Rental businesses process thousands of invoices every year, often under tight deadlines. They deal with complex purchase orders, partial deliveries, and rehire arrangements. Yet many finance teams are still relying on manual processes to get invoices approved and the data into their rental management systems.
This week , we return to the Executive Hire Show in Coventry. In a recent webinar hosted by DocTech, we explored how automated invoice processing, integrated directly with rental software such as RM from MCS, can remove bottlenecks, reduce risk, and free finance teams to focus on higher-value work. If you would like a recording of the webinar, please contact us or you can sign up our next webinar which is on 25th February 2026 at 10:00 GMT.
This blog summarises the key takeaways from that session and shows what invoice automation really looks like in practice for rental businesses.
For many hire businesses, invoice processing still involves:
These manual steps slow everything down and increase the risk of errors, duplicate payments, and lost documents. More importantly, they tie up finance teams with low-value tasks when they should be analysing costs, improving controls, and supporting business growth.
Automation isn’t about removing people it’s about using their time better.
By implementing DocuWare alongside your rental software, invoice processing can become largely touchless, while still giving finance teams full visibility and control.
Most supplier invoices arrive by email. With DocuWare’s Office 365 integration:
This removes the need for manual filing, renaming, or moving emails between folders.
Once invoices are captured, DocuWare automatically extracts key data such as:
A built-in traffic-light system shows confidence levels in the captured data. Where needed, users can correct or confirm fields and DocuWare learns from those actions, improving accuracy over time.
This is particularly valuable in the rental sector, where invoice layouts vary widely between suppliers.
Captured invoice data is then validated against RM:
Where everything matches, invoices can be automatically posted back into RM including line-by-line allocations without re-keying any data.
For finance teams that want oversight, approval steps can be added before posting, ensuring confidence without slowing the process.
Not every invoice will be a perfect match and that’s where automation really proves its value.
DocuWare workflows can automatically:
All exceptions are managed in one system, removing the need to bounce between RM, email, and paper files.
Every rental business has its own approval rules. Automated invoice processing doesn’t mean losing control.
With DocuWare, businesses can configure workflows such as:
Each action is stamped onto the document, creating a clear and auditable trail of who approved what, and when.
One of the biggest benefits for finance teams is visibility.
With every invoice stored alongside its captured data:
Invoices can even be retrieved directly from within RM using reference searches. There's no need to leave the system you’re working in.
This dramatically reduces internal queries and makes audits far less stressful.
During the webinar, a rental business processing around 15,000 invoices per year shared their experience after implementing automated invoice processing.
The key driver wasn’t reducing headcount it was efficiency.
By automating invoice capture and matching:
The result was a more resilient and scalable finance operation.
While invoice processing is often the first step, the same automation platform can also support:
This allows rental businesses to standardise and control finance-related processes far beyond accounts payable.
Automated invoice processing isn’t just about speed it’s about control, accuracy, and scalability.
For rental businesses using RM, integrating invoice automation with existing rental software removes manual effort, reduces risk, and gives finance teams the space to focus on what really matters.
If your finance team is still spending too much time keying invoices and chasing approvals, it may be time to rethink how invoice processing fits into your rental software landscape.