Why you should invoice already in LIMS

As important as invoicing is for a company, many laboratories still carry it out manually. This means extra work, potential errors and eventually higher invoicing costs. An automated invoicing process built in LIMS, integrated with an e-invoicing system, can provide business efficiency and revenue generating opportunities for the laboratory as well as for the customer.

Today invoicing is a standard function in any modern LIMS. However, laboratories don’t always utilize this feature, even though it automates the process, minimizes errors and considerably speeds up the whole process. When integrating invoicing with an electronic invoicing system, benefits can be obtained by faster payments, reduced costs, fewer rejected invoices, increased productivity and better cash management.

LabVantage LIMS has all the needed registers, such as customer, price, fee, analysis and product, which will make the automation of invoicing very easy and cost efficient. There is no arguable reason for not invoicing in LIMS, when the system supports this feature.

Here are three business reasons, why you should invoice already in LIMS.

• Reduced costs: This is obvious and in fact the main reason for electronic invoicing. Both the laboratory and customer will benefit from the reduction of human errors, credit notes, remainders, mailings, materials etc. An electronic invoicing process is said to be able to yield savings up to 30-60% *).
• Improved visibility: Manual invoicing may cause delays in the accounting system, leading to poor visibility and forecasting. The ability to see invoices as soon as they are issued provides a much greater level of certainty and control.
• Improved supplier/customer relationships: Electronic invoicing is the kind of service most customers will expect. It will streamline the whole invoicing process and payment issues, and leads to improved customer satisfaction.

Do you utilize the full power of your LIMS or are you planning to invest in a new laboratory information management system? If you need help, do not hesitate to contact us.

*) Tao, Meng (2013) Operators' value creation models in electronic invoicing - User company perspective http://epub.lib.aalto.fi/fi/ethesis/id/13186

Writer:

Vesa Rauhala, Sales Manager