Smart Automated Invoice Processing Solution in Banking

A comprehensive automated invoice processing solution helps banks optimize processes, mitigate risks, and achieve outstanding productivity. Given that banks need to process hundreds of thousands of invoices monthly, with varied formats and requiring complex operations across multiple systems, this creates immense pressure. The automation solution helps alleviate the manual burden of the invoice processing workflow, ensuring efficiency and compliance.

The Reality of Invoice Processing Workflow in Banking

The Pressure of Massive Manual Workloads

The Finance and Accounting (F&A) department at large banks faces an extraordinary volume of invoice processing work, often reaching hundreds of thousands of invoices per month. This volume arises from the diverse operating expenses of a large organization with an extensive branch network: office rent, technology services, advertising, equipment purchases, etc.

• Lengthy Manual Processing Time: Each invoice, from receipt, validity check, reconciliation, to accounting entry, can take over 10 minutes of manual processing. Multiplied by hundreds of thousands of invoices, the cumulative time is staggering, tying up highly skilled human resources.
• Diverse Input Formats: Invoices arrive from various sources and in different formats: zip files, PDFs, XML (e-invoices), image files (scanned, photographed), making data entry and synchronization difficult.
• Complex Operations Across Multiple Systems: Bank operations staff must constantly switch between and input data into various systems: the Core Banking system, the General Department of Taxation’s system for validity checks, internal systems for approval routing, and vendor invoice systems.

The Demand for Absolute Accuracy and Compliance Risks

Bank invoice processing is a specialized task that permits no errors. Banks operate under the strict supervision of state management agencies (State Bank of Vietnam, General Department of Taxation), thus this work requires:

• High Accuracy: Discrepancies in accounting entries can lead to incorrect financial reports, affecting credit activities and regulatory assessment.
• Strict SLA: The payment process must be fast to ensure uninterrupted operation (e.g., paying for IT services, channel leases) and guarantee compliance with deadlines for tax/document submission.

The large volume of work and the repetitive nature of manual operations are the main causes of human error risk. These errors not only affect efficiency but also create severe compliance risks for the bank and negatively impact employee experience as they face monotonous, high-pressure tasks.

The Automated Invoice Processing Solution in Banking with Akabot

The automated invoice processing solution using a Hyperautomation platform like Akabot is a breakthrough, helping banks transform the process from manual to automated and intelligent.

Components & Functions of the Akabot Automated Invoice Processing Solution

The Akabot solution is designed with a modular structure, integrating RPA and OCR/IDP technology to create an automated, seamless, and intelligent invoice processing workflow.

Records Management and Reporting System

This is the central administration interface where managers monitor and coordinate the entire process:

• Request Creation & Scheduling: Allows users or systems to automatically create invoice processing requests in batches or at scheduled times.
• Status Management & Tracking: Provides an intuitive dashboard, tracking the processing status of each invoice in real-time: pending, reconciling, pending approval, completed/error.
• Multi-dimensional Report Generation: Automatically aggregates data, allowing access to reports on processing performance, error rates, cycle time, and costs, supporting decision-making.

Akabot

Akabot virtual bots perform repetitive, rule-based operations and system integration:

• System Integration: Securely connects with Core Banking, Tax systems, ERP/Accounting, and other internal systems.
• Report & Information Data Download: Automatically accesses and downloads necessary reports (e.g., contract lists, purchase orders) for reconciliation.
• 3-Way Invoice Matching: Automatically compares data extracted from the Invoice with the Contract or Purchase Order (PO) and the Service Receipt/Goods Receipt (GR).
• Invoice Status Update: Automatically enters processed invoice information into the accounting system and updates the status in the records management system.
• Email Notification for Work Updates: Automatically sends notifications to relevant parties about processing results, errors, or approval requests.

UBot

• Invoice Classification & Reading (OCR/IDP): Automatically recognizes and classifies invoices by format type (PDF, XML, image…). Uses OCR/IDP and Machine Learning technology to accurately extract data from invoices, regardless of template or format.
• Automatic Status Check (AI/RPA): Automatically accesses the General Department of Taxation or vendor portals to check the validity and issuance status of e-invoices.
• Automatic 3-Way Invoice Matching: Supports the reconciliation stage by preparing input data and performing smart preliminary comparisons.

Applied Technology: RPA and OCR

• RPA (Robotic Process Automation): Is the backbone technology performing high-volume, repetitive, and multi-system operations. RPA Robots mimic human behavior, ensuring the automated invoice processing workflow is executed quickly and error-free.
• OCR (Optical Character Recognition) & IDP (Intelligent Document Processing): Is the smart technology to address the challenge of diverse invoice input formats. IDP uses AI to understand content, not just read characters, helping to extract crucial data fields like Tax ID, amount, and economic content with high accuracy.

