07A visible cash flow is crucial to business productivity. A company must know what funds are available, what costs to expect and when it will receive payments for sales order invoices. Maintaining financial control can be difficult, because cash flow is not solely dependent on internal operations. This is why proper invoice management is key to accurate cash flow projections.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 offers software features to automate, streamline and monitor invoice activities. This solution helps businesses gain accurate projections of their available capital and avoid the mistakes commonly associated with poor invoicing procedures.
The new Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution
In early October 2015, Microsoft released Dynamics NAV 2016 to the public. Jannik Bausager, Microsoft’s principal ERP program manager, spoke to new and potential users at the NAVUG – NAV User Group – Summit in Reno, Nevada about the product’s innovative program workflow engine, according to MSDynamicsWorld.com. Bausager said companies can use NAV 2016 to simplify and automate business processes like invoicing.
The new Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 ERP solution can use optical character recognition to capture data and file invoices automatically. Each user can search through the data records to find relevant information. Grouping documents by standards like date prevents companies from overlooking late payments. When communicating with business partners or clients, a central invoice solution prevents company representatives from voicing contradictory information.
This is a much-needed solution in the modern business world as unconnected invoice management systems are prone to mistakes like missing documents, unneeded duplications, data typos and incorrect balances. The Harvard Business Review detailed how communications giant AT&T tried to reexamine its invoice operations to make sure it was paying the proper amount for services. The company’s financial assurance director was shocked to discover only 40 percent of invoices made it through filing and storage without some sort of error.
Incorrect numbers on invoices lead to lost or misfiled payment receipts or bills. A company may find itself depending on cash that will never arrive or forgetting about debts until it’s too late. Automated invoicing prevents errors by creating a consistent program of scanning and capturing data. Collecting the information to a central source prevents needless reduplication and provides a single truth for the entire company infrastructure. Any digital solution will be an improvement over inefficient and mistake-prone paper procedures.
The benefits of a cloud-deployed option
Many small businesses prefer cloud-deployed ERP solutions because they are cost-efficient and convenient. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 can be deployed as a cloud or on-premise solution, and allows users to access invoice information wherever they would like, on the computing device of their choice. NAV 2016 data is easy to share and offers numerous templates to view and communicate invoice details in a manner best befitting the situation.
Entrepreneur suggested invoice management problems don’t always stem from data entry issues, sometimes the cause is a lack of prioritization. Companies may be remiss in tracking down late payments or create cash flow projection without second guessing numbers. Many managers may fail to take all variables into account when creating financial expectations for their department. ERP solutions prevent oversight by making necessary procedures easy to perform.
The financial capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 allows users to view payments from customers and bills from suppliers by scrolling through a single dashboard. Employees can compare financials using charts or graphs. Mobile performance allows companies to display invoice data while meeting with vendors.
At the NAVUG Summit, Microsoft noted one of the primary advantages of the NAV 2016 solution is that it is quick and easy to implement into an existing system. By working with an ERP consultant, companies can integrate new services into invoice management routines and design the dashboard to accommodate daily practices. An ERP partner and NAV 2016 can help companies create a system that keeps important invoice procedures simple and visible.