Featured

ECM software helps keep the hot pies coming

For generations, Australians and New Zealanders have known Mrs. Mac’s for the top quality pies it serves daily. However, as business evolves, so must the processes that support it. The company’s accounts payable (AP) department was no exception. Mrs. Mac’s needed a solution that would not only eliminate paper-based processing but simplify invoice approvals as well.

The company found its answer in OnBase by Hyland.

Mrs. Mac’s originally implemented OnBase in 2009 to transform AP processes. Based on its success, the company then leveraged the platform into other back office departments like accounts receivable (AR) and human resources (HR) to further streamline processes.

Before OnBase, approving invoices, around 30,000 annually, was laborious and manually intensive. Internal mail was only delivered once a day, which, as a result, meant staff waited at least a day as an invoice was passed from one approver to the next.

OnBase eliminates the wait, speeding up the approval process to mere minutes.

“It’s like night and day for us,” said Josh Pierre, Analyst at Mrs. Mac’s. “Now, we tie everything in with our ERP, Pronto, and can reference everything by purchase order number. So, if something is marked that the goods have been received and the invoice amounts match, it’s automatically approved for payment by AP.”

Ensures data accuracy, keeping processes moving forward

Prior to implementing OnBase, ensuring invoice accuracy was also a challenge. Staff were required to track the delivery of invoices and verify against monthly statements. However, staff knew invoices did not match monthly statements but had no way of reconciling in a timely manner as the statement report was about 200 pages long.

OnBase transformed this process, adding speed and accuracy to areas the department needed.

“With OnBase we can look things up in real-time, which is brilliant,” Pierre said. “And we can make immediate decisions based on what we see. It’s no longer a manual process – everything is automated.”

Adds visibility into credit application processing

 In AR, OnBase further transformed processes, providing increased process visibility. When a customer submits a credit application, everything now goes through OnBase. Staff scan the application and OnBase automatically routes it for staff to enter all supporting information – such as customer references and Australian Business Numbers (ABNs). It’s then sent to the customer services department for account set up and then back to AR for final approval.

Digitising the process with OnBase improved how work gets done.

“OnBase stops lost paperwork and makes it easy to find the status of where something is in the process,” Pierre said. “Previously, staff would say, ‘I gave this to so- and-so and I’m not sure what happened to it.’ Now, we’re tracking things in real-time. So, if it’s been too long since a customer applied for credit terms and the account’s not active, we can now ask, ‘Where are our bottlenecks?’ find the answer and fix the problem immediately

The Difference

Using OnBase, AP staff no longer manually key in invoice data. It automatically extracts information from invoices and posts to Pronto for immediate access.  In addition, with the OnBase Integration for Microsoft Outlook, staff can kick-off workflows directly from their email interface. This speeds up processes while allowing staff to continue working in their familiar email environment.

“OnBase has really been a ‘set and forget’ product for us.  Support has been very easy – it’s a very stable product.  At the same time, it’s so easy to use.  Users are familiar with the interface – it’s just like a Microsoft Office application,” said Pierre.

Send this to a friend