Success stories | Prensa Pty Ltd | Integration: Ocerra + MYOB Advanced
AP Automation for Prensa Pty Ltd
"We used to have 3-4 people managing supplier invoices, and now we have just one Ocerra champion to oversee this role. This opened opportunities for our other team members to focus on other more important projects", - Napthalie Saparamadu (Naps) | Financial Accountant
About Prensa
Prensa is an environmental consulting firm operating in six locations across Australia. They offer a range of services, including asbestos consulting, hazardous building materials consulting, environmental assessments, waste management, and underground storage tanks. Committed to corporate social responsibility, Prensa supports charities such as the Cancer Council of Australia and the National Breast Cancer Foundation by donating a portion of their profits each year.
In this case study, we interviewed Napthalie (Naps) Saparamadu, Financial Accountant who led the Ocerra implementation in the organisation, including onboarding over 200 consultants to use Ocerra approvals. Through the implementation of Ocerra, Prensa achieved remarkable results, transforming their AP workflow, enhancing visibility, and freeing up valuable time for their team. Join us on this journey as we delve into the details of this successful collaboration and the tangible benefits it brought to Prensa.
The Need for AP Automation
Before adopting Ocerra, Prensa encountered several challenges in their accounts payable process that demanded optimization. With a substantial monthly load of processing up to 1000 invoices, they encountered the following pain points:
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Inefficient Invoice Retrieval: Delays in obtaining supplier invoices from consultants and employees resulted in uncertainty about invoice whereabouts.
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Excessive Paper Usage: The need to print, scan, and re-print invoices contributed to excessive paper wastage that they wanted to eliminate.
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Lengthy Processing Time: It took two to three weeks to approve and pay invoices, causing stress and inefficiencies. The team spent significant time addressing supplier enquiries and ensuring timely payments.
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Signature Identification Challenges: With a large number of employees, identifying who had signed the invoices was difficult, as not everyone followed the prescribed signature format.
In Summary, Prensa's manual accounts payable process faced inefficiency, paper wastage, delays, and challenges in signature identification. These pain points prompted them to seek a solution that could streamline their accounts payable operations and improve overall efficiency.
Solution implemented and achieved benefits
Upon implementing Ocerra, Prensa experienced a transformation in their accounts payable process, leading to significant improvements in several key areas:
✔ Enhanced Visibility: Ocerra provided enhanced visibility over the invoice processing workflow, allowing the finance team to track invoice statuses and identify who was holding onto invoices. This transparency improved accountability and transparency within the team.
✔ Timely Approvals: Ocerra addressed delayed approvals with automated notifications and reminders. Consultants were encouraged to approve invoices promptly, instilling a culture of timely approvals and expediting the process.
✔ Reduced Errors: Ocerra's automation significantly reduced errors and duplicate entries by automatically recognising invoice key information. Features like Bank Details verification ensured prompt resolution of payment-related errors.
✔ Improved Accuracy: The implementation of Ocerra led to a substantial increase in accuracy, making the accounts payable process much more precise and reliable.
✔ Efficient Error Handling: Errors were not only reduced but also efficiently handled, thanks to Ocerra's features that flag exceptions, which allowed issues for example, related to banking details changes to be swiftly investigated.
Time-saving: AP process is 50% faster with Ocerra
Ocerra's implementation resulted in significant time-saving benefits for Prensa's accounts payable process. Before Ocerra, manual data entry and verification led to time-consuming processes, especially during the end of the month. With Ocerra, the process became notably faster and more streamlined.
As a result, Prensa reported that the accounts payable process became at least "more than 50%" faster, with statement checking reduced from four days to just two days". Fewer team members were now required to process invoices, allowing them to redirect their efforts towards more value-added tasks.
Team efficiency: from 4 to 1 team member
Before Ocerra's implementation, the accounts payable team comprised 3 to 4 members managing various supplier-related tasks. Since integrating Ocerra, maintaining a clean and efficient process hasn’t been easier. Now, one dedicated team member oversees this role. This transformation has reduced the team managing accounts payable from 4 to 1, allowing others to concentrate on more critical tasks.
Feedback from the management
“Feedback from managers, directors, and the CFO has been overwhelmingly positive since the implementation of Ocerra” - says Naps.
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Enhanced Efficiency: Managers find the consolidated platform to be a significant improvement, making their tasks easier to manage.
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Improved Audit Trail: Directors and the CFO appreciate the proper audit trail export from Ocerra to MYOB, providing clarity on who approved invoices and eliminating the challenge of identifying signatures.
“There is no need to jump from one system to another, we have it all in one spot. This is very convenient for upper management as Ocerra enters all the invoices information including attachment and audit trail to MYOB” – says Naps.
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Control Over Approvals: The ability to control approvals based on specified limits has been well-received.
Setup and implementation feedback
“During the implementation process, we identified several additional requirements, and Ocerra promptly provided solutions. Overall, we have found Ocerra to be very responsive in adding new features and enhancements. For example, when I asked for an option to check suppliers under specific sub-accounts, it was implemented for us in about a week's time." – Say Naps.
Benefits highlighted by Prensa team
When asked about what they liked most about Ocerra, our client highlighted two key aspects:
✔ Enhanced Visibility and Accountability: Ocerra brought increased visibility to the invoice processing workflow, making team members and managers more accountable for their responsibilities.
✔ Automation and Elimination of Manual Processes: From a finance perspective, the client appreciated the automation capabilities of Ocerra, which eliminated manual, time-consuming processes and streamlined operations.
These insights reflect the client's positive experience with Ocerra, focusing on improved visibility, accountability, and the elimination of manual processes.
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