Ricoh Middleware Links Documents to Sage Accounting

Ricoh Americas announced Sept. 13 its Transaction Link document storage middleware, intended to help companies deal with paper documents that are “disconnected” from electronic accounting systems.

Transaction Link connects paper documents to electronic systems by scanning the documents and linking them to the accounting system.

Transaction Link is intended for accounting departments that use Sage Softwares MAS 90 or MAS 200 ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems, in small to midsize businesses in the legal, real estate, health care and manufacturing industries as well as nonprofit organizations.

On a Transaction Link-enabled Ricoh MFP (Multifunctional Product), employees can scan paper documents, such as purchase orders or packing slips, and store them in PDF file format. Then it can link the PDFs with their respective accounting transactions in the Sage system, for example, associating a purchase order to the corresponding transaction from a vendor.

The benefits of using Transaction Link, according to Ricoh, include improving financial management through better access to the transactions original documents, improving productivity by speeding up critical workflows and simplifying preparations for audits while providing support for regulatory compliance.

Read here about Ricohs Smart Accounting software for tracking document-related expenses.

“Transaction Link enhances workflow because people no longer have to go through filing cabinets to get supporting documents,” said Joe Costa, industry marketing manager in Ricohs Document Solutions & Services Division.

“At the MFP, you can scan the document and bring it into the appropriate transaction on the Sage side. And then Sage users can open up transactions, and see and manage the associated documents, such as documents and forms needed to take advantage of net term discounts,” Costa said. “This helps an organization become more profitable because they have information needed to make appropriate business decisions.”

Transaction Link is available now for around $2,000 through all Ricoh direct and indirect channels. The software consists of the Transaction Link document software, which is installed on a Windows server, the client application on a compatible Ricoh MFP and the Transaction Link Enhancement module plug-in on the companys Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200 system.

Daniel P. Dern is an independent technology writer. He can be reached at dern@pair.com.

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