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.