“We use a spreadsheet" or “we type it up in Word" was something we heard a lot but there was always interest in the idea of a system to manage this better. So we wrote one. And it’s rather nice. And totally affordable at £6 per user per month. Within a few minutes of registering, you could be setting up your users, setting up departmental budgets and customising the layout of a purchase order form. Our workflow module allows you to create a simple workflow process – ie send to X for approval and then send it to the supplier if approved.

So what is all this about? Controlling and managing spend of course. Making sure that all spend in the company is approved and within budget. Our spend prevention is a tool to add a reality check to a division.

So how can you spend £1 million in 40 seconds then? Well, that’s how long it takes to raise a purchase order. Under 40 seconds. So potentially you could spend a £1million that quickly – providing you have budget and its approved of course.

Do take a look and see what you think – www.zahara.software or register now 

The post How to spend £1,000,000 in 40 seconds ? appeared first on C2S.

Now there is: Santiago – the automated email attachment downloading and routing system that identifies email attachments and diverts them to a dedicated mailbox.

Invoices go to the accounts department, C.V.s go to HR, orders go to the sales department and so on. There’s no delay and no need for human intervention.

You choose which email attachments you’d like to automatically download, and use advanced filtering, for example by file type or file name, date and subject line, to instruct Santiago’s Data Extractor to move those attachments to a dedicated mailbox.

Solicitors save time sorting all their mail, accounts departments receive remittance advices in an instant, and local authorities can route letters and application forms from the public to the correct departments for a quicker response.

We’re delighted to be working with a travel agency, used to dealing with thousands of email attachments an hour – their productivity has been transformed and customer service vastly improved as staff can work far more efficiently.

We’ve added some sophistication too, so all email attachments including .html and.txt files or the body of an email can be converted via Doc2Pdf to PDF format.

Files can be renamed following set criteria, and advanced filtering can set be up so only selected email attachments are routed automatically.

Plus you can enable the option to move emails to a separate folder once the attachments have been downloaded. It keeps mailboxes tidy.

Whether you receive just 10 email attachments a day, or tens of thousands, Santiago can be easily configured to suit the needs of your business. Entry level Santiago is free to download, so you can get started straight away.

We offer different levels of support, according to the volume of attachments received each day, right up to Enterprise level, which includes a one hour response support team at your service and an unlimited number of email attachments.

Santiago’s biggest benefit is the amount of time saved processing email attachments, enabling staff to spend time on more productive tasks. Yes it’s accurate and reliable,

using advanced filtering and tailored settings, and it’s robust enough to handle huge volumes of incoming mail associated with local authorities, head offices and public service companies.

Talk to us to find out more, we’d be happy to demonstrate it for you.

The post Hands-free email processing – it’s a no brainer appeared first on C2S.

The challenge lies in implementing global wide protocols that preserve data integrity and comply with information security and compliance legislation.
We’ve been working with a large global manufacturer to implement a digital capture facility for their parts certification. The two key processes involved were FileDirector to centralise critical information, and FlexiCapture to scan and shred important documents complete with an audit trail for full compliance.

FileDirector scales up to multiple servers in many locations, is quick to deploy and user friendly, making it the perfect choice for international organisations. It integrates easily with existing systems, adding extra sophistication to the file sharing process.
FlexiCapture is an intelligent system for capturing essential information from scanned documents and email attachments. It reads the information on the page and exports the useful data to be stored or processed further. This might be information on a proof of delivery for example, or in the case of our international client, the essential elements of their parts certificates; dates, part numbers and so on.
In fact, the data can be exported into any application you prefer, including Excel, CSV, XML and your own bespoke business applications. The document can be filed at the same time as the export process takes place, and notifications sent to personnel to alert them that the task is complete.
Our client is very pleased with their outcome. Their parts certificates and other important documents are now safe and secure, yet readily accessible for all who need them.
Sharing critical information on a global scale is possible, easy and secure with business systems from C2S. Talk to us if you would like to find out more.

The post Keep critical records safe, secure and accessible appeared first on C2S.

