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Document Management Software

Robotic Process Automation

Eliminate common repeatable tasks that take up your employees’ time and resources

Introduction

Invest in robots so your employees don't become robots.

Meet Robotic Process Automation

 

Most digital, highly repetitive tasks that are completed by employees can be completed by Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

 

The most time-consuming “human completed” digital processes in their workflow or business process can be taken over by RPA.

Busywork is taking time away from real, thoughtful work.

Workers are spending less than half their week on their actual job duties.

This leads to lower productivity, less happy employees, and a draining work environment.

Eliminate Manual Data Entry.

One of the biggest benefits of RPA is through the elimination of manual data entry. Within accounting this can be done by using software robots, or “bots,” to automate tasks such as copying and pasting data from one system to another. By automating these manual data entry tasks, RPA can help to significantly reduce the time and effort required to perform these tasks, and also minimize the potential for human error.

Eradicate Mistakes.

Unfortunately, when humans are the ones responsible for completing data entry tasks, errors can often arise. Even if it’s over 99% accurate, those few mistakes can lead to heavy remediation tasks that derail your organization. A bot can never make a mistake, so even if you consider your processes to be “mostly” accurate, you can move to 100% accuracy with the addition of Robotic Process Automation.

Reduce employee workload.

When employees spend hours doing rote and repetitive tasks, they are often unable to focus on work that helps to grow the organization. This kind of work isn’t fulfilling mentally or emotionally, leading to higher turnover and dissatisfied and disengaged employees. With RPA they can be relegated to other, higher value tasks or move into different job functions. Long term, this can provide higher value to your organization and provide stronger job satisfaction to your employees.

 

RPA Website Page Image 1

How does Robotic Process Automation work?

SEE:

Your bot takes in the information presented to it on the screen, just like a person would when reading through data. You can choose exactly what the bot looks at within the process.

THINK:

Once the bot has read the information given to it, it will then make a decision (based on the rules you gave it) on what to do next. But unlike a person thinking through a process, the bot does this in seconds or less.

DO:

With the right information and knowing what it needs to do, the bot jumps into action completing the task. The bot seamlessly works between applications and can complete the process quickly and with no human intervention.

Transform how you process accounting documents. 

In the case of accounting, RPA can open emails, download invoices, extract data from those invoices, and then input the data into your ERP or Financial software.

 

RPA can complete actions without ever making a mistake or taking a sick day. And because these repetitive tasks are completed by a bot instead of an employee, your team can focus on activities that are more fulfilling and better suited to their skill sets and the needs of your organization.

What else can RPA do?

  • Log into applications
  • Move files and folders
  • Read and write to databases
  • Connect to system APIs
  • Copy and paste data
  • Extract and process structured and partially structured content from files
  • Open emails and attachments
  • Scrape data from the web
  • Make calculations

 

How can RPA be used within Accounting and Finance?

Accounting, specifically Accounts Payable, has many rote and repetitive tasks that typically fall on the employees of that department. Employees may spend the majority of their time sitting in front of a dual monitor entering information from a spreadsheet into your ERP or other accounting system. Rather than rely on human output to complete these tasks, RPA can automate and actually improve those processes.

 

Robotic Process Automation doesn’t replace your ERP or other business software, in fact, RPA can bridge the gap between disparate systems. One use case for Robotic Process Automation can be as simple as taking data from a spreadsheet and entering it into a different software system with zero human intervention.

 

Robotic Process Automation has clear benefits specifically for distributors. Many of their processes, for example pricing and promotional updates, must be done manually and can be incredibly tedious work. Typically distributors work with hundreds of brands and thousands of SKUs, each vendor invoice takes time to be processed and when that is multiplied by the number of unique vendors they work with, it can lead to an overwhelming amount of manual processing that needs to be done. Fortunately, Robotic Process Automation can eliminate these frustrating tasks.

 

One example of Robotic Process Automation being used specifically within the realm of Accounting and Finance can be seen through our customer, Pine State Trading. They are Maine’s leader in the marketing and distribution of beverage products and deliver beer, wine, non-alcoholic beverages, and spirits to a customer base across Maine and New Hampshire. They have also been a customer since 2017. By utilizing RPA, Pine State Trading is able to eliminate the manual hours and mistakes commonly associated with hand-entering data.

 

Interested in VRC or the services we provide?

Don’t hesitate to reach out so we can learn more about your business.

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