It’s not difficult to process one bank statement. Manual entry can be handled if only one PDF document is involved.
Divide this task into dozens of companies, multiple bank accounts and several period of statements.
The problem is not the same. What appeared to be a minor work clerical activity becomes a repetitive process that takes up staff time and creates more possibilities for inconsistency in data entry. It’s not just about speeding up the conversion of bank statements for accounting and bookkeeping companies. It’s about developing a process that can still work when volume increases.
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Repetition is the Bottleneck
Imagine that an accounting firm receives monthly PDFs from several clients. One client provides statements from Chase, another Wells Fargo and others Bank of America, Capital One or Citi.
Opening each PDF and manually entering every transaction involves repeating the exact mechanical operation over and over.
A convertor for bank statements can change the workflow so that it’s no longer transcription but review. Docubrew analyzes the actual bank statement to determine transaction numbers instead of estimating value. This creates structured files that can be inspected prior to use. This difference is becoming more significant when the number of documents increase.
Batch Processing Modifies Equation
A separate handling of files is suitable for occasional conversions. Accounting firms are a different set of challenges. Docubrew allows multiple statements to be uploaded and processed in a single batch, resulting in individual results. Firms are now able to work with client records without having to manually rebuild every transaction table.
If the accounting workflow demands CSV files, users are able to convert bank statements into CSV and review the resulting transaction data before moving forward.
Scanned paper statements can’t be necessarily excluded. Docubrew provides OCR for scanned pdfs. This is a great option when a client is dealing with both native PDFs as well as scans of their old records.
Create outputs for Accounting Work Ahead
The process of conversion isn’t finished. The transaction is usually required to be sent to somewhere.
Docubrew is able to export CSV as well as Excel. For a team that needs to move a bank statement to Quickbooks, QBO provides an available output option alongside the more general spreadsheet formats.
Businesses that convert regularly bank statements into Quickbooks can build a more regular process for accepting statements as well as processing them, reviewing the data extracted and creating the proper file for the accounting workflow.
The human review is still important. While automation may reduce repetition of transcriptions, bookkeepers have to check financial data and complete accounting work.
Data provided by clients is a Workflow Decision in Itself
The handling of more sensitive client information is also linked to greater volumes of document.
Docubrew provides two methods of processing. The Windows desktop application performs conversions locally, allowing files be kept on the computer of the company. Cloud options use encrypted uploads and Docubrew states that files uploaded and converted will be deleted in 24 hours.
An accounting firm can select the strategy that is most appropriate to its requirements for internal handling.
Scale Processes, Not Repetitive Work
A growing bookkeeping practice will expect more financial documents. This shouldn’t mean that it automatically allows increased copy-and-paste.
The important question is whether the process which worked for five clients would work for 50.
By standardizing the process of receiving or converting documents, then reviewing them and creating statements for accounting software, businesses can establish workflows that can be used for periodic amounts rather than treating every new PDF like an individual project.