{"id":22659,"date":"2023-04-01T14:08:19","date_gmt":"2023-04-01T14:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/envoice.eu\/?p=22659"},"modified":"2024-01-31T09:44:14","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T09:44:14","slug":"ocr-in-accounting-how-to-achieve-major-time-savings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/envoice.eu\/en\/blog\/ocr-in-accounting-how-to-achieve-major-time-savings\/","title":{"rendered":"OCR in Accounting – How to Achieve Major Time Savings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever wondered how PDF-to-text converters allow you to edit a document in a Word file? Did you feel amazed how taking a photo of your ID card saves you from filling out a form requiring your personal information while opening an online bank account?<\/span><\/p>\n

Both processes feel magical, but rather than sorcery, you have to thank a technology called optical character recognition or OCR.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

OCR is behind many document processing applications from passport verification technologies in airports to smartphone apps that can translate foreign signs and food packaging labels to another language.<\/span><\/p>\n

Companies across all industries use OCR technology in various ways, but according to a report by Researchdive, banking, financial services, and insurance hold the largest market for OCR. <\/span>[1]<\/span><\/p>\n

Given the convenience of using OCR, accounting, a field notorious for lengthy data entry tasks, is seeing significant changes as user-friendly OCR technology becomes available in the market.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what exactly is OCR, and how is it revolutionizing the accounting industry?<\/span><\/p>\n

What is OCR?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Optical Character Recognition converts data from an image into machine-readable text. With OCR software, you can convert a photo or a scanned document into editable text \u2013 saving you from encoding information manually.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who Developed OCR Technology?<\/b><\/h3>\n
\"workspace
Source: Pexels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

OCR is one of the earliest forms of AI, and it relies on recognizing patterns and features to identify letters, numbers, and symbols.<\/span><\/p>\n

With OCR, the once impossible dream of having paperless offices is now becoming a reality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the inspiration for modern OCR technology can be traced back to 1914 with the introduction of the Optophone, an instrument that allows blind people to \u201cread by ear.\u201d <\/span>[2]<\/span><\/p>\n

It took another 60 years for Ray Kurzweil to invent the modern optical character recognition computer program. Kurzweil eventually sold the technology to Xerox, and the company commercialized paper-to-computer text conversion.<\/span><\/p>\n

OCR technology became available to internet users a few decades later. However, scanning data with early OCR technology resulted in inaccurate and poorly formatted scans. Many of the free PDF-to-text converters today continue to have this problem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Modern Optical Character Recognition Tools<\/b><\/h3>\n

Developments in OCR software have come a long way since it became available in the 2000s. Modern technology addressed the issues with accuracy and created a more advanced version of this tool that recognizes handwriting.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Man
Source: Pexels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As OCR became more commercially viable, more companies started offering products with OCR features for document processing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some tools that you may have used yourself.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n