A web services integration to manage invoice identification, metadata extraction, storage and retrieval in a multi-tenancy SaaS application

Abstract

In most invoice transaction, process and payment solutions that provide invoice services to businesses, extensible markup language (XML) invoice data are fed to the invoice services management system using Web services while files composed of a stack of scanned copies of their original invoices are uploaded separately. Values of invoice metadata are then manually inputted into the system as a link reference. However, this manual process is tedious, costly and prone to cause errors. In this paper, we describe a novel method to automatically identify, extract metadata values and. separate each individual invoice copy from the stack. The separated invoice copies are then associated and linked with their corresponding XML invoice data by matching their metadata values using Web services integration. Storage and retrieval of these invoice data and files are managed through Web services in an "Invoice to Cash" multi-tenancy Software as a Service (SaaS) invoice services management application. This Web application can present XML invoice data along with its corresponding original invoice copy to the customer for review and printing. The service is enhanced with a resolution interface that allows for the manual processing for those invoices that mismatched with the original invoice data or were not recognized by the system. The attachment of the original invoice copy greatly improves invoice clarity, accuracy, reduces the number of disputes and improves customer satisfaction. © 2008 IEEE.