Bonhams streamlines document management

Bonhams' paper-based accounts payable process was time-consuming

Auctioneer Bonhams has significantly cut down on manual data entry and costs following the rollout of a document management system for invoice administration.

The system covers 36,000 purchase invoices received by Bonhams each year, which are now scanned, attached to records in the firm’s financial management system and electronically stored.

Previously, the company’s accounts payable process involved manual entry of invoice data and the circulation of documents around different departments for signatory approval. The process resulted in data entry errors, paperwork going missing and significant amounts of staff time were spent in the internal distribution of invoices.

Cost was also an issue, as Bonhams had to print, photocopy and post paper invoices and also store copies. With the new system, the company claims savings have reached at least £60,000 each year.

“The technology has also freed up storage space including eliminating the need for us to use an expensive third-party supplier to store thousands of paper invoices offsite, saving us further costs,” said Anthony Adewumi, systems accountant at Bonhams.

“We are no longer wasting time filing and retrieving invoices in boxes. Instead, we can automatically access invoice images from the desktop with just a few mouse clicks, significantly improving efficiency,” said Adewumi.

“As we always have a digital copy of every document, invoices going missing is also a thing of the past,” he said.

Future plans to improve administration management include the rollout of a workflow system supplied by COA Solutions to enable paperless approval of purchase invoices, which will give the firm full visibility of invoice status in the payment chain.

“For the first time, we’ll know exactly where invoices are in the approval chain and be able to pay suppliers in a timelier manner, avoiding late payment penalties,” said Adewumi.

Version One supplies the auctioneer’s document management and imaging system, and COA Solutions provides the financial management platform.