Missouri State Imaging is an integrated document management system that provides for the electronic storage of university documents. Within the system, documents may be captured, stored, organized, and retrieved. Once documents have been processed into the system, the ability to view those documents is available to authorized university users in order to provide more direct access to the information that relates to them and the functions for which they are responsible.
Recognizing that a number of university processes might benefit from this and related technologies, the Accounts Payable department within Financial Services was selected to implement the first integrated imaging and document management application at Missouri State University. Supporting documentation involved in the university payment process, such as invoices, purchase orders, departmental order forms, and travel expense forms, as well as the checks themselves, are available to be viewed by the departments for which they were processed. Departmental expenditure reports listing those payments are also available in electronic form.
Missouri State Imaging for Accounts Payable utilizes a process in which supporting documents are first reviewed by an accountant, approved for payment, and scanned into the system as a “check packet” image. From these supporting documents, a check is generated for payment, and an image of that check is automatically captured and stored. Another automatic process then organizes these two types of documents within the system by indexing them together for easy retrieval based on such information as check number, check date, vendor name, vendor number, invoice number, purchase order number, and department number. Document retrieval may be accomplished both in Financial Services and in other departments across campus through the Hummingbird DM product that is available as a web browser interface.
Security is applied to the accounts payable documents stored within the system by the same automatic process that organizes and indexes those documents. This security is based on the structure currently in place for university purchasing, and ensures that users within departments have access only to those documents for which they are responsible.
Both the monthly and the quarterly year-to-date departmental expenditure reports are also captured in electronic form with the same security access being applied for viewing. In addition, other financial reports used within Financial Services are being captured electronically in an attempt to provide more direct access and increased processing capabilities within that department, and to improve the levels of service provided to its constituents. Various components of the system provide a means by which forms, documents, and reports may be easily located and retrieved, as well as electronically mailed, faxed, annotated, and copied.
Missouri State Imaging is being made available in an attempt to provide for more efficient and streamlined processing, and to improve the quality of service to those who use it. It is expected that additional university processes will be integrated into the system in the future.