What if your current Invoice Processing Solution isn’t Working for you

How and When to Change?

When should you undertake the review as to whether an invoice solution is working for you or needs upgrading or replacing?

Firstly, the question is could we have a better invoice processing solution that would bring;

More value

Business benefit

Automation and ultimately save us money?

What factors indicate whether you should find a new solution?

The solution is on-premise and on old hardware with an unsupported operating system
Has the solution provider said an upgrade is available but wants to charge you for new licenses?
Does your ERP need upgrading?
Have any of the components become end-of-life?
It’s not giving you value for money
Is the solution provider forcing more components on you?
Have you been sold an add-on product? You liked one product by the company so you bought another

All of the above factors are something we have seen and unfortunately seen too often. Charging an existing customer for new licenses/software when they are paying support for now end-of-life applications is an all too common occurrence for a customer with an On-Premise solution.

Also, has your current provider grown? As they often do so by adding additional components to their existing solutions. However, these are commonly in different pillars to what they are known for or specialize in. Have you bought an expenses solution and loved it, then based on the experience of one, bought the invoice solution thinking it would be equally as good?

Have you bought a Procurement solution that has a great requisition process and then forgotten that Non-PO invoices need handling too and the invoice solution provided doesn’t handle your non-PO invoices at all? Invoice automation is about exception handling, Non-PO approvals and PO Matching. That’s the solution that you need to focus on fitting into your overall Source to Settle process. If that part of a solution isn’t working then there are alternative options available.

Consider the contractual term left on the existing provider

Whilst a cloud replacement could be up and running within 3 months, deciding 3 or 6 months before the end of your current provider’s contract is too late. When you enter the final year of the contract, that’s the moment the process should start. This gives you the following timeline for change, based on starting 12 months before the renewal date and working on the basis that there is no other ERP project or upgrades going on:

0-3 Months – Identify possible replacement solution(s)

3-6 Months – Contractually sign replacement solution no later than month 6 (ideally month 5)

6-9 Months – Implementation Phase – Target by month 9 being in a position to provide a go or no go

9-12 Months – Ensure notice is given 3 months before the renewal date and aim for a go-live date within this 3-month period

Why Target 12 months before?

The challenge within any calendar or financial year is that there are periods where you don’t want to make amendments to financial systems, one being just before the financial end of year and the other being Christmas. The summer months are typically a period of complexity with staff holidays inevitably having an impact on project schedules during July and August. This normally means that windows for implementing invoice automation falls into the following periods:

January to March with a planned April go Live (go live for the new financial year in the UK); or

April to June with a planned July go Live; or

September to November with a planned go-live of the beginning of December

This assumes that by picking a cloud provider, an implementation time of 12 weeks is the benchmark. Knowing when your solution renewal date is, will determine the likely go live needed to ensure that you can implement the new solution. Furthermore, it ensures sufficient notice can be provided to the old solution.

Is it ever too early to look for another solution?

Do you ever look at that new car that goes by and consider upgrading to a better model? Whether you’ve had a solution for 12 months to 3+ years, it is never the wrong time or too early to look at a new or replacement solution. If it gives you greater benefit and saves you money then take the opportunity to find out. It could be that you’ve been live for a short period and you haven’t achieved what you expected. Has the solution provider taken you down an approach that doesn’t meet your needs?

A conversation with an expert provider is always beneficial and free. Any Finance Professional will be looking at where improvements can be made and seek knowledge and information from other professionals. Have a conversation, attend a webinar and see a solution provider's view on best practice. They may validate your concerns and start a process to assist you down the road, or you make the decision earlier to cancel the contract.

Data Migration

When changing or updating your current solution you also need to migrate and decommission the legacy applications and crucially this can provide significant ROI’s and ensures that users can find all historical information in one location using the latest technologies.

As part of your vendor selection, you need to ensure they have the skills and expertise to migrate, transform and transition data and images into the new solutions. Additionally, migrating to a new cloud SaaS solution ensures the latest security controls with no ongoing IT resources needed. A single place to search for your current and legacy data associated with the invoice images.