USE CASE
Automated Supplier Invoice Processing
Invoices arrive by email, portal, PDF, or shared folder. Someone identifies the supplier, amount, due date, and cost center before seeking approval.
In brief. This use case consists of assessing how to: collect documents, extract fields, detect duplicates, validate against orders, route approvals, and prepare posting.
How it works today
Invoices arrive by email, portal, PDF, or shared folder. Someone identifies the supplier, amount, due date, and cost center before seeking approval.
Where time is lost
The team re-enters data already on the document and checks again who approved each invoice.
What can be automated
Collect documents, extract fields, detect duplicates, validate against orders, route approvals, and prepare posting.
How a workflow could work
A practical flow takes inputs from the relevant sources, checks them against agreed rules, performs routine actions, and sends uncertain cases to a person.
What still needs a person
A person reviews uncertain invoices, tax exceptions, and approvals under company policy.
Systems that may be involved
Email or portal, repository, purchase orders, approvals, and ERP.
When it is worth assessing
When volume consumes hours in reading, entry, and approval follow-up.
What not to assume
Reading a document does not equal accounting or tax approval.
How Smartservices approaches it
We map the existing process, verify data and system access, define controls and a human review point, then scope an integration or automation around the actual workflow.
Questions to ask before starting
Can this work with our current systems?
It depends on available APIs, exports, permissions, and data quality. We check those constraints before choosing an integration.
Will people still review exceptions?
A person reviews uncertain invoices, tax exceptions, and approvals under company policy.
What is needed for an initial assessment?
A sample of the current inputs, the steps people perform, the systems involved, and the most common exceptions.