Adactus Housing Group has implemented an automated purchase-order processing system from Invu, based on Abbyy’s FlexiCapture data capture and document processing software.
Prior to implementing an electronic document management system with automated invoice processing, Adactus had a manual process that had resulted in long delays in handling invoices. And although automating the process improved invoice approval practices, it didn’t give budget-holders full control of their budgets at the point when a spending commitment was made. Adactus realised that what it was missing was a purchase order system to connect to and complement the entire purchase planning and accounting process.
The housing provider compared various purchase ordering systems and chose Invu as a document management system provider. Invu then developed a customised solution, which moves the point of control from the invoice’s arrival to the earlier point of requesting a purchase and enables the budget-holder to see the potential impact of that commitment on their budget before committing to any expenditure.
Invu’s solution is based on Abbyy’s FlexiCapture platform which helps to automate the capture and extraction of data from any kind of document, such as supplier invoices for matching against purchase orders, for use in a variety of back-office applications.
Stuart Evans, chief technical officer, Invu, said, “We recommended that Adactus should capture invoices electronically using Abbyy FlexiCapture and then traffic those invoices through the Invu document management and workflow system in order to get those invoices authorised in an auditable fashion.”
Chris Holden, management accountant, Adactus Housing Group, said, “We had no central purchase ordering solution before. Having looked at other systems that were not user-friendly, we decided to develop a bespoke solution with Invu. Most people have used Amazon or an eBay portal without having to use a help manual, which is the spirit in which our system has been designed and built.
“Budget-holders now have far greater control over what is being spent against budgets because they can see purchase requests before goods are ordered. This gives us better oversight and we can forecast our cash commitments better. The combined Invu and Abbyy solution enables budget-holders to easily approve purchase requisitions or reject any that they don’t wish to commit to before the supplier receives a purchase order, thereby preventing cash from leaving the business unnecessarily.”
