Projects Overview
A large companies and enterprises, operating in a fast-paced industry, struggling with inefficiencies in their accounts payable (AP) process. The reliance on manual data entry and slow approval workflows was causing delays, errors, and unnecessary resource consumption. Recognizing the need for a robust solution, the company implemented Digicode’s Intelligent AP Document Processing (IAPDP), integrated with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, to optimize their AP operations.
Clients
Clients across industries like finance, healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing faced inefficient workflows and manual invoice processing. From large enterprises to growing SMBs, they shared a common need: to streamline workflows, minimize manual intervention, reduce errors, and accelerate the approval and payment process. Whether managing complex supply chains or handling high volumes of documentation, these organizations needed a scalable solution to improve efficiency and accuracy.
Finance & Accounting Departments
- Enterprises with large volumes of invoices to process, often across multiple departments or locations.
- Shared service centers that handle accounting and finance for large organizations or groups of companies.
Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs)
- Growing businesses that are scaling their operations and need to automate their AP processes to improve efficiency and reduce manual data entry.
- Retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers with complex supply chains and a need to process multiple incoming invoices.
Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Companies
Organizations in these industries often deal with a high number of incoming documents like purchase orders, bills, and invoices, requiring automation for compliance and efficiency.
Logistics and Supply Chain Companies
Companies with intricate supplier networks and extensive documentation processes, where automating the capture and approval of invoices and other transactional documents is key to operational efficiency.
Construction & Real Estate
Due to the complexity of projects, multiple vendors, and frequent incoming invoices, these companies benefit from automating the document and invoice management process.
Public Sector & Government
Government agencies and municipalities often have a high volume of transactions and documentation to process, making automation an attractive solution for efficiency and transparency.
Legal and Professional Services
Law and consulting firms that manage large amounts of incoming paperwork and billing data benefit from AP and document processing automation to reduce administrative overhead.
Manufacturing & Distribution
These industries often deal with a high number of vendors and purchase orders, making intelligent document processing a key solution for optimizing operations and reducing errors in AP processing.
About Us
Digicode is a trusted provider of comprehensive technology services, empowering businesses to overcome operational challenges and leverage technology for growth. From advisory and estimation to implementation, management, and ongoing maintenance, we support clients at every stage of their tech journey. Our expertise spans software and mobile development, IoT, smart device integration, and advanced financial process automation, helping businesses streamline operations and improve efficiency. With extensive experience working alongside leading companies, including notable work with BOSCH and Winner Automotive, we specialize in delivering tailored solutions that address complex challenges. Our solutions are designed to simplify even the most complex operations, while seamlessly scaling to meet the evolving needs of businesses.
Challenges
Slow Invoice Processing:
The manual handling of invoices resulted in backlogs and delayed approvals, slowing down the entire payment cycle.
High Error Rates:
Human errors in data entry led to discrepancies in payments, causing friction with vendors and additional time spent on corrections.
Resource Misallocation:
The AP team was burdened with repetitive tasks, preventing them from focusing on more complex and strategic activities.
Lack of Automation:
With no automation in place for tasks such as invoice matching and approvals, the team spent excessive time on manual reconciliation.
Solution Implementation
Digicode’s Intelligent AP Document Processing (IAPDP) goes beyond basic character recognition by combining Optical Character Recognition (OCR) with advanced AI techniques, such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML), to understand both the content and context of documents. This allows the system to extract not only text but also the meaning and relationships between different elements in the document, ensuring greater accuracy and relevance in data extraction.
Advanced Technology:
Leveraging the power of Microsoft AI Builder, the IAPDP platform integrates machine learning models to continuously improve data extraction. This system automatically captures and populates vendor data from invoices directly into Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, eliminating manual data entry and reducing errors.
Seamless Three-Way Matching:
Powered by ML algorithms, the solution automatically learns from past invoice-purchase order matches, improving accuracy and reducing manual reconciliation over time.
Automated Approval Workflow:
Invoices are routed to the relevant approvers automatically, shortening approval times and enabling mobile approvals.
Digital Archiving:
All invoices are securely stored and indexed in a digital format, ensuring easy retrieval and full compliance.
Customizable Presets:
Users can set custom actions such as analytics and searches, further enhancing automation and decision-making efficiency.
Recurring Expense Management:
Provides a clear overview of recurring expenses, enabling better planning and control of financial resources.
Results
Threefold Increase in Processing Speed:
The speed of invoice processing increased by 300%, significantly accelerating payment cycles and improving cash flow.
Resource Reallocation:
Automation allowed the AP team to redirect their efforts from manual data entry to higher-value tasks, such as financial analysis and strategic vendor management.
Error Reduction:
By eliminating manual input and using AI-driven NLP for data extraction, errors were drastically reduced, providing more context-aware insights that allow businesses to avoid common pitfalls in invoice processing.
Mobile Integration for Expense Reporting:
The solution has enabled mobile expense reporting, leveraging the Team Member license within Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. This allows employees to submit reports and approvals on-the-go, streamlining the process and increasing operational efficiency.
Rapid Implementation
The entire solution was deployed within just 60 days, providing fast results with minimal disruption to the client’s operations.
Optimizing AP Processes: Next-Phase
Updates for Greater Efficiency and Insight
Advanced Analytics:
AI-enhanced analytics and NLP-driven reporting tools will be introduced, allowing for deeper, more meaningful insights into financial data, helping clients make better, faster decisions.
Integration of 2-Way and 3-Way Matching:
To enable more detailed analysis, particularly for goods-based orders, the solution will soon support 2-way and 3-way matching. This will further enhance accuracy in verifying invoices against purchase orders and receipts.
Improved Expense Report Automation:
Building on the current system, internal expense reports through a mobile interface connected to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central will be more precise and automated on each level with minimal human approval.
Scalability for Large-Scale Operations:
As the client’s operations grow, the system will be optimized to handle even larger volumes of invoices and suppliers, ensuring continued performance and efficiency.
Final Insights and Impact
Digicode’s Intelligent AP Document Processing (IAPDP) revolutionized the client’s AP operations by automating key processes, improving accuracy, and optimizing resource allocation. This intelligent solution, seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, not only enhanced the client’s operational efficiency but also positioned them for future growth.
For companies seeking to modernize their financial operations, this solution provides a cost-effective, scalable, and user-friendly approach that can replace entire Accounts Payable departments, particularly for organizations handling large volumes of invoices from multiple vendors.
