Capturing and entering receipt details for expense reporting used to be a time-consuming, repetitive process for accounting teams and employees. With today’s technology, that no longer has to be the case. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) receipt recognition software integrated into an expense reporting platform can upload and process receipt data for you, automatically matching it with credit card transactions and fitting it into spending categories.
Here’s how this tool can save your accounting team time and money while helping you improve accuracy and compliance.
What Is OCR Receipt Recognition Software?
OCR receipt recognition software is a tool that converts images of receipts into computer-readable text data. It automatically turns the information in a photo of a receipt into text you can edit, search, and add to online systems such as accounting software or expense reports.
OCR works through a series of steps:
1. You capture an image of a receipt using a smartphone camera, scanner, or another device.
2. The OCR system extracts text using machine learning algorithms.
3. The extracted data is cross-checked against predefined receipt templates or formats to ensure accuracy.
OCR technology dates back to the 1950s, when early OCR systems recognized individual characters using pattern matching and has improved quite a bit since then. Today, modern OCR systems like DATABASICS’ Advanced OCR Software leverage artificial intelligence to recognize receipts and complex documents with high accuracy. Then, DATABASICS’ OCR input is double-checked by real people to ensure that the data was read correctly.
How OCR Receipt Recognition Can Help With Expense Management
In expense management systems, OCR automates data entry from receipts and invoices. You don’t need to input this information by hand or physically attach receipts anymore The expense software also automates compliance checks by validating expense reports against company policies.
OCR can also help match receipt data to credit card transactions, making expense reporting faster. For instance, using DATABASICS, employees can email their receipts, and the OCR system will handle the rest. It can correctly categorize and match all of their expenses.
How OCR Receipt Recognition Makes Expense Reporting More Efficient
Using OCR receipt recognition can help your team in many ways:
Time Savings
OCR receipt recognition can have a huge impact by saving time on repetitive tasks. By eliminating data entry, OCR reduces the time you spend on expense management, enabling your team to focus on more strategic tasks.
DATABASICS' OCR technology, for instance, allows employees to email their receipts directly to the system. The system processes them automatically instead of making an employee manually input all the numbers.
Accuracy and Compliance
OCR receipt recognition also helps your organization improve accuracy and corporate compliance. When you combine automated validation with review and correction by real people, you can reduce errors and ensure accountability and transparency.
DATABASICS’ OCR system also checks receipts against corporate policies. It flags violations automatically, reducing the burden on your team.
Cost Reduction
Cost reduction is one of the biggest benefits of using OCR receipt recognition. By reducing errors and automating data entry, OCR lowers operational costs. Faster receipt processing times lead to quicker reimbursements, which makes employees happier and reduces administrative burdens.
Easy Credit Card Matching
Credit card transaction matching becomes a breeze with OCR. DATABASICS' OCR matches receipt data to credit card transactions by price, date, and vendor. Employees can simply email or upload their receipts, and the system finds a match, making expense reporting quick and easy.
Trip Expense Management
Trip expense management is much easier with OCR receipt recognition software. Hotel folios can be tricky due to multiple types of charges, such as room charges, valet services, wifi usage, and food. DATABASICS' OCR accurately categorizes different charges, allocating them to the correct spending categories.
Adding OCR Receipt Recognition to Your Expense Management Workflow
When choosing an Expense Management solution for receipt capture, it's crucial to consider a few key factors:
- Scale. Ensure the system can scale to handle your organization's volume of receipts and invoices.
- Accuracy. Accuracy is paramount, especially for complex documents.
- Integration. The solution should integrate seamlessly with your existing expense management systems. It should also let you customize rules and templates to suit your business needs.
OCR receipt recognition technology is making accurate expense management easier by reducing the manual labor needed. DATABASICS' Advanced OCR not only automates data entry but also matches receipts to credit card transactions, categorizes trip expenses accurately, and simplifies compliance checks. By embracing OCR technology, your business can turn expense management into a strategic investment that improves operations.
To see how DATABASICS’ Expense OCR capabilities can revolutionize your expense management workflow, request a demo. Start using OCR receipt recognition software today to make your expense management process easy, accurate, and efficient.