Last updated on February 2025
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Capturing invoices in SAP – how it simply works better
Invoices reach your company in many different forms: sometimes still on paper, often as PDFs and, from 2025, as e-invoices. Invoice capture in SAP naturally handles the processing of these vendor or supplier invoices in an elegant way
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In this article, we look at the typical scenarios in which easy invoice for SAP Solutions can help you process vendor invoices in SAP. Especially in view of the upcoming e-invoicing obligation in 2025, this is an exciting topic from which companies can definitely benefit.
Oldie but Goldie: Manual invoice entry in SAP?
In many companies, employees still enter invoices manually. However, these vendor invoices do not necessarily have to be in paper form. An automatic entry routine is simply not available. Employees therefore enter incoming invoices manually into the SAP system. Invoice entry here means that invoice data such as supplier, order number, amount, invoice date and due date etc. are entered manually into the SAP system. The next step is account assignment to the respective cost centers, G/L accounts or other account assignment objects. An internal approval process, which is usually also carried out manually by the respective departments, completes the process before the invoice is posted.
What’s wrong with manual invoice entry?
Frequently recurring routines in the day-to-day work of invoice processors have a certain tendency to be prone to error. Keyword “the blueprint in your head”. You think you’ve typed it in correctly, which later turns out to be a mistake. In addition, routines of this type tend to be tedious. Not to mention the processing times of invoices.10.1 days are needed from invoice receipt to posting and payment, according to “The State of payables 2023” (Bottomline). 190 company representatives from the North America, Europe/Middle East (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific regions were surveyed. (Asia-Pac).
The near future: e-invoices in SAP
But the future looks promising: With digitization, the process for invoice entry and, above all, the subsequent processes for approval, posting and archiving can be much faster, simpler and error-free. Throughput times from invoice receipt to posting are possible in fractions of a second; see the glossary article on automated accounts payable (AAP) processing. By the way: Business recipients of supplier invoices in particular should prepare for the coming year. From 01.01.2025, the e-invoice obligation will apply, starting on the invoice-receiving side and placing its own requirements on the invoice formats used. In a nutshell: Structured data records that are sent, received and processed as e-invoices will then be required.
Here we go: automated invoice capture in SAP via OCR
The current state of invoice capture looks good. Long-proven processes with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) alone are a big step towards efficiency. Imagine that invoices are simply scanned and the data flows directly into the SAP system as if by magic. This is particularly obvious for paper invoices. But this principle of invoice capture in SAP also works for PDF invoices, so it has long been established there too.
The advantage: after fast, automatic capture, the information is ready to be approved and released in automated processes. These innovative workflows have a firm place in the digital world. At easy invoice for SAP Solutions, these approval processes are called invoice workflows. A time full of possibilities is dawning, aimed at making our work not only easier, but also more inspiring. Here, clerks no longer touch invoices manually. People can simply be pointed to it. A reference to the incident to be checked in the invoice software is sufficient.
easy – Seamlessly integrated into SAP ERP
easy invoice for SAP Solutions is one of the most efficient solutions for digital invoice capture directly in SAP®. Paper invoices or digitally received invoices are processed in a standardized, transparent process. As a coordinated overall package, easy invoice for SAP Solutions impresses with its high degree of standardization, can be implemented quickly and easily and is certified by SAP.
This step towards automated invoice capture in SAP lays the foundation for the digital processing of incoming invoices. This also includes the subsequent workflows from invoice verification, invoice approval and posting through to archiving.
Automated capture of e-invoices in SAP?
OCR-based incoming invoice management is currently sufficient to benefit from all the advantages of automated invoice processing in SAP. This will change with the e-invoice obligation at the latest. From 01.01.2025, companies must be able to receive and process invoices as structured data records. XRechnung and the ZUGFeRD format have proven to be the most common invoice formats. Easy invoice for SAP Solutions already supports both formats.