'I embraced automation and I’m so glad I did because it’s absolutely brilliant!’
Lisa Ronson, Finance Manager Goldsmiths Students’ Union
Efficiency and time management are key to any institution operating in the current financial climate. This is especially true for Goldsmiths Students’ Union, a renowned students’ union providing support for nearly 10,000 students, that deals with all the paperwork associated with such a large number of people.
During the covid period, many employees worked remotely. However, this type of work has created a number of challenges, including the time spent updating the system used to track approvals, Google docs, and then printing out the invoice to file manually. Simply put, there was too much paper and not enough time to process it.
Consequently, Lisa Ronson, Financial Manager at Goldsmiths Students’ Union and her team were having to spend excessive time on low-value tasks, including data entry and bookkeeping.
Solving the issues of a remote workforce
Goldsmiths Students’ Union needed help to address the challenges created by having a remote workforce. Whilst their team set up remote desktop access and was able to access Sage remotely, they still did not meet the requirements for the AP process. However, by choosing the Quadient's Accounts Payable (AP) solution, they were able to increase the team’s workflow efficiency to free up staff time for more valuable tasks, and improve focus on the approval process, which also allowed the Finance Manager to do her job within working hours.
In addition, the software helped Goldsmiths Students’ Union with audit procedures, and the OCR technology that came with Quadient's Accounts Payable (AP) solution was a huge bonus.
Finding the right fit
Institutions and businesses have to make a plethora of decisions, including choosing the right technology investment to meet their business needs. For Goldsmiths Students’ Union, which processes around 150 invoices a month, the accounts team found that some software packages were over-complicated and did not suit their needs. Lisa Ronson, Finance Manager at Goldsmiths Students’ Union, explained how Paperless, Tipalti, Yooz, MSL, and Sage Intaact’s accounts payable software had plenty of features, but she didn’t need them. Instead, Quadient's Solution had the features she actually needed and beat the competitors on price.
“I’ve worked with a fair few finance invoicing systems in my time and this one is the easiest to get to grips with”
– Ed Nedjari, CEO, Goldsmiths Students’ Union
Quadient has provided Goldsmiths Students’ Union with a single solution that manages the entire AP and PO workflow.
Ending email and paper-based approvals
Another benefit of using Quadient is that the provision of cloud-based can help to significantly minimise the need for paperwork and email invoicing required as part of the AP process.
These functions can be difficult to manage, organise and keep track of, as well as being time-consuming to carry out. The reduction in having to print off paperwork and emails by embracing cloud technology has the added benefit of reducing purchasing costs of paper and ink, helping to support environmental obligations, and for those out of the office, easily access their work remotely.
"This process has been a really great experience and I’ve been telling quite a few people about Beanworks!”
– Lisa Ronson, Finance Manager, Goldsmiths Students’ Union
Implementing Quadient's AP Solution has also provided Goldsmiths Students’ Union with the ability to enable unlimited users to access and view submitted invoices waiting for approval. This has allowed the Finance Manager to instantly access and report
on any stage of the AP process, eliminating the need to monitor manual filing processes. Previously, this process took so much time that Goldsmiths Students’ Union contemplated employing a part-time member of staff to simply print and file paper at the cost of £8,500.
Delivering an efficient AP process
Quadient has drastically increased the efficiency of the AP process; where previously, for one invoice to be approved, five people would have to be involved and a string of emails being sent back and forth, having financial and time management implications.
The use of Quadient's AP Automation has reduced errors in the AP process for Goldsmiths Students’ Union whilst also reducing the time spent on entry and approvals and allowing for greater visibility and control.
Quadient has provided the team with an AP solution that allows easy access for its users – therefore enabling wider adoption of the system and the benefits this offers. The new system has also helped increase productivity by reducing time spent manually entering data and chasing employees for their approval or rejection of POs and invoices. Crucially, in a decentralised AP process, Goldsmiths Students’ Union found the customisable approval channels particularly helpful.
Save Time, Cut Costs & Reduce Risk With AP Automation
The positive feedback from the team at Goldsmiths Students’ Union highlights the numerous benefits that Quadient solution has brought to the business, demonstrating why they switched to using Quadient as part of their central AP workflow.
Let’s talk about automation.
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