner if you have one.
Naming your supplier invoices and receipts – recommendation
We would encourage you to name your supplier invoice – receipt files as per the following example.
You have purchased some copy paper from Ryman on the 5th Feb 2024. Name the file as below.
2024-02-05 – Ryman
Year-Month-Day – Supplier. Using the invoice date as the file date.
This will ensure that when you save the files to your computer, they will be in a date order.
Our recommendation for a Receipt and Invoice capture app
A great free app for receipt and invoice capture is Genius Scan by Grizzly Labs.
Click the link below to be taken to our blog page which has information about the Genius Scan app and links to it.
Capturing Business Receipts with a Receipt Capture App
Or
Click the link below to be taken directly to the Genius Scan home page.
Disclaimer: The content on our site is for general information only and not professional advice. Always seek professional guidance before acting on any information here. While we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee completeness or timeliness of the content.