Effectiveness of the Akabot Automated Invoice Processing Solution

Implementing the Akabot solution brings outstanding benefits, fundamentally changing the bank’s invoice processing workflow:

Superior Productivity

• 5 Times Faster Processing Capability than Human: Robots work continuously, without fatigue, eliminating idle time.
• 70% Reduction in Workload & Costs: Automating repetitive tasks significantly reduces labor needs and operating expenses (OPEX).
• Centralized Invoice Processing: All invoices, regardless of the branch they originate from, are processed on a unified platform, increasing control and transparency.
• Easy Scalability in 1 Hour: When transaction volume increases (e.g., quarter-end, year-end), the bank can easily increase the number of active Robots in a short time without hiring new staff.

High Applicability

• 40% of Work Can Be Automated: Many other auxiliary processes in F&A (such as statement reconciliation, tax reporting) can also be automated.
• Fast Deployment in Just 4-8 Weeks: With a ready-made platform and specialized modules for Finance, deployment time is significantly shortened compared to developing from scratch.

Continuous Uninterrupted Operation

• 24/7, Real-Time Information Update: Robots operate non-stop, ensuring invoices are processed and paid on time, especially crucial for cross-border transactions or urgent payment requests.

Lessons Learned: Applying Automation to Invoice Processing in Banking

To successfully implement automated invoice processing in a banking environment with high security and compliance requirements, a proper deployment strategy is essential.

Process Improvement is Paramount

• Review and Simplification: Banks need to review the current invoice processing workflow, eliminating redundant, unnecessary control steps (especially non-value-added approvals).
• Input Standardization: Require suppliers to submit e-invoices in standard format (XML) or readable PDFs, minimizing the processing of poor-quality image files.
• Defining Automation Boundaries: Clearly delineate which tasks the Robot performs (data entry, 3-way matching, tax check) and which tasks the Employee performs (exception handling, final approval).

Deployment Approach from an Akabot Expert Perspective

Akabot, with extensive deployment experience in the Finance and Banking sector, adopts a controlled and user-centric deployment process:

What is Akabot?

Akabot is a leading Robotic Process Automation (RPA) platform in Vietnam, a subsidiary of FPT Corporation. Akabot provides a Hyperautomation solution, combining RPA, IDP/OCR, and AI/ML to automate complex business processes, particularly effective in fields requiring high accuracy and compliance like Banking.

Strategic Implementation Steps (In Collaboration with Akabot)

1. Discovery Phase: Identify and map out the current (As-Is) bank invoice processing workflow in detail. Calculate the potential ROI (Return on Investment).
2. Automated Solution Design: Build the future (To-Be) automated workflow securely, complying with internal and external regulations (State Bank of Vietnam compliance).
3. Development & Integration: Build the RPA Robot and train the IDP/AI model for the bank’s specific invoice types. Ensure secure API/Connector integration with Core Banking and other core systems.
4. Parallel Testing: Run Robot trials in a Staging/UAT environment, comparing automated processing results with manual results over a period (e.g., 2-4 weeks) to ensure 100% accuracy.
5. Operation & Monitoring: Official deployment. Set up 24/7 monitoring systems to track performance, promptly handle errors, and maintain Robot stability.

Typical Success Story – Automated Invoice Processing in Banking

Case study from a Large Joint Stock Commercial Bank (Top 5) in Vietnam.

Challenge:

• Large volume of incoming invoices, requiring tens of thousands of invoices/month to be processed.
• Complex workflow, requiring reconciliation with multiple systems (contracts, purchase orders, tax system) and final data entry into the accounting system.
• Compliance pressure and the demand for fast processing speed to ensure timely expense accrual.

Akabot Solution: Deployed an automated invoice processing Robot integrating RPA, IDP, and AI:

• Used IDP to extract data from various invoice formats (PDF, XML, image).
• The RPA Robot automatically performed: Validity check on the Tax portal => 3-Way Matching (or 2-Way depending on the process) => Automated data entry into the accounting system => Sent email notifications with results.

Results:

• Reduced processing time per invoice by 80% (from 10 minutes to less than 2 minutes).
• Saved the equivalent of 30,000 working hours/year for the Accounting department.
• Increased data accuracy to 99.8%, virtually eliminating human error, reducing tax and financial compliance risks.
• Helped accounting staff transition to control and analysis roles instead of repetitive data entry.

Conclusion: Seizing Competitive Advantage with Automated Invoice Processing in Banks

In the context of fierce competition and comprehensive digital requirements, automated invoice processing is not just a technology project but a business strategy that helps banks optimize back-office operations. By partnering with experts like Akabot and leveraging the power of RPA, IDP, and AI, banks can definitively resolve the burden of manual work, ensure compliance, and elevate work efficiency to a new level. This is the time for banks to move forward and turn the invoice processing workflow into a core competitive advantage.