We have been getting more and more requests for Adobe
Acrobat forms lately. As companies become more computerized they are opting to
store documents electronically. Adobe
Acrobat or PDF files have the advantage of being relatively compact and almost
universally compatible with most computer systems. All a user requires is the
free Adobe Acrobat Reader program to view these files on any computer. Adobe
files can be e-mailed easily and can replace the mailed or faxed copies of
Purchase Orders, Shipping Advices, Invoices, Lab Test Results, Financial
Statements, etc.
Libra can be adapted fairly easily to create these forms
with the help of a free utility that we can integrate into your normal
processing. If you are using pre-printed forms we would have to add headings
and such for the form to make sense but this can be done fairly easily.
Since requests for PDF forms are not yet the norm we
often use a flag in the Vendor or Customer file to determine which forms to
convert to PDF and which are printed on normal paper. Folders are typically set
up to store the forms with sub-folders coded with the Vendor or Customer Id. An
invoice No 12345 for customer ABC100 would appear as 12345.PDF in folder ABC100
under folder INVOICES. This makes it easy to locate attach and e-mail to the
appropriate customer. This can also
become a filing system for such forms as well.
With some additional optional software and programming
the document can even be e-mailed automatically if you set up the customer’s
e-mail info.
Some advantages of electronic forms are:
1) Same day creation, transmission & receipt
2) Reduced paper form costs
3) Reduced postage costs
4) Reduced filing space
The main disadvantage to electronic forms is that they
can be easily deleted with an inadvertent click of the mouse. This means that
your backups must be in good order if you wish to skip dealing with paper
copies.
We also have an optional invoice retention system that
works with Libra to retain a copy of every invoice, allowing you to re-print
invoices as required. Many clients have used this capability to reduce the
number of invoice copies that they print and hence reduce filing time and space
also . A single internal paper copy is still a
recommendation for backup purposes or if an auditor wants to take a look at
your invoices. With this system as well, good backup strategies are all
important.
CHEQUE FRAUD ON THE RISE
Bank cheque fraud is on the rise. Almost every month
now, clients approach us with new bank requirements to avoid cheque fraud. Once
certain individuals have your bank account data you will see fraudulent cheques
on a regular basis. Most banks are pushing clients into Positive Pay / Payee
Match systems to avoid these problems. Since companies routinely send out
legitimate cheques for large dollar amounts spotting fraud is not an easy thing
to do. Banks have been incurring substantial losses and bickering over who is
responsible for the loss. Some have been warning their customers that they must
report cheque fraud within 48 hours or the bank will not be responsible for the
loss.
With this in mind at the very least most
companies should consider a Positive Pay System. This entails creating and
sending a file to the bank listing Cheque Numbers and Amounts. Any cheque that
does not match those that you send to the bank is rejected. Some Positive Pay
Systems do not require that you change your account number, but if you have already
been hit by cheque fraud this option may still be advisable.
Many banks also offer Payee Match systems, which also
check the payee name on the cheque against that in the file that you send them.
Any difference will cause the cheque to reject. You have a limited time to
authorize a cheque if the error is at your end, otherwise the cheques will be
returned. One complication of the Payee Match System is that your cheques have
to pass rigorous testing and in most cases you must open a new bank account to
activate the service. Make sure that your printer has the specific bank’s
requirements, for their system, otherwise cheques may
fail and require reprinting.
A primary source of cheque fraud is mail theft.
Companies often leave outgoing mail on the front desk. This is an easy target
for individuals that walk in and grab a bundle of mail if they see what looks
like a number of cheques. Occasionally companies do not even miss the cheques
if different individuals take the mail to the post office and assume they have
been mailed. Smarter criminals will simply change the name the cheque is
payable to and cash the cheque at its original value making it more difficult
to determine fraud has occurred unless the cheques are visually scanned during
cheque reconciliation.
One way to avoid the obvious,
is to avoid window envelopes when mailing out cheques. We have implemented both
mailing labels and computer addressed envelopes to hide the obvious nature of
cheques when: Pay to the order of is in the window.