Trimble announced recentl that Trimble’s Viewpoint Spectrum® and Viewpoint Vista™ construction enterprise resource planning (ERP) software now includes Automatic Invoicing capability. The integration of Azure AI Document Intelligence enhances Automatic Invoicing, helping automatically turn paper and PDF invoices into validated, unapproved invoice entries within Spectrum and Vista for faster, more accurate workflows that save contractors valuable time, effort and money.

“In an industry where projects operate on tight schedules and margins, every second and every dollar counts,” said Lawrence Smith, vice president and general manager of Construction Management Solutions at Trimble. “Trimble’s Automatic Invoicing/Document Intelligence integration was created to take the manual burden of data entry and verification off the accounting department and automates it using artificial intelligence. The result is a more accurate process and a higher level of productivity, while also freeing accounting departments to focus on more strategic tasks.”

One of the most significant advantages of the integration is the reduction in errors. Construction projects involve intricate financial processes, and even minor inaccuracies in invoices can lead to major setbacks. By automating the data extraction process, Trimble’s Automatic Invoicing/Document Intelligence integration delivers a heightened level of accuracy, improved financial workflows, and streamlined project management overall.

“We are pleased to see Trimble leverage the power of Azure AI to drive meaningful and transformative innovation for its customers,” said Eric Boyd, corporate vice president, AI Platform, Microsoft. “Through Azure AI Services, we are committed to helping companies to address their pain points, enhance productivity and increase competitive advantage. By integrating Microsoft’s AI capabilities into their solution, Trimble is helping troubleshoot unique challenges faced by the construction company further demonstrating the power of AI to redefine and elevate essential business processes.”

“We know that accounting teams spend an inordinate amount of time inputting, approving and paying invoices, which is critical to staying afloat in today’s competitive marketplace,” said Smith. “Additional steps are then added if mistakes are made, which happens about 10 percent of the time and takes an average of 15 minutes to correct, according to a recent poll in our customer community, The Network. If a contractor processes 200 invoices a week and 10 percent of them have errors, that equates to five hours per week spent correcting invoices—if the errors are caught—which could be the difference between a project being profitable or not.”

“Before using Automatic Invoicing, we were spending twice as much time inputting invoices, getting them approved and paid out,” said Tammy Cox, manager, Accounts Payable at Concrete Express, Inc. “There were far too many steps, most of which were high-touch and manually-driven. With Automatic Invoicing, the steps are much easier because they’re largely automated, plus we can see the invoices easier as PDFs.”

Automatic Invoicing is available within Trimble’s ERP solutions, Viewpoint Spectrum® and Viewpoint Vista™.