Having implemented a document management system from Invu last year, Derwent Living Housing Association has estimated that it is now saving £26,000 each year in finance staff time and costs dealing with invoices.
With 11,000 properties under management, Derby-based Derwent Living had been struggling to deal with increasing tenant numbers and suppliers, dwindling off-site storage and higher staff workloads, all exacerbated by its reliance on paper-based processes, with the finance department alone spending at least 30 minutes every day locating invoices for approval.
With the benefits of instant access, secure document storage and the automation of many of its manual processes, Derwent Living selected Invu Document Management with Invu Workflow. Following its implementation, all documents are stored in Invu Document Management including invoices, training guides, release notes and employee timesheets, alongside the finance department implementing an automated invoice approval process.
Richard Cookson, head of accounting and ICT, Derwent Living Housing Association, said, “Our finance department knows exactly where an invoice is in the chain and it’s now impossible for anyone to pass invoices above their authority. This saves time and we can be sure that finance regulations will be adhered to during the audit process.”
Cookson added, “We are no longer apprehensive about the potential loss of organisational intelligence. Even in the event of a disaster we know that our documents are protected.”
Derwent Living’s future plans include extending use of the Invu systems to all staff and creating additional workflows for expense, overtime and new starter forms and house completion paperwork such as energy efficiency documents and gas certificates. Cookson explained, “By incorporating these workflows, all documents will be instantly available via Invu, removing the need to search through thousands of documents. This has certainly been a huge step forward – it’s hard to imagine how we dealt with a paper-based system.”
Derwent Living’s Invu project began in December 2008 and was live during May 2009. Invu said that the total cost of the project was in the region of £50,000.
