Research - ECM for AP

We utilize ImageNow (Perceptive Software) for document imaging. Our first roll out was to image and route for approval the images. This has worked pretty seemlessly for almost 5 years now. The software is scalable in the fact if you want to add another departement (HR-new hire paperwork, MM- Receiving Docs, GL-Journal Entries, etc) you can do so on your pace. The licenses are for client or web. You must have a client license for the PC the scanner is attached to but you can also move these around and buy more as needed. Customer service is pretty good with them and usually within a day of the ticket being opened if they can't replicate will be on a webex with you to help resolve.
We also have purchased a license for a full development server within the last year. This has allowed us to fully test our workflow in DEV. The standard purchase only includes a limited DEV license so any of the workflow,alerts, etc are not active in the standard DEV license. This limited us on testing in conjunction with both Imagenow and Lawson upgrades. The DEV server takes that gap away.

Hope that helps

Thanks for the note! We have over 200 locations that will be feeding into this system. When you indicate the 'web based' licensing, are you aware of what that entails and potentially, how it is setup? We currently work with a vendor to consolidate orders, etc and to further process the AP from the consolidated orders. We are looking to step into a process where the original order and/or invoice for our operating locations can scan the invoice and have it linked back to the AP system in Lawson.

We use Imagenow from Perceptive also. The users in our schools fax their invoices into Imagenow and some of the index keys are populated via a barcode page that is faxed in with the invoice. The software also includes an import agent that can automatically bring documents into the system from shared network drives. Indexing the docs can be done via a script that can read the directory structure and file name. Our schools only use webnow where they can go into their workflow queues and code their invoices and route them along for approval.
I love this software and the Perceptive employees and support are very good. I have View Invoice buttons on forms in lawson (ap26, ap20.2, ap90)where users can click View Invoice and a webnow window opens and autoamtically logs the user into webnow and they can see the invoice image. Webnow is browser based and only needs a JRE which be pushed out to users from the webnow server. The full client is an install. In order to scan directly into the system you need the client. We are in the process of getting an Imagenow solution together for our HR and Travel Audit departments. It is os easy to search for and view documents. Besides .tiff files you can bring in .pdf, word excel docs also but onl;y .tif files can be annotated.
Great Product

We use ImageNow as well. It sounds like we have similar processing requirements, hopefully this will be helpful.

We have approximately 475 remote locations that receive invoices directly from the vendors. They are approved and GL-coded at these remote sites. Rather than send to corporate for scanning (which requires licenses for the scan stations), we set up two import methods. The first is to fax the invoices directly to the ImageNow server (which has an 8 channel fax card), where the invoices are routed to the correct AP Specialist based on a Bar Coded lead sheet. The second method (which is rapidly replacing the first) is to utilize Multi-Function Scanner/Copiers on our WAN to send the documents directly into ImageNow via their “import agent”. As with faxing, we are able to route these scanned documents to the correct specialist based on a file naming convention that we created. Neither of these methods requires a Client or Web user license.

We only have licenses for each specialist that will actually process these documents. We provide WebNow licenses to our on-site Auditors and let them look up information rather than having our staff dig through file cabinets, the specialists love that...

We also have integrated ImageNow links directly into the AP90, AP91 and AP92 forms using Design Studio. You can view a record in Lawson and click at link right on the Lawson form to open the documents associated with that record. Because our Lawson and ImageNow deployments are both on Oracle, I used LBI to produce reports that tie both applications together. I have one report that we run monthly that shows for each specialist the number of invoices entered, the number of distribution lines, whether or not it was linked to a document image and how many pages were in the document, etc.

Needless to say, you can get very creating with this product if you have Lawson’s LBI and Design Studio tools.

We are also in the market for a content management tool for AP, HR and PSA Expense. I have narrowed my choices to Perceptive and Ascend Software. Both seem to offer great products but currently Ascend appears to be more maintenance friendly.