Intelligent Document Processing exists to help organizations save time, reduce errors, and digitize documents. Check out this guide for a complete overview.
Document processing is changing for the better. The days of manually typing information from piles of documents into a database are virtually over. Unfortunately, it hasn't reduced the "paperwork" you must go through.
Before, your desk had applications from customers that made it to the office that day. Those that weren’t submitted before closing had to wait until you re-opened. Not anymore.
Thanks to digital transformation, applications stream in 24-7, leaving you backlogged for days, or even weeks.
Thankfully, Intelligent Document Processing exists to save time, reduce errors, and digitize documents. Let's look at what this is and how it can improve efficiency in your organization
Intelligent Document Processing, or IDP, is the method of converting documents into digital format. In its earliest form, it used optical character recognition (OCR) solutions to convert letters and characters in the images to machine-encoded text.
In other words, OCR takes a scanned document's image, reads the content, and turns it into text a computer can read. Once converted, you can open the document as a PDF and search it using the "find" function.
Without this technology, underwriters needed read the each image themselves to find information. But with OCR tech, they could extract data from documents faster since it's automated.
And that was the beginning of automation for document processing. The next step was using a platform that accepts and processes documents for you for busy financial experts. For instance, AI underwriting software can detect names, addresses, and incomes, insert them into the correct fields, and pull numbers to deliver accurate calculations.
As IDP advances, the customer and employee experience improves— saving time and reducing human error, opening the door to better retention and revenue.
Intelligent Document Processing uses OCR and data capture technology. But that's not all it can do—AI and ML software can detect and extract data from documents to speed up processing. For example, tools like Inscribe use AI to automate manual reviews and detect potentially fraudulent documents.
So, where does robotic process automation (RPA) fall into IDP? While IDP isn't RPA, RPA needs IDP to understand the context in documents. RPA is software that simplifies building, deploying, and managing software robots that imitate humans engaging with digital systems.
For instance, it can comprehend what's on the screen, navigate systems, enter keystrokes, and extract data. However, it can't do this on its own—it needs help from IDP to understand the context of the content and make skilled decisions.
IDP is essential to make RPA smarter and more powerful.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of applications pour into financial institutions daily. Underwriters are consistently under pressure to do more faster. After all, their role is to keep customers satisfied and maintain business flow.
Manual document processing slows their ability to meet the demand of the market and their business. This makes IDP critical in finance departments. Here's how IDP makes things easier:
IDP makes people’s jobs efficient, which is a win-win for everyone.
Traditional document processing (without the intelligent part) uses neural networks, computer vision algorithms, and manual labor to eliminate paper-based documents.
Here's a look at the steps involved:
The role of IDP is to turn unstructured and semi-structured data into usable information. It's a vital step for financial businesses transitioning to digital and automation.
But how does IDP work? Here's an overview:
The primary difference between the two is that IDP uses AI and ML, and traditional document processing doesn't. This allows Intelligent Document Processing to:
Technology is a tool that requires human intervention to work effectively. Let's run through some of the best practices for document processing.
Digital transformation is no longer a best practice; it's a must-have. But before you adopt digital document processing, there are several challenges you may face. Here's an overview of the most common roadblocks:
Thankfully, document processing platforms are getting smarter, eliminating these issues. For example, machine learning and artificial intelligence continuously evolve, reducing the number of errors over time.
Document processing is useful across industries, making it a sought-after solution. Here's a look into how businesses use it in various sectors:
There's a range of documents businesses can use IDP for—all that's needed is the proper tools and system to make it efficient.
The applications for IDP vary depending on the industry. But they fall under similar brackets.
People with hard-to-read handwriting can prolong the processing of applications and documents. With the help of Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR), OCR, and AI, software can decipher textual elements even when it looks like scribbles.
Managing piles of paper documents is stressful, especially when you manually type data from the forms into a computer system. Now, you can scan documents, and it automatically inserts details into the system for you.
It shaves hours off your day, so you can focus on getting customers approved for loans, credit, and other financial services.
Pull information from multiple data sources for easier document creation. Build templates to develop in-depth reports, legal documents (even complex ones), and other documentation needed in your department.
Sometimes, you don't need all the information in a document. You can train IDP to detect critical details, such as names, addresses, and deposits (from a bank statement, for instance). IDP technology accurately captures data, so you don't have to.
Document management requires proper organization and storage. With IDP, you can manage documents easier by building archives for faster data and document retrieval. This also makes automating record retention possible for compliance purposes.
Finding IDP software is easy—determining one that's best for your needs is another story. Ideally, you want to search for a platform that has and does:
The future of IDP will see an AI and ML evolution, but bigger isn't always better. Adopting a large-scale IDP solution with RPA, ML, and other technologies may not be ideal, especially if you won't use all the features. Industry-specific IDPs may become a thing to offer a lighter-weight, but equally useful platform at affordable rates.
Inscribe, for example, is a document processing platform that caters to financial industries that want to automate manual reviews, increase decision accuracy, and reduce fraud losses. Scammers are using fake documents that look real, making it challenging to identify fraud with the naked eye. Without tools like Inscribe, they won't detect fraud until it's too late, costing them thousands, or even millions, per year.
Processing documents is a part of your day-to-day in the finance industry. But who says you have to do it manually? Or better yet, why should you have to do it at all?
As document processing becomes intelligent, you can delegate the task to software. For instance, digitizing your application process, so customers can complete everything online.
This may cause an influx of applications to review and approve, but with the help of Inscribe, you can get through each one faster with a lower fraud risk.
Sound like a solution for your workflow? Then get started with Inscribe today.
Check out our other guides on document processing: