Specsavers has its eye on faster financial processes
Software offers clear view on time and cost savings
High street optician Specsavers has implemented document management and imaging software to speed its financial processes as it continues to expand worldwide.
The system provides automated data entry and electronic archiving of supplier invoices for 830 UK and European outlets through a centralised accounting office.
To keep pace with its expansion plans and gain recognition as a world class finance operation, the Guernsey-based accounting office wanted to streamline its procure-to-pay functions to improve efficiency.
Currently, invoices are authorised at both the stores and head office, so outlets have to manually submit them to the central accounts office for payment. On receipt of these invoices, the data is manually entered onto the accounting system.
This involves a full-time team, including a 25-person night shift and all paperwork is then manually filled and stored on-site.
‘Our manual procedures take up huge resources, both night and day, and are immensely time consuming and costly,’ said Specsavers finance director Karen Dicks.
‘With the planned business expansion, the accounts department will soon be handling one million supplier invoices every year.’
To improve efficiency and free up thousands of feet of storage space, Specsavers opted for an automated purchase invoice processing system with electronic archiving.
Specsavers chose Version One’s DbArchive and DbCapture software, with electronic storage and web-based delivery of invoice images and advanced optical character recognition technology for automated data entry.
The system is integrated into Specsavers’ accounting and electronic workflow applications and has the flexibility to be rolled-out to other business areas.
‘It has reduced our data entry effort by up to 80 per cent and significantly reduces the time and money spent on postage, storage and data entry,’ said Dicks.
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Further reading
Specsavers tries a new focus for IT upgrades