Organizing the invoice flow in an accounting office
We reduced document flow time from 5 days to 1.5 business days. We implemented a new approval system that eliminates bottlenecks.
Accounting Gliwice Plus was struggling with arrears in processing cost invoices. Our goal was to eliminate manual data entry and cut work time by more than half.
The challenge
The office was receiving an average of 340 invoices per month from 47 clients. The entire process was based on email and binders, which caused documents to get stuck in the system for an average of 5 business days. Employees often duplicated their efforts, and errors in manual entry of VAT rates happened in every fourth invoice. As a result, the team was overwhelmed at the end of every month.
Our approach
The Profit Doctrine team conducted a 3-day information flow audit. We identified moments where documents were waiting for the chief accountant's decision without any justification. Instead of implementing expensive ERP-class systems, we focused on organizing the cloud folder structure and introducing a simple 3-step invoice approval protocol.
The solution
We introduced clear file naming and a dedicated email address for incoming invoices. Every document is now categorized within a 4-hour time window. We limited the number of people with access to approve payments to two key employees, which eliminated decision-making chaos. We also added a short script verifying the conformity of the Tax ID (NIP) with the government registry before posting.
Results
Streamlining the process allowed the team to recover time for advisory services instead of constantly putting out fires in paperwork.
Timeline
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June 2024Audit of document flow process at the client's site
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July 2024Implementation of new approval scheme and staff training
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August 2024Performance testing and final procedure optimization
"At first I was skeptical about whether this would change anything. After three weeks, it turned out the team finishes work earlier, and invoices are posted as they come, not at the last minute."