Accounts Payable Transformation: A North American Environmental and Industrial Services Company’s 90% Time Savings through Excel Invoice Management Optimization
July 16, 2024
Saving Employees Hours of Work on Each Lengthy Recurring Invoice
Case Study – Environmental and Industrial Services
For this North American environmental services provider, the More4apps ERP Cloud Toolbox Finance Module saves the AP team from doing hours of extra work on invoices each month.
The Client
Our client is a leading North American provider of environmental and industrial services. They provide end-to-end hazardous waste management, emergency spill response, industrial cleaning and maintenance, and recycling services for Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.
Data Loading Troubles after Moving to Oracle Cloud
In 2023, our client migrated to Oracle Fusion Cloud from PeopleSoft. With PeopleSoft, they had custom functionality and flexibility for data loading. In comparison, their teams found Oracle’s free data loading tools, like FBDI and ADFdi, to be complex and lack functionality.
Not long after going live with Oracle Cloud, the company realized they needed better tools for working with their ERP data. They connected with More4apps for a customized product demo and free software trial.
Our customer pinpointed invoice data management during initial talks as a primary concern. While managing invoices with Oracle ADFdi and FBDI is possible, the process is time-consuming and frustrating. Mistakes are easy to make and hard to find, hurting the accuracy and reliability of our client’s ERP data.
However, processing invoices was a significant undertaking for our customer since they have several recurring bills with over 10,000 lines. Oracle’s built-in tools didn’t have the fields they needed and were too rigid to align with the different data sources for these invoices. As a result, Accounts Payable (AP) had to manually create invoices, some with nearly 25,000 lines, every month.
Adding Flexibility and Speed with More4apps
Armed with an understanding of these business needs, the environmental services company re-engaged with More4apps in early 2024. With support from our team, the AP department was quickly up and running with the More4apps ERP Cloud Toolbox Finance Module. Like all our products, this Microsoft Excel-based platform integrates seamlessly with Oracle Fusion and adheres to its security rules.
Team members previously had to switch back and forth between multiple screens, Excel, and their desktops to work on an invoice. The More4apps Finance Module allows users to oversee invoice transactions and all data elements in one Excel spreadsheet. Users no longer have to link spreadsheets or switch between screens. Implementing the More4apps Finance Module has made the process of downloading, pre-validating data, and uploading it back into Oracle 90% faster, providing users with up-to-date data and the highest level of quality.
Additionally, the AP team can now build customized layouts in Excel for each large bill. After making an Excel template, AP can download and edit past invoices with similar data. This helps them efficiently create new invoices every month.
Each template matches how they receive the data from the company sending the bill, making it simple to copy and paste source data. In addition, they can use Excel functionality to identify differences between the new month and the previous month. If changes to the bill occur, the team can easily adjust individual spreadsheets and templates.
After entering the new information, users validate and upload the data directly to Oracle. When an error occurs, our user-friendly error messages help users fix it within the spreadsheet before uploading it to Oracle. As a result, our client’s ERP remains the trusted source of truth.
Accounts Payable Transformation: A North American Environmental and Industrial Services Company’s 90% Time Savings through Excel Invoice Management Optimization
Saving Hours Per Invoice Each Month
Our customer has drastically streamlined and reduced costs associated with invoice processing by using the More4apps Finance Module. The ability to copy and paste the source data, quickly compare current and previous invoices, and then upload to Oracle has been a game changer.
AP saves hours on each recurring lengthy invoice by eliminating manual data entry. With data entered faster, employees have more time to accomplish other priorities. They also can adapt rapidly to any billing changes.
At the same time, using the ERP Cloud Toolbox Finance Module leads to top-notch data integrity. Users ensure data accuracy and completeness before any uploads to Oracle. Built-in validation rules and customizable data templates help users find and correct errors in real time, minimizing the risk of discrepancies.
Exploring Additional Areas to Use More4apps
Following the success and impact of the Finance Module, our customer plans to expand the use of More4apps. The company has over 650 inventory organizations and adds around 75 new items daily. This process is slow and provides another opportunity for errors to occur. With More4apps, users could more efficiently create and assign the items in an Excel spreadsheet with just a few clicks.
By equipping more teams with the More4apps ERP Cloud Toolbox, our client will increase the accuracy and ease of maintenance of company data. These changes will be a win for organizational productivity, decision-making, and agility.
Additional Resources
Accounts Payable Transformation: A North American Environmental and Industrial Services Company’s 90% Time Savings through Excel Invoice Management Optimization
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