Managed Content Case Study: The Gordon Flesch Company

SAFER PROCESSING FOR AP DEPARTMENT

The Gordon Flesch Company Accounts Payable (AP) department used to have very manual workflows, involving printing and scanning thousands of pages every month. Thanks to a new Laserfiche Managed Content process, the department has become almost all-digital, processing invoices faster and more cost-effectively. And thanks to the new system, the department can continue working while maintaining safe social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE CHALLENGE

Previously, all invoices had to be emailed to the appropriate approvers. To archive invoices, each had to be printed, scanned and uploaded to a separate program for storage. Kelly Kober, Accounts Payable & Cash Applications Supervisor at Gordon Flesch Company, says each team member spent 8 hours a week sorting and processing invoices. One person spent 25 hours a week just scanning. “We could fill the copier two times a week with at least four reams of paper (4,000 sheets),” says Kober. “We had to print a cover sheet with a bar code so that invoices could be scanned into the storage system and tracked.”

Not only was this process cumbersome, but it would be impossible to manage when staff is working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

THE SOLUTION

Gordon Flesch Company business analysts built an Electronic Content Management system using Laserfiche. Now, 90 percent of invoices come in by email and can be processed electronically. Instead of emailing invoices to approvers, electronic invoices are automatically routed to appropriate personnel. Once approved, it is entered into the system and when a check is issued, the invoice and the payment number are automatically archived.

THE RESULT

The Gordon Flesch Company AP department is now able to process invoices with almost no paper processing. Invoices are all managed in shared folders and routing is managed with simple checkboxes. “It’s a game changer, especially with the COVID social distancing rules we have to follow,” says Kober. “In the past we needed to have four people in the office to process invoices. Now I only need one person in the office one day a week to cut checks.”

In addition, when records are needed for an audit, invoices and payments are easy to deliver. Kober says it is much easier when someone is on vacation, other staffers can easily pick up their workloads. The department has more internal controls, and similar functions are being rolled out to other departments.

“The system has made the entire department more efficient, and we’ve gotten excited about our work again, finding new ways to make Accounts Payable even better,” Kober says.

"The new folders make it easy to collaborate and get our work done. I would rather manage folders than paper any day. ”

—Kelly Kober
Accounts Payable & Cash Applications Supervisor