Customer Stories Grange Construction

Grange Construction & Roofing Ltd. (GCR) embraces automated technology

Established in 1998, Grange Construction and Roofing Ltd are specialists in roofing, cladding and rainscreen solutions. GCR offer commercial, industrial and residential roof maintenance and cladding products throughout Ireland.

80% reduction in invoice processing time

Elimination of physical storage requirements

Effortless reconciliation of supplier accounts

Streamlined audit and approvals processes

The beauty of dealing with a company like SmartOffice (Cantec Group) is that systems can be tailored and scaled to focus on our size of industry. I have previously worked on a variety of MRP systems in other sectors of industry, however such types of software are not feasible for a small family- run business due to the cost, complexity and lack of tailoring options available.

Annmarie Crinion

Managing Director, GCR

The Challenge

Grange Construction and Roofing needed an end-to-end system to easily and accurately capture invoice detail, manage the approval stage and process the payments through a single platform.

Discrepancies on Product Invoices

The Accounts Department was tasked with raising purchase orders on behalf of the contract managers. However they were often unsure of what was required for the order. In addition, specific product codes were needed for different projects where there was no bill of materials or price list to reference.

Higher Prices Charged

The challenge lay when the Accounts team received the invoice, the price charged was frequently higher than what had been agreed with the contract manager. Quantities and codes could vary and incorrect prices or the absence of pricing led to data entry and approvals delays.
As the contracts manager was not involved at invoice stage, they were unaware of any price discrepancies. This breakdown in the process of relating prices to projects led to numerous extra steps across several departments to ensure accuracy.

Single Platform

In addition, the day to day process was cumbersome and manual with a heavy reliance on paper based documentation. Reconciling invoices against GRNs, Purchase Orders and statements was a time-consuming and tedious task.
Grange Construction and Roofing needed an end-to-end system to easily and accurately capture invoice detail, manage the approval stage and process the payments through a single platform.

The Solution

With SmartOffice AP, Grange Construction found a solution that captured key information and facilitated its flow easily between all users. Automation has removed the gap between the supplier, contract manager and the accounts team.
SmartOffice AP enables the contract managers to create the individual Purchase Orders and be actively involved in the approval process. PO creation is simple, logical and goes straight to the supplier. With live visibility from PO to invoice, contract managers have greater control over the project.

Cross Reference and Match

SmartOffice AP automatically verifies that the quantity billed, product codes and invoice prices are consistent from purchase order to invoice. The invoice can be automatically returned to the requisitioner for official sign off or can be processed without intervention. The ability to cross-reference and match each invoice at line-item level is a game changer. The task of checking cost differences, identifying shortages and verifying product codes is much simpler.

Invoice History and Vendor Information

All invoice history and vendor information is housed within the system, with confirmation, approval and review times cut dramatically. The system links all approvals and messages associated with each transaction and SmartOffice AP gives comprehensive intelligence and reporting on invoice details and related correspondence. A searchable audit trail reduces the risk of losing important paperwork and helps maintain regulatory compliance for quarterly or annual filings.

Data Capture

Better data capture and automation enable GCR to have real-time data and full visibility on processing and analytics at every stage. The company benefits from clearer overviews of spending and cost trends and timely supplier payments have achieved early payment discounts.

Smart Office is a simpler, more cost-effective approach for our industry type. The construction industry regulations are constantly improving and we believe that in the future it will be a requirement to provide lot number traceability for all critical materials/products used. We are confident SmartOffice can help with their growing offering of bespoke software range to easily meet this requirement.

Annmarie Crinion

Managing Director, GCR

The Result

The impact of data capture and more efficient workflow brought about through SmartOffice AP has improved processing time by 80% and decreased cost by €15,000.

Traditional invoice approval methods and workflow led to a backlog in accounts processing and manual data entry. Implementing SmartOffice AP has reduced processing time by 80% within 5 months. The aim now is to get to real-time invoice reporting.

The Results

90% time savings compared to manual systems
Reduces supplier invoice processing costs by an estimated 85 %
Automatically ‘flags’ invoiced pricing that is different to past invoiced prices
Reduces the number of manually processed invoices from 500 to an average of 10 per month
Removes the requirement for paper invoices and the associated print, postage and handling costs
Full integration with Sage Accounts automatically migrates invoice data for efficient financial processing
Always-on, secure visibility of all invoices from every supplier
Seamless process increases AP accuracy and payment process tracking
Automatic statement reconciliation
Accounts Payable Team can focus on higher value, more productive work