Utility firm implements new accounts payable system to increase document visibility

Utility company Centrica has implemented an electronic invoicing system to gain greater visibility of the one million invoices it receives every year.

Centrica’s new accounts payable system covers on- and offshore locations as some processes, which were intensive and manual, were sent offshore to reduce costs.

The new system, supplied by BizAps, comprises scanning technology to capture invoice information in the UK which is presented onscreen for offshore operators to enter manually and process.

When an invoice is scanned in the UK, it is sent to a number of inboxes for processing by the offshore accounts payable team.

Each invoice is then accessed in order to manually enter the data and process the document.

The new system includes a web invoice approval module

According to Centrica, the new system has given the organisation high visibility of its processes and helps maintain control in an offshore environment.

Another benefit of an electronic system is visibility of document location across the offshore accounts payable team and the onshore management and financial teams.