We recently helped a claims handling company which had experienced incredible growth over the last three years, and was suffering from the problems caused by delays in key processes.
They were struggling to cope with the huge volumes of mail arriving each day, and some post was taking too long to reach the right members of staff, causing delays and customer dissatisfaction.

In fact it took 12 people 4 hours a day to process the post, time that would be better spent on looking after customers. So, we introduced an automated digital mailroom into the business, which centralised the processing of all mail via a single mailing address. All post is scanned as it arrives, and routed to the right case management systems via intelligent classification of documents.

Case managers can access correspondence without the usual time delays, improving turn-around times and delivering excellent customer service. They can also access archived mail from the digital files in just a few clicks, saving time and enhancing overall performance.
All in all, the company has managed to overcome its growing pains by introducing a simple, yet effective tool to streamline mail distribution. It’s no longer in fear of gaining a poor reputation for delays in response times, and has been able to redeploy office administration staff onto other, more productive tasks.

If routing mail to the right recipient is critical to the efficient running of your business, it’s worth a chat with us to find out more about automating the whole mail distribution process. It saves time and money whilst allowing your business to respond quickly to your customers’ needs.

The post Making light work of business expansion appeared first on C2S.

Spread over a number of sites, and going through a period of growth, the business was losing control over expenditure and budgets.

It was clear that what was needed was a process for managing financial transactions, incorporating checks and purchasing protocols, to take back control. And that process had to integrate with their existing business systems, including Microsoft Dynamics GP and Caresys.

Purchase orders and invoice approvals We introduced a system that implemented a purchase order process to control expenditure and link it directly to allocated budgets. It increased accountability for spending decisions and ensured no purchases could be made without being sanctioned.

The system then matched incoming invoices against purchase orders, applying an approvals process to authorise invoices for payment or raise queries where necessary.

This process was employed across all nine of their care home sites, improving the time taken to process incoming invoices whilst allowing for faster, more accurate invoice processing and payments.

The accounts department staff now spend less time chasing missing information or invoice approvals or correcting inaccurate payments, meaning valuable hours can be saved.

Management also has access to real time financial information with the confidence that it is accurate and up to date and spending commitments are under control.

If your business operates across multiple sites, if you need approvals from field workers, remote management or home workers, a fully integrated purchase order, invoice approvals and processing system makes the whole process run like a well oiled machine.

It can be configured to work with your existing management information systems, even if they are bespoke to your business and, being user-friendly, is easy for your staff to adopt new working protocols that save them time, remove frustrations and allow them to work more effectively.

Invoice processing needn’t be a headache. Talk to us if you are experiencing frustrations, company expenditure is out of control, or your financial management.

The post Taking care of care home budgets appeared first on C2S.

We were recently approached by an aviation parts company that resells parts and conducts repairs for aeroplanes to international organisations.

The company operates in euros, dollars and UK sterling, and wanted a system that linked to their Oracle based ERP system Quantum, as well as linking to Sage 50.

Automated invoice processing 

We worked with them to understand the full extent of their processing needs, and the systems they had in place, so that we could devise and integrate a bespoke automated invoice processing system that dovetailed perfectly in the business.

Now, invoices can be received and processed with ease no matter which currency they arrive in. The system identifies the different currencies, treating them appropriately without the need for human intervention.

All that is required is for someone to oversee a simple checking process before finally uploading the invoices in bulk to Sage 50.

It saves time, improves accuracy, takes away hassle and the potential to make mistakes. Personnel can now be redeployed to other tasks, saving the company money in the process. Financial reporting is faster and more accurate, giving top line management access to the information they need to make decisions based on facts.

If your company deals in multiple currencies, or you are perhaps thinking of branching out abroad, talk to us for advice on how to upgrade your business systems to automate financial processes and have them running more smoothly.

The post When invoices arrive in multiple currencies appeared first on C2S.

The company works in construction, is established, and growing, with over 80 employees working on numerous new building sites. Their peripatetic workforce needed systems and processes to allow them to work efficiently. That meant turning administrative tasks into a process driven machine.

