Digitising Financial Approvals and Invoice Processing
Invoices used to sit in inboxes, stalled by unclear workflows and manual approvals. For one local council, the impact was measurable: missed payment cycles, supplier frustration, and finance staff spending hours chasing down sign-offs.
Now? Approvals happen in minutes. Compliance is automatic. Visibility is total.
The Challenge
Manual routing. Paper invoices. No visibility. Delays and risk compounded with volume, undermining supplier trust and team efficiency.
The Task
BBBD applied Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) to streamline routing, validation, and tracking — transforming invoices from pain point to performance asset.
What We Delivered
- Smart routing based on value, business rules and hierarchy
- Instant validations (e.g. PO match, GL code, duplicate detection)
- Real-time dashboards showing invoice status and cycle time
Now Imagine…
Every invoice lands in the right inbox — already validated. Finance focuses on exceptions. Suppliers get paid on time. Everyone sees what’s next.
Measurable Outcomes
- Approval cycle time reduced by 75%
- Late payments decreased by 60%
- Staff FTE savings reinvested into financial planning
- ROI: 5× within 4 months
Executive Proof: Why This Matters
- For the CFO: Improved payment performance and visibility — without adding headcount.
- For the CEO: Vendor relationships strengthened. Operational risk reduced.
- For the Board: Financial control now demonstrates governance in action.
Visual Note
Finance Elf routes invoices between floating approval stamps while Compliance Elf checks each and logs status; Results Elf celebrates KPI gains on a projected dashboard.