NorthStar Sample Project – Accounts Payable

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Current Situation…Record Checks and Audits

Assuming that an organization has an Accounts Payable Department that manages the approval of about 5,000 invoices a year, that would mean (with supporting documents like: purchase orders, delivery slips etc.) they need to file and manage about 21,000 separate pieces of paper. If they have 10 staff involved in one way or another in the approval process, keeping track of the paper files, matching up related documents, routing them to the correct person in the approval process and having a dedicated staff member to enter the invoice data into the host system can be enormously time consuming and costly.

What’s more, the organization is required to regularly respond to random spot checks and audits from various regulators. The compilation of related records for these mandated tasks is another enormous drain on internal resources and, of course, everything must be kept safe and secure over the long term….

Not only do the AP files take up a lot of space inside the office for recall, they must also be replicated, stored and updated on an ongoing basis at an offsite facility (ideally two sites) for long term archival and disaster recovery purposes.

The FileNexus® Cloud Services Solution Sample… Paperless AP Approvals

“We have nothing but good things to say about FileNexus®. It runs smoothly with little or no down time. I’d be surprised if other utilities didn’t jump on board with it right away. It’s saved us a ton of money and time – it works well!” – Shannon Brown, Vice President of Corporate Services, Innisfil Hydro, Ontario – NorthStar user

With the FileNexus® Cloud Services Solution, you simply scan your invoices (preceded by a lead sheet) using a multi-function device (i.e. a photo-copy machine). That’s the last time you’ll ever need to deal with the paper.

The electronic images of the invoices (automatically matched with electronically captured purchase orders and previously scanned receivers) are now securely routed to the correct approver. The approver can view the entire voucher package using only a Web Browser (no client software to install on the desktop). Each time a document gets approved, the approval history will show who approved it and exactly when the approval was done (prefect for audits).

When the required number of approvers has signed off on the invoice, FileNexus® will automatically move all of the related documents (PO, Invoice, Receivers, etc.) to an approved folder and (depending on your financial system) do the data entry into your accounting system to create the new invoice record.

Later, when the invoice is paid, FileNexus® will automatically move the invoice to a “paid” folder and update the invoice with the cheque information (cheque amount, cheque date, etc. that was used to pay the invoice).

Responding to vendor inquires has never been easier, since you can easily see where an invoice is in the approval cycle.

What’s more, FileNexus® tracks the activities of all users and helps the AP Department meet privacy, audit, and other regulatory compliance requirements.

The bottom line…the AP cycle is not only faster, it also consumes far less staff time. Nothing gets lost, everything is tracked and regulatory audit worries are a thing of the past. There’s no filing or offsite storage for disaster recovery and every record can be found instantly.

How Much Would That Cost…?

The entire solution, including secure archival, workflow automation, email notifications and unlimited recall privileges might cost as little as about $977.00 per month – on a month-by-month basis. The initial set-up fee for the project would be about $6,900.00 to $20,000.00, depending on the level of automation and complexity you require. Taxes extra.

*All project costs quoted above are estimates only. They do not include a one-time set up fee of $5,000.00 for the organization to be set up on the FCS platform or the base site fee of $100 to $200 per month for the organization to maintain its location on the FCS – regardless of the number of projects deployed.  Prices do not include applicable taxes. Please contact us to discuss your individual business needs and obtain an appropriate quote.

How Much Extra Would I Save…?

To download a work sheet to calculate some of the current costs that FCS might impact at your site, click here.

For more information on acquiring FileNexus® please visit www.loristech.com, call 416 -252- 4701, or email sales@loristech.com.