CASE STUDY

ApprovalMax and Xero implement paperless accounting and finance decision control Learn how digital transformation is a people change process

@HelmutHeptner

Helmut Heptner, COO,

ApprovalMax

Helmut masters not only theoretical knowledge about effective organisations, but has helped many businesses to transform their daily operations and make them more efficient.

A cloud-based productivity enhancement story by a financial service outsourcing company that went through complete eradication of paper-led inefficiencies and legacy business processes for their clients...

Balanced is a business

advisory firm providing financial services, guidance and education for small and medium organisations as well as start-ups. Located in Auckland and Wanaka, New Zealand, it provides a full set of services tailored to SMB’s specific business needs, from accounting and taxes to paperless office and virtual CFO (vCFO).

Balanced focuses on using modern technology and extensive expertise to help business owners focus on their business. Using Balanced services and expert advice, business owners can rest at ease knowing they’re paying less tax and save the most precious resource of all, time. It also allows them to have better insight into their business, for example, by identifying the most profitable customers, understanding cash flow, proactively controlling spending, and helping to prepare business for launch or for sale.

“Paper slows down business”

One of the recurring challenges that Balanced would face as they engaged with new clients were the legacy paper-based ways of running business, including accounting. Balanced. For example, paper-based invoices would be used to process payments “If a company was locked into and paper-based signatures would a paper system, it was pretty be the way to obtain business much impossible to make the approvals – with the finance numbers work for us to provide information being stored in filing services to such a client because cabinets for reporting and taxation of the inefficiency of collating purposes. information,” Paul continues. “By the time we located the information “Paper slows down business – and and put it in a format that we could makes it expensive to find the reliably review with our client, I information needed,” says found that the costs Paul Struckman, Director at Balanced. “It takes forever to find pieces of information. “Paper slows down business – and makes it were far too high.” Yes, we can help you! And when you do expensive to find An even greater find it, it’s not in the information challenge in the format that you needed” overcoming the legacy can make decisions technology barrier on.” As a result, in papercame in handling change, based accounting, collating and especially the mind-set change. finding information has become a significant part of a person’s One of Paul’s prospective clients working day. learnt that the hard way. Two of their key accounting people, While that is a bad problem to a finance manager and an have in a business of any size, accountant, left the company within inefficiencies imposed by cluttera couple of weeks one after the full processes became critical other. when trying to move beyond basic in-house bookkeeping, for example, In an effort to help the company by onboarding accounting and during their transition period, Paul virtual CFO services provided by conducted a discovery of their

Balanced Chartered Accountants

control was made – practically overnight. Fortunately, the client was already using Xero, a cloud accounting platform. The remaining part was adopting Receipt Bank for digital invoice data capture, and ApprovalMax for multi-step and multi-role approval workflow automation.

“Once the client was onboarded and the paperless process put in place, it was the first time that a Bill was properly authorised before the money left the bank,” says Paul. Paul Struckman, Founder and Director of

Multiplying benefits

accounting processes and data. On top of the immediate What yielded as the result was a efficiency boost achieved through completely paper-based process transitioning to fully digital with a significant portion of the accounting, Balanced’s clients can organisational knowledge reap additional tied up to the two benefits from finance team “Once the client was the technology members recently onboarded and the and the process gone. paperless process put change. Furthermore, the finance decision control process was in place, it was the first time that a Bill was properly authorised before the money left First, introducing the proper expense authorisation reactional, meaning the bank” procedure and all company expenses the timely review and were authorised weeks approval by business people or even months after the money significantly reduces financial had left the bank. Essentially, the risks and establishes financial clutter-full accounting and the lack transparency. of proper approval automation prohibited timely decision making. “We often find that business owners have been paying expenses Paul’s reaction was, “Yes, we can for a long time without realising it,” help you – but first we need you to Paul notes. “This is what is so great go through a process change. We about Xero and ApprovalMax: you are not going to pay invoices that can easily make relevant invoices are not properly authorised, there is pop up on the managers’ screen so just too much risk involved.” they can see what they are paying for – and the authorisation details.” In response, the switch to a clutter-free paperless accounting Second, the early engagement process with proper decision of business people in review and

Still chasing clients for paperwork? www.receipt-bank.com

approval increases data quality for finance and accounting. Managers can contribute all the relevant details clarifying the business case around the payment, therefore, Bills are submitted for approval with a full and up-to-date business context.

Driving digital transformation can be a complex process, with technology change and a mindset change being essential for its success.

“A big part of my role has become people change,” says Paul. “Convincing people to change their day-to-day routine, change the way they usually do things is the most challenging task. But the benefits are appreciated almost immediately.”

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