A major new version of SAP Invoice Management by OpenText (VIM) was released in October 2020 and has since been augmented by numerous intermediate releases (currently in version 6 for the year 2023).
This version 7.6 (for SAP ECC6 customers) or 20.4 (for SAP S/4HANA customers), has brought many improvements, with VIM users now able to drastically improve their efficiency and increase their ability to integrate and extend use of the solution beyond finance, via packaged extensions.
It should be noted that all these updates also serve to align the VIM version with the latest SAP versions, to ensure constant compatibility between the SAP and Opentext worlds.
Benefit from the latest innovations and new functionalities
By upgrading, you’ll be able to benefit from the latest enhancements and new features in VIM, including:
- Modifications to license usage rights for a wider perimeter of document functionality:VIM customers now have the right to use all SAP Digital Content Processing by OpenText Solutions feeds. From now on, all integration flows for sales orders, quotations, order confirmations, or delivery notes can be processed with the same solution without additional licenses.Opentext licenses are now counted by number of documents and no longer by number of invoices..
New Business Partner recognition and identification engine based on Machine Learning technology, this is the intelligent Capture solution replacing Business Capture Center and providing the following enhancements in particular:.
- Optimized supplier and recipient determination rules based on key data in your SAP supplier database.
- Advanced machine learning component. So, if the system cannot identify a business entity, it is very easy to “train” it to ensure automatic recognition of subsequent supplier invoices.
- New interfaces for video coding and learning that offer greater flexibility with different processing possibilities:
- Via SAP GUI; with the integration of the single click entry component that allows you to retrieve the PDF value to the corresponding field and contribute to recognition self-learning for subsequent cases at the same time as indexing the invoice.
- Via the Validation capture tool, which now lets you select invoices for validation by user.
- Via a dedicated Fiori application, optimized for validation and learning and allowing you better accessibility via a web browser without installing a component on the user workstation.
- The availability of tools and interfaces for fine analysis of OCR recognition results, enabling better identification of learning areas.
- Simplified management of saving and transporting learning models from one environment to another, they can now be versioned and deactivated.
New Smart Coding automation features:
- The newSmart Coding input support function, based on an advanced learning algorithm, automatically detects the allocation pattern of invoices without purchase orders already posted in your system for the same supplier.
- The system then proposes accounting and analytical allocations based on past experience, with an associated confidence index.
- When a GL account is identical, but VIM has doubts about the cost center, the system can present several choices ranked according to their frequency of appearance and the way they have been used in the past for this supplier.
- VIM can be configured to automatically enter the 100%-trusted allocation scheme, without requiring the user to enter or allocate, and send the invoice directly for approval.
- In addition, the Smart Coding functionality is also available in the FIORI application for imputation of invoices without an order.
Extended management of Fiori applications in the VIM process:
Opentext has extended the use of Fiori applications to new stages of the VIM invoice processing process and this in order to offer better accessibility and user experience, it is now possible to perform the following tasks from a dedicated Fiori application:
- Videocoding & learning via Fiori Capture Validation Workplace
- Bulk or unit invoice approval via Invoice Approval Workplace Fiori app
- Accounting and analytical imputation via Invoice Approval Workplace Fiori app
- Anomaly/exception handling by accountantsvia Accounts Payable Workplace Fiori app
- Fiori app for setting user preferences (language, delegation, notifications…)
- Transverse reporting on invoices being processed in VIM via Fiori Vendor Invoices Report app.
Deployment of Fiori applications on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), ” Cloud Foundry environment ” is now supported.
Other new features:
- Addition of numerous keyboard shortcuts and accessibility options in the VIM user interface to improve productivity and user experience.
- Ability to enter a pre-configured reason for rejection during the invoice approval process in VIM.
- Support for invoices with complex tax calculations via the addition of a new dedicated input interface.
Available SAAS versions for OCR and Archiving:
- No server to prepare on your premises to manage OCR, nor monitoring to perform.
- Drastic reduction in archiving infrastructure (only one bounce server remains to ensure optimum security of access to invoice images).
- With SAAS solutions, you’re guaranteed to benefit from the latest version, and are not subject to product obsolescence.
- With SAAS, you’re not tied to an OS version (whereas On Premise versions are).
User satisfaction
Feature enhancements in the latest versions of VIM can increase user satisfaction by simplifying their tasks and improving their user experience.
New VIM versions comply with regulations
The new versions of VIM include updates to comply with ever-changing tax and legal regulations:
Including support for numerous e-invoice formats (Italy, Germany, Switzerland, China…). But also through the possibility of integration and interoperability with connectors on the market (in particular with the A2C connector proposed by Applium) and thus comply with the forthcoming French finance law on electronic invoicing, whose applicability timetable starts as early as September 2026.
Improved performance
The new VIM versions include optimizations to reduce processing times and waiting times for users:
- Improved processing time for the recognition stage by targeting the pages to be processed.
- Improved invoice loading time in the capture-validation application.
- Reduced network traffic thanks to intelligent image caching.
Bug fixes and stability
New VIM versions correct bugs and problems identified in previous versions, contributing to system stability and reducing operational interruptions.
Technical support
More recent versions benefit from up-to-date technical assistance and support from SAP and Opentext.
