CHALLENGES

The processing pitfall: What slows down retail order handling?

Manual order processing can slow fulfilment and increase errors. Here are some of the key challenges in retail order handling:

Manual invoice generation and dispatch

Creating and sending invoices manually takes time and increases the risk of error, leading to delayed shipments and poor customer experience.

Inefficient reconciliation between orders and payments

Without automated matching, finance teams struggle to align payments with corresponding orders, creating backlogs and reporting inaccuracies.

High volume of return-related refunds

Manually processing returns and refunds can overwhelm teams, causing refund delays that frustrate customers and tie up resources.

Missed follow-ups on pending invoices

Human oversight often leads to missed reminders and follow-ups, extending payment cycles and impacting revenue predictability.

FEATURES

Optimizing order-to-cash cycles with Zoho RPA

Bot-powered order processing at scale

Zoho RPA replicates user interactions to automate order entries, invoice generation, and payment updates across sales and finance systems, reducing delays in high-volume retail environments.

Bot-powered order processing at scale

Integrate payment and order systems

Zoho RPA connects seamlessly with retail CRMs, payment gateways, and accounting tools, keeping your transaction data accurate and in sync at every stage.

  • Zoho InvoiceZoho Invoice
  • BillomatBillomat
  • Zoho BooksZoho Books
  • HiveageHiveage
  • IntervalsIntervals
  • Invoice NinjaInvoice Ninja
  • Beds24Beds24
  • Zoho BillingZoho Billing

Capture payment workflows via UI

Capture complex finance workflows, like navigating bank portals or updating ledgers, simply by recording your on-screen actions. No scripting required.

Capture payment workflows via UICapture payment workflows via UI

Instant reactions to order events

Trigger bots to act when an order is placed, a payment is received, or an invoice becomes due, accelerating downstream billing and reconciliation tasks.

Retail order payment gateway integration

USECASE

How Zoho RPA automates invoice data entry into Zoho Books using PDF automation

Finance teams often receive invoices as scanned PDFs that need to be entered into Zoho Books to track payments and manage cash flow. Manual entry is time-consuming and risks errors like mistyped amounts or incorrect invoice numbers. Zoho RPA uses PDF automation to automate this, capturing invoice details and creating bills accurately, speeding up processing and reducing costly mistakes.

RPA for retail order processing

  • Overview of the automation process

    A retail operations manager sets a desktop trigger to monitor a folder for new invoice files. Once done, the manager builds a workflow to extract invoice details using PDF automation and create corresponding records in Zoho Books. Zoho RPA then runs this workflow automatically whenever a new invoice is added to the specified folder.

  • Step 1

    Monitoring scanned invoices

    The bot monitors a specific folder (e.g., C:\Invoices\PendingInvoices) for newly added scanned PDF invoices.

  • Step 2

    Detecting a new invoice

    When a new file arrives, the RPA workflow gets triggered automatically.

  • Step 3

    Extracting invoice data using PDF automation

    Zoho RPA reads the PDF and extracts important details such as:

    • Invoice number
    • Invoice date
    • Vendor name
    • Total amount
    • Line items (if available)
  • Step 4

    Logging in to Zoho Books

    The bot opens Zoho Books in a browser, logs in securely, and navigates to the Bills section.

  • Step 5

    Adding invoice data as new bills

    Zoho RPA creates new bill entries in Zoho Books by filling in all required fields with the extracted data.

  • Step 6

    Attaching the original invoice

    The bot uploads and attaches the scanned PDF invoice to the newly created bill record.

  • Step 7

    Archiving processed invoices

    After successful entry, the bot moves the processed PDF to an archive folder (e.g., C:\Invoices\Processed) for safekeeping.

Benefits of using Zoho RPA for invoice automation in retail operations

  • Faster, error-free processing

    Zoho RPA eliminates manual data entry by extracting invoice details accurately, reducing the processing time and input errors common in retail finance workflows.

