Accounting data is the input of the accounting information system. Most of the business processes in an organization generate accounting data. There are many different methods to capture and record the data, which is the purpose of an input method. Some of the input methods are described in this section.
The use of a sales order to capture data for a sales invoice to be generated in an automated ERP system can be completed manually or within an automated system. The sales order would include the customer, terms of sale, items to be purchased by the customer and the quantity and cost of each item. Information technology has enabled input methods that reduce the time, cost, and errors of data input.
A bar code is a printed code consisting of a series of vertical, machine readable, square or rectangular bars and spaces that vary in width. Bar codes are used to identify retail sales products, identification cards, and other items. They also manage work in process, track documents, and facilitate many other automated identification applications.
A point of sale system (POS) is a method of using hardware and software that captures retail sales transactions by standard bar coding. Nearly all large retail stores use POS systems integrated into the cash register. A POS reduces the time, cost, and errors inherent in the manual input of data.
Electronic data interchange (EDI) is the intercompany, computer-to-computer transfer of business documents in a standard business format. EDI transmits purchase orders, invoices, and payments electronically between trading partners. Since transmission is electronic, the paper source documents and the manual keying of those documents are eliminated.
Data is also electronically exchanged between trading partners in e-business and e-commerce. As is true for EDI, when data is electronically exchanged, much of the manual data input process is eliminated, thereby reducing time, cost, and errors.
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