Transforming The P2P Cycle Into A Faster, Highly Visible & More Collaborative OperationTransforming The P2P Cycle Into A Faster, Highly Visible & More Collaborative Operation

Digitally transforming the P2P process with a user-friendly solution

After talking to several vendors and an RFP process, Xero confidently selected Fuji Xerox to implement Esker’s Procure-to-Pay solution to automate its procurement and AP processes. Esker’s ability to support the Finance team in managing Xero’s different subsidiaries was the deciding factor, along with feature set and convenience of local support.

Esker has helped change some of the internal processes across the company. “Before Esker, it was more common to receive an invoice first, and then a PO would have to be raised retroactively,” said Antoinetta Van Moorsel, Accounts Payable Administrator. “Since implementing Esker, we’re finding that more people are raising a PO initially, and then we’re receiving an invoice to match it.”

Smart filtering flags important items, such as unmatched invoices or incorrect currencies. “I think we’ve definitely benefited from having something more user-friendly and nicer looking for our business users,” said Sam Tsoi, Systems Accountant, Xero.

Reduced manual data entry thanks to automatic matching of invoices against POs

The most significant benefit has been Esker’s efficiency in matching invoices against POs. This was previously a manual process, but Esker’s AI automatically converts invoices into searchable data, extracts, and then enters information into the system. With less manual data entry, staff has more time to focus on higher-value tasks.

Staff time freed-up to focus on other tasks & projects

It used to be hard to keep up with queries and juggling invoices. With Esker, it’s definitely freed up our time to do other things!
Antoinetta van Moorsel| Accounts Payable Administrator, Xero

Greater visibility across financial team thanks to dashboards metrics & reporting

And the benefits don’t just stop there. “It’s super easy for invoice approvers to approve an invoice straight from their mobile phone – they don’t even have to log in from their laptop. And of course, faster approval means we’re able to get the invoices paid on time,” explained Antoinetta Van Moorsel, Accounts Payable Administrator. “I can easily track what’s happening with a particular invoice, so we’re getting fewer enquiries from suppliers about where payment is or how far along it is.”

Esker’s intelligent dashboards have improved visibility within the team. Now they can see the number of invoices coming in, manage, share and track workload. Customised reporting has allowed Xero to build relevant reports for specific business functions, while dashboard metrics ensure the most important data is visible without seeming like ‘information overload’.

Faster invoice approvals down from several weeks to 3-4 days

Overall, efficiency gains have been significant. The improvements that the Finance team set out to achieve have been met and more. Where previously an invoice would take several weeks to be approved, it’s now done in just a matter of days.