C2S provided an invoice processing system that allowed the 2000 plus invoices received each month to be scanned and imported from emails with any corresponding delivery notes. The facility enabled invoices to be matched against purchase orders and an approvals process was put in place so that payments could be sanctioned by those in authority.

All invoices were then imported into Sage 50 with ease, no manual keying of data was necessary, and accuracy of information was much improved.

The new system allowed for efficient collation of information, much faster processing and easier approvals, so releasing more time for the construction workers to spend on more productive work.

Food for thought:

The biggest key to improving performance is to do away with manual administrative processes. If you’re not there yet, it’s worth looking into, and by all means talk to us to find out more.

The post 2000 incoming invoices per month from multiple sites? No problem! appeared first on C2S.

The issue was causing delays in processing paperwork, slowing down turnaround of work, and leaving customers none too pleased about the poor service they received.

And that in turn was affecting staff morale, company reputation and profitability.

The company was in fact a legal firm going through a period of growth. They were about to invest in a case management system to help manage the workload, but recognised that handling the mail would still prove to be a bottleneck.

What was needed was a digital mailroom system that processed all mail with a scanning facility that categorized and indexed documents so they were ready to instantly integrate with the new case management system.

We worked with them to build a mailroom process that integrated seamlessly with their new case management system, customizing our software to work in line with their specific processes.

Case managers were then able to access case documents for review and action within a short time of mail arriving in the business. And remote workers had the same level of instant access too.

We also set in place a quarantine process, where documents containing given key words that may indicate the possibility of a complaint, are highlighted for priority action.

Results

• Mail room staff now take less time handling the volumes of mail and can be redeployed onto other more productive tasks during the day
• Case managers receive mail as soon as it has been scanned and categorized for action, and can search for documents in just a few clicks
• Staff are able to work more efficiently and provide a better service for their clients. This in turn has boosted morale.
• Customers are receiving a more responsive service, and no longer have cause for complaint.
• The client is satisfied that they have the right system in place to deal with the daily workload, and a system that will work well for them into the future as they continue to grow.

Laura Liddell, Managing Director says: The decision to move to a paperless system was not taken lightly. We knew we needed to change but there was an underlying anxiety about doing so. The results are fantastic however, and we wonder how we managed before!”

For help managing volumes of mail arriving in your business, talk to us, we can work with your existing systems to drive efficiencies and save your staff a great deal of time.

The post Overwhelmed by post? Fast track mail to your staff appeared first on C2S.

Having previously used PDF# and other open source libraries, we were more often than not left disappointed by the performance. Our clients require bullet proof processing and accuracy.

During the development of our Santiago tool, we had a specific customer requirement that made us search and find a perfect solution. Santiago is a scheduler that monitors email accounts and downloads attachments that meet set rules. The attachments are then forwarded into a workflow. Santiago effectively feeds a digital mailroom or accounts payable solution.

The customer in question received attachments from over 500 branches around London. The attachments are agendas and minutes of meetings and can be in any format but are usually typed in Word or Excel. We needed to forward these into our FileDirector solution, fully indexed into the correct queue but the customer asked to be able to annotate the documents – add text, arrows, highlights etc. This would only be possible if we converted the documents into Tiff.

We have now built the Aspose.Total.Net library into Santiago with excellent results

The File2Tiff module examines the extension of the file to be converted and selects the required conversion system:

fileType = Path.GetExtension(filePath).Replace(".", "").ToLower();

if (FileTypeExtensions.File2TiffDoc_Extensions.Contains(fileType))
{
	...
}
else if (FileTypeExtensions.File2TiffXls_Extensions.Contains(fileType)) 
{
	...
}

File2Tiff is then able to utilise the Aspose.Words and Aspose.Cells libraries to perform the conversion, making use of the Document and Workbook classes respectively, using only a few lines of code:

Aspose.Words

Document doc = new Document(filePath);
...
doc.Save(Path.Combine(OutputPath, outputFileName), options);

