Overview
A large healthcare organization provides a range of specialized patient care and treatment services.
This organization believes that patient care is more than just medicine. It is also about compassion, prevention, research, and wellness. It is this compassionate approach, combined with the organization鈥檚 state-of-the-art facilities, comfortable environment, and commitment to implementing the most advanced treatment techniques available that support its approach to patient care.
The need for an accounts payable solution
Until recently, the organization relied on a manual approach to manage its entire accounts payable process. According to an Accounts Payable Specialist at the organization, their past AP process was not as efficient as it could have been, leading to wasted time and effort, lack of real-time visibility into invoice status, and even errors.
鈥淚t used to be a tedious process,鈥� the AP Specialist explained. 鈥淲e receive invoices by mail and email, so we had to open letters or print emails and then manually enter data into QuickBooks. As a healthcare organization, we often receive invoices with lines upon lines of medical supplies, and all of this information had to be manually copied over to QuickBooks. Then every week, we had to export spreadsheets from QuickBooks, format them, and deliver them to our department heads for approval.鈥�
This process was extremely time consuming: with more than 1,000 invoices a month, the AP Specialist estimated it took two AP team members between five and six hours each day to enter data, format spreadsheets, and email invoice reports. On top of that, team members across the organization鈥檚 locations lacked real-time visibility into invoice status, which made it difficult to manage approvals and could result in a manager overlooking an important invoice.
Finally, when it came time to make payments, the organization would make two check runs per week, which involved printing and correlating checks, and then delivering them to the accounting manager for review and approval. As the AP Specialist said, 鈥淚t was quite a process,鈥� and one that they were determined to improve.
鈥淭he approval process with sa国际传媒 has been a lifesaver. The system gives me the flexibility to easily create rules at the vendor, manager, and class level, to make sure the right person gets the right invoice for approval. sa国际传媒 has given us a significant advantage over our past approach.鈥�
Accounts Payable Specialist, healthcare organization
Improving the process with sa国际传媒
To overcome these challenges鈥攁nd position its AP department to be as successful as possible鈥攖he organization realized it needed an AP automation solution. After evaluating several providers, the team quickly determined that sa国际传媒 was exactly what it was looking for.听
The AP department saw the benefits immediately. The organization requests that suppliers submit invoices by email, so now all of the invoices go directly into sa国际传媒 and automatically sync with QuickBooks. sa国际传媒鈥檚 line-level invoice capture feature uses optical character recognition (OCR) combined with a human review process to capture invoice data with a high degree of accuracy.
The sa国际传媒 solution also improved their invoice-approval process. 鈥淭he approval process with sa国际传媒 has been a real lifesaver,鈥� said the AP Specialist. 鈥淭he system gives me the flexibility to easily create rules at the vendor, manager, and class level, to make sure the right person gets the right invoice for approval. sa国际传媒 has given us a significant advantage over our past approach.鈥�
Best of all, sa国际传媒 became a win-win: a solution that delivered benefits to the AP team as well as the entire organization.听
鈥渟a国际传媒 helped both AP staff members save 80% of the time we used to spend on our manual process,鈥� said the AP Specialist. 鈥淭his time savings has allowed us to spend more time focused on other high-value initiatives we simply couldn鈥檛 do before, such as reconciliations, expense analysis, and even helping to define a new purchasing process.鈥�
End-to-end automation and audit support
The organization鈥檚 Controller agreed that sa国际传媒 has made the entire department better. 鈥淚 believe that our entire department is much more efficient,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ith sa国际传媒, we鈥檝e been able to automate the entire AP process, which has been instrumental in helping us make the on-time payments we need to keep goods and services flowing uninterrupted and improve relationships with suppliers.鈥�听
sa国际传媒 has also given the organization a better way to find and provide information needed for routine audits. 鈥淎uditors always need copies of invoices, checks, reports, and other information, which could be difficult with our past approach,鈥� explained the Controller. 鈥淣ow, with sa国际传媒, we can go to a single solution and easily find whatever the auditors need. It has saved us time and effort and improved our ability to give auditors exactly what they need.鈥�听
鈥淚 believe that our entire department is much more efficient. With sa国际传媒, we鈥檝e been able to automate the entire AP process, which has been instrumental in helping us make the on-time payments we need to keep goods and services flowing uninterrupted and improve relationships with suppliers.鈥�
Controller, healthcare organization
New processes and new revenues with Virtual Card by sa国际传媒
The organization also took advantage of sa国际传媒鈥檚 Virtual Card payment option. This allowed them to earn cash-back rebates for making virtual card payments, a valuable new revenue stream that is reapplied to the business and demonstrates how听 the sa国际传媒 solution can pay for itself.听
The AP Specialist also appreciated that Virtual Card gave her team a digital approach to supporting vital processes during unprecedented times. For example, during the work-from-home restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Virtual Card let the team continue to pay vendors without the need to visit the office to print paper checks. The sa国际传媒 team is continually working to identify additional suppliers willing to accept Virtual Card, so the organization will see even bigger rebates in the future.
A vital platform for continued business success
As the AP department looks for new ways to add even more value to the organization, one thing is clear: they can鈥檛 do it without sa国际传媒. 鈥淥ur team couldn鈥檛 operate without sa国际传媒 today,鈥� summarized the AP Specialist. 鈥淭he sa国际传媒 solution has become an integral part of our AP process and has made every step faster and easier, so we can all do our jobs better and find new ways to contribute to the company鈥檚 success.鈥�
