When the pandemic initially hit, I wasn’t sure how it would impact my job. As the Senior Accounting Representative at Inovateus Solar, my primary duty is to send out invoices and collect payments. But with social distancing and other safety precautions being recommended, I had a lot of questions: Would we still go into the office? How would I be able to send out important invoices and documents? More importantly, how would I be able to deposit payments from our loyal solar customers?
Before COVID-19: A Lot of Time and Paper
Before COVID-19, our process for invoicing included creating them on a computer, printing them out to sign, getting them notarized, and then physically mailing the invoice to the customer. This time-consuming process was considered the norm and was usually requested by the customers so that they could retain official documents for their files.
Not only did invoicing take a lot of time, it used so much paper! Each bill included the printed invoice document, the paper envelope, and the printing of our own invoice copies. Most of our customers paid by paper check, and when we received it, we’d reprint the corresponding invoice, copy the check, and eventually drive to the bank to deposit the checks with a paper deposit slip.
The whole process was time-consuming and paper-intensive, but that’s the way we’d always done it.
After COVID-19: Going Paperless and Becoming More Efficient
Ironically, COVID-19 gave us the opportunity to improve our entire accounting process. With other accounting team members and I being away from the office and our usual paper invoicing and filing cabinets, we needed to find new ways to streamline this process and also take the opportunity to be more sustainable.
The first step was to only send PDF invoices to our customers instead of paper ones. We began by issuing email statements that explained that due to the pandemic, would only be sending emailed versions of our invoices from now on. We also asked for all payments to be made by wire transfer or electronic ACH payment.
We were grateful that our customers responded rapidly and full of understanding and compliance. With their permission, everything that was once on paper became nearly 100% digital: I began using an electronic signature and electronic notarizations, enabling us to email all invoices. On the accounts receivable side, our payments started to come in via wire. Instead of a check, email notifications were sent by the bank. By simply turning the bank’s notification into a PDF, we now save and store these payment receipts in an electronic folder instead of a steel file cabinet. As a result, the new e-billing and receiving process has significantly cut down on paper and administrative time.
If a customer insists on paying Inovateus by check, we now have a remote bank deposit system that allows us to upload a photo of the check. With remote deposits, there are no more paper deposit slips and no more trips to the bank, which also saves on gas and mileage on my car. Remote deposits not only allow us to receive instant payments, it also gives customers an instant electronic receipt for their payments, saving even more paper and administrative time for both of us.
While this pandemic has certainly been challenging, it’s also been inspiring to our accounting department, allowing us to be more creative, efficient, and sustainable today and for the future.
By: Amanda Dudzinski