Aspose.Cells

Workbook book = new Workbook(filePath);
Worksheet sheet;
SheetRender sheetRender;
Bitmap bitmap;

...

for (int i = 0; i < book.Worksheets.Count; i++)
{
sheet = book.Worksheets[i];
sheetRender = new SheetRender(sheet, imgOptions);

for (int j = 0; j < sheetRender.PageCount; j++)
{
bitmap = sheetRender.ToImage(j);

if (bitmap != null)
{
bitmap.Save(Path.Combine(OutputPath,
string.Format("{0}_{1} - Page {2}",
outputFileName, i + 1, j + 1)));
}
}
}

A particularly useful feature of both libraries is the ability to specify image saving options. This allows us to provide the end user with the flexibility to specify the resolution at which they wish to save the document, selecting between saving in colour or greyscale and choosing particular pages of a document to convert:

Aspose.Words.Saving.ImageSaveOptions options = new

Aspose.Words.Saving.ImageSaveOptions(Aspose.Words.SaveFormat.Tiff);

options.PageIndex = UserSelectedFirstPage;

options.PageCount = UserSelectedPageCount;

options.Resolution = UserSelectedResolution;

options.ColorMode = UserSelectedColourMode;

The post Aspose.Total.Net – great tool, deserves our praise. appeared first on C2S.

Here we’ve mapped out the areas that need to be addressed, and indeed our suggestions for putting in place some best practice procedures, to ensure your business is fit and ready when the time comes to change. You may find you have some of the following items in place already.

1. Map out your process

It’s good to know the position that you are starting from – what are your current procedures? Who approves orders and payments? How does it currently work and where are the bottlenecks?

2. Update your supplier records

The more accurate your supplier records the more efficient the intelligent recognition process will be later on. Start checking and updating your records to ensure the correct name, address and vat registration numbers are in place for each supplier.

3. Request emailed invoices from all of your suppliers

If you still have suppliers posting invoices to you, put in a request for them to be sent via email from now on. Automated invoice processing works like a machine when 100% of invoices arrive this way.

4. Use one inbox to receive all invoices

Ask all your suppliers to email their invoices to one dedicated email address. You can do this by telling your suppliers to email accounts@yourco.co.uk, but also make sure your team set up forwarding in their inboxes (at a server level rather than outlook) to pass any invoices they receive to the central mailbox.

5. Upgrade your existing accounts system

This is the perfect time to ensure you have the latest systems in place throughout the automated invoice process. Check that you are running the latest version of your accounts system, upgrade if necessary and ensure you have subscribed to receive support. Purchase any additional licenses you think you need for automation. If you are planning to start using a new accounts system, this needs to be in place first, and should be compatible with automated invoice processing.

6. Know your metrics

How many invoices a day, week or month do you receive? Are there busy periods and how many people are involved in processing them? How long does each invoice take to process? Do you know what percentage of invoices have errors, i.e. how many invoices match the PO straight off? If you have good stats, we have a target to try and beat. If stats are poor, then there’s more work to be done, but it’s not an insurmountable issue.

7. Introduce a Purchase Order system

A purchase order system puts robust cost control measures in place. If you don’t have a system yet, we recommend you put one in place. And if you do have one, it’s worth reviewing its capabilities to ensure it’s fit for purpose. Plan for this in advance to that it’s ready for integration.

8. Supplier Delivery Notes

The process includes a facility for matching delivery notes to purchase orders. If your business receives delivery notes do you have equipment to scan them so this aspect can also be automated?

9. Growth

It’s worth considering your current growth rate so you have a clear picture of requirements for the future. How many people will you need in the accounts department to handle workload? And what are the targets you want to set for automated invoice processing?

10. Collaboration

Throughout the preparation process, it’s importatnt to work closely with your provider to ensure the transition runs smoothly, and everyone involved is fully trained and comfortable with their new, more efficient way of working. Good communication is key to getting everyone on side, as is allowing sufficient time for implementation to ensure full co-operation from every department.

The post 10 steps to successful Automated Invoice Processing Integration appeared first on C2S.