The idea of bookkeeping without dealing with paper was around since 1970, when video displays were introduced to the market. Nowadays, even though we can pay without cash, for the sake of bookkeeping purposes we have to keep every receipt and invoice in paper form and stack them for, say, 10 years or so.

Not for much longer.

Countries in the EU are starting to introduce paperless regulation; some countries hold specific requirements, while others (such as the UK) are not defining any business rules for storing documents.

How can you turn paperless?

There are some features Payhawk can offer, for example, to make accountants' job easier:

Cropping: Should it be the case of a cardholder uploading a document while using the Payhawk’s app, it automatically detects the document’s size and shape, which can be cropped to a proper size.

Save images in PDF format: Payhawk's app enables users to save all scanned images in a standardized PDF format for auditors and business to still open those stored files in 10 years.

Applying a time stamp:  At the very moment an employee uploads a document, the Payhawk app will automatically set a time stamp on such file and leave it available as a meta-data to the saved file. Auditors, then, can verify that are working with an original, non-tampered image.