Østjysk Energi secures future invoice handling with ReadSoft
In February 2005 Østjysk Energi took a strong hold on their handling of invoices. Instead of spending uncounted resources on manually handling incoming invoices they pressed the start button for a completely electronic process. And the profits did not take a long time in coming!
- Before we started using ReadSoft and WM-data’s system we spent sometimes weeks hunting down invoices in the company. With electronic invoice handling we can receive, send and approve invoices in just one day. It is an amazingly effective, says Vibeke Rasmussen, who is responsible in the accounting department at Østjysk Energi.
The system, in production at Østjysk Energi and automatically handling 6000 invoices a year, is provided by EG-Utility who is targeting the Danish energy sector. The solution consists of ReadSoft’s self learning software for reading and interpreting invoices, and WM-Data’s authorization system eScan.
- ReadSoft’s software for automatically scanning and understanding invoices is the most effective on the market and the obvious choice for our workflow, eScan, says WM-datas Channel Manager Søren Ø. Knudsen.
With the new electronic working method Østjysk Energi has not just made their processing more effective, they have also taken a big step towards a system that will work in the long run. With new legislation in Denmark higher demands are put on electronic invoice handling.
At the accounting department of Østjysk Energi the people are relieved to have the system from ReadSoft and WM-data. The old way of working with manual invoice handling is a distant memory.
- It almost hurts to remember how we were forced to hunt paper invoices all over the company just a couple of years ago, smiles Vibeke and continues. We used to spend a lot of time mailing copies of invoices to the companies subsidiaries. If we were lucky they came back relatively fast, but many times they were left lying and it could take weeks before we got them approved for payment.
Vibeke nets that today it often takes less than a day to register, scan, send and get an approved invoice back. About 60 coworkers at Østjysk Energi get an electronic invoice on their computer instead of a paper invoice. The workflow is handled by WM-data's authorization system eScan.
- These days we always know who has invoices waiting to be approved, and colleagues can even approve invoices from home when they have put the kids to bed, laughs Vibeke.
The system was sold and delivered by EG-Utilities, WM-data's largest Danish partner in the field of electronic invoice handling. According to Vibeke, the startup was completely free from problems.
- Getting the system up and running was fast, and ReadSoft's consultant was only on site for a couple of days before the system was in production. The company has taken this way of working to its heart and that is really great. We can all recommend it to other companies who want to handle their invoices more effectively, says Vibeke Rasmussen.
About Østjysk
Østjysk Energi has approximately 51.000 electric utility installations in the
southern Århus area and in Skanderborg, Hørning, Odder, Ry and Gedved.
