01Solution
System components
- data capture from invoices and scans
- matching against the order and the delivery
- approval paths based on value thresholds
- connections to the accounting system and the CRM
- documentation and handover to the team
Documents and accounts
Document capture and workflow
An invoice reaches your accounting system without being retyped. The process reads the line items, matches them against the purchase order and the delivery, routes the document to the right approver and keeps an eye on the payment date. A discrepancy stops the document before it is posted.
Free consultation
The scope covers invoices and cost documents as well as contracts and handover protocols generated from data held in the CRM.
- 01
Input
An invoice from a mailbox, a scan or a folder, together with the purchase order and the delivery note.
- 02
Decision
A match on line items and amounts, the approval threshold and a separate path for discrepancies.
- 03
Outcome
An approved document in the accounting system, with a history of decisions and the payment date tracked.
01Situation
When to review the process
The cost of a manual workflow surfaces at month end, when a fix means a correction and a conversation with the supplier.
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Retyping
Invoice data is entered by hand
Someone opens the PDF and copies the number, the line items, the amounts and the payment date into the system.
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Matching
Order, delivery and invoice sit apart
Checking price, quantity and terms means pulling three documents together from three different places.
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Approval
The document circulates between people
An invoice waits for approval from someone out of the office, and only the person who passed it on knows where it is.
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Deadlines
Payment dates are kept in someone's head
No one place shows which documents are waiting for approval and which date falls this week.
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Corrections
Mistakes surface at month end
A wrong amount or cost category is posted, and fixing it then costs the most work.
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Contracts
New documents are built from old ones
A contract or a protocol is assembled from the previous file, with the customer details swapped in by hand even though they already sit in the CRM.
02Flow
From file to posted document
Every step records who made the decision and on what basis.
Step 1
Intake
The process picks up the document from a mailbox, a scanner or a folder and identifies its type.
Step 2
Capture
It reads the supplier, the number, the line items, the amounts, the tax rates and the payment date.
Step 3
Matching
It compares the line items with the purchase order and the delivery note and checks the supplier against your records.
Step 4
Approval
It routes the document to an authorised person based on the amount, the cost category and the department.
Step 5
Posting
It passes the approved document to the accounting system and gives notice of the payment date.
03Rules
What drives document approval
We record the value thresholds, the authorities and the tolerances together with the finance team and the people who approve costs.
Supplier
Supplier on record
The details on the document have to match the supplier held in the system, bank account included.
Order
Line items and prices match
Quantity, unit price and agreed terms are compared with the purchase order placed with the supplier.
Delivery
Proof of receipt
An invoice for goods waits for the delivery note, an invoice for services for the handover protocol.
Amount
Approval threshold
The value of the cost determines who is authorised to approve the document.
Cost
Category and allocation
The document is given a category, a department or a project according to rules agreed with the finance team.
Exceptions
Discrepancies for review
A difference in amount, an illegible scan or a missing purchase order sends the document to a named person.
04Measurement
How we check the result
We collect the baseline before go-live, using documents from months that are already closed.
Manual work
Documents entered by hand
Invoices and cost documents whose data someone still retypes into the accounting system.
Quality
Number of corrections
Documents amended after posting because of a wrong amount, category or supplier.
Time
Document turnaround time
From the arrival of the invoice to approval by an authorised person.
Matching
Discrepancies stopped before posting
Differences between the order, the delivery and the invoice caught before the document reaches the finance team.
Deadlines
Late payments
Documents paid after the due date or approved on the last possible day.
Close
Documents unapproved at period end
Invoices still waiting for a decision on the day the month is closed.
05Scope
What delivery covers
We set the technical scope alongside the material needed to describe the approval thresholds, the exceptions and how the solution will be signed off.
02Assessment
Material from your side
- sample documents from recent months
- current approval rules and a list of exceptions
- cost categories and the authorities of each person
- access to the systems in a test environment
- data on document and correction volumes
06Questions
Common questions
Answers about capture quality, approval, accounting systems and the remaining documents.
Capture covers PDF files and scans. The quality of the material affects the result, so during the audit we review a sample of documents from recent months and agree which cases go to a person for checking.
Contact
Test the process on your own documents
In the first conversation we go through your document types, your current approval rules and how data reaches the finance team. On that basis we set the scope of the audit.
- 01
Documents
We list the document types, where they come from and how their data is entered today.
- 02
Approval and exceptions
We establish who approves costs today and which discrepancies need a person to review them.
- 03
Assessment scope
We identify the data and access needed to quantify the manual work and plan a test.