  • Built-in audit trail

    Each bill in Zoho Books includes the original invoice as an attachment, supporting compliance and easy backtracking during audits.

  • Scales with business growth

    Zoho RPA can handle high volumes of vendor invoices without increasing headcount, which is ideal for fast-paced retail environments.

  • Optimized for Windows setups

    It leverages the advanced OCR and PDF automation capabilities available on the Windows-based systems commonly used in retail back offices.

Other order chaos? Let Zoho RPA take it off your hands

Automated invoice generation & dispatch
Customer payment status update & reconciliation
Issuing credit notes for returns
Invoice validation against purchase orders

Automated invoice generation & dispatch

Without RPA

  • Sales or billing staff monitor order confirmations and manually extract order details from multiple systems.

  • Billing team opens invoice software and fills in invoice details by hand.

  • They manually email invoices and update records in the system.

With RPA

  • The bot captures new order confirmations and extracts order data directly from CRM or ecommerce platforms.

  • The bot performs invoice generation by populating desktop invoice applications with order info.

  • The bot dispatches invoices via email and logs the transactions automatically.

Customer payment status update & reconciliation

Without RPA

  • Finance staff log in daily to bank portals and download payment reports manually.

  • They manually match payments against outstanding invoices and update payment statuses.

  • Finance staff send payment confirmation emails and update CRM records.

With RPA

  • Triggered daily, the bot logs in securely to bank portals and downloads payment reports automatically.

  • The bot matches payments to invoices and updates statuses instantly in the ERP or accounting system.

  • The bot sends confirmation emails and updates CRM records.

Issuing credit notes for returns

Without RPA

  • The finance team monitors approved returns and manually verifies return details.

  • They then create credit notes in Zoho Books based on verified returns.

  • Finally, the team emails credit notes and updates inventory and accounting records.

With RPA

  • The bot captures return approvals and automatically validates them against original invoices.

  • It generates credit notes in Zoho Books without manual input.

  • The bot emails credit notes and syncs inventory and accounting systems seamlessly.

Invoice validation against purchase orders

Without RPA

  • The finance team receives scanned invoice PDFs via email or upload.

  • They open each file and read the invoice number, date, and amount.

  • Then the team searches Zoho Books to find matching purchase orders.

  • Finally, the team reviews invoices and marks mismatches.

With RPA

  • The RPA bot monitors a folder for new scanned invoices.

  • With PDF automation, the bot extracts the invoice number, date, and amount.

  • The bot cross-checks extracted data against open purchase orders in Zoho Books.

  • RPA detects and flags mismatched invoices automatically.

Get a personalized demo of Zoho RPA

Our product experts will reach out to you for a one-on-one demo.

Frequently asked questions

  • Can Zoho RPA automate payment reconciliation systems?

    Yes, Zoho RPA can automate payment reconciliation by extracting and comparing payment data from multiple systems, such as accounting software (e.g., Zoho Books, QuickBooks), bank portals, and ERP systems. It identifies discrepancies and updates records automatically, streamlining the entire reconciliation process.

  • Can Zoho RPA trigger actions based on payment due dates?

    Absolutely. Zoho RPA can be configured to use scheduled triggers that monitor payment due dates and automatically perform actions like sending reminders, initiating payments, or updating status reports without any manual intervention.

  • How can Zoho RPA integrate with ERP systems for seamless payment processing?

    Zoho RPA integrates with ERP systems primarily through UI automation, mimicking human actions to read, input, and process payment data. It can also connect with over 900 cloud applications to enable smooth data exchange and synchronization without relying solely on APIs.

  • Can Zoho RPA integrate with existing/custom payment systems used by customers?

    Yes, Zoho RPA can be tailored to work with customers’ existing or custom payment systems by automating user interface interactions and workflows. This allows smooth processing even when APIs are unavailable, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of bespoke or legacy payment platforms.