Access Mobility was established as a specialist company in 1997 and since then have been fitting adaptations and internal alterations for local authorities, housing associations, charities and private users so that the less able among us can stay in their own homes.

In order to save time by moving away from manual data input and implement a better and automated invoice filing system, the company started looking for an invoicing processing software that would allow them to achieve these goals.

“This has been a game changer in terms of time spent processing invoices into Sage…”

Mark O’Hara at Access Mobility

It was also important that the software to be implemented was fully compatible with Sage and that could significantly reduce the physical storage space, the costs of printing and the ecological footprint.

After having trialled other solutions, Access Mobility decided to implement PaperLess Document Management for Sage, because it was the only software that was fully compatible with Sage 50 Projects module; and, at the same time, to give the company the ability to lookup invoices directly from within Sage.

It is then time to have a talk with Mark O’Hara, from Access Mobility, to learn more about the results achieved so far by implementing PaperLess Software for Sage 50.

Have the results achieved so far been up to Access Mobility’s expectations when implementing PaperLess for Sage 50?

When implementing PaperLess, the main objective was to achieve a reduction in the time spent inputting, filing and saving documents.

The fact is that PaperLess has been a game changer in terms of time spent processing invoices. We use PaperLess daily to import and process purchase invoices and I would say that it saves at least half the time I would have once spent.

Why is that, could you tell us a bit more how you used to process invoices with Sage before implementing PaperLess?

The old manual system comprised of printing off all invoices and physically pass them to the director for approval. Then, we had to wait for their return and, when they finally arrived, we had to manually write a sequential reference number on each invoice, manually process on to Sage and finally file the printed copies in sequential order.

With approximately 500 invoices each month, we would also regularly have to archive files into boxes for long term storage, although they would still need to be readily available for audit and other admin issues.

As you can imagine this was a time-consuming process, and there was the increased risk of losing invoices if, for examples, they were removed from the pile of invoices for approval.

“I very much have got to grips with using it and I am a fan.”

Mark O’Hara at Access Mobility

What about now, what changed in your invoice processing routines?

Well, PaperLess has given us more accurate invoice entry and we have found far fewer human errors.  This is helped by PaperLess being able to automatically detect duplicates, which was one of our most irritating problems as a lot of our supplier invoices are repetitive in content/date/amount, so duplicates regularly crept in into Sage.

The invoice approval process has also been streamlined.  Previously, the authorising director would collect a pile of purchase invoices and then set aside time to physically plough through the pile, signing off each invoice after checking it. Human nature would, of course, lead to this process being put off for as long as possible!

With PaperLess, when the authorising director receives a notification email informing him that he has received invoices to approve, all he needs to do is to login into PaperLess and do everything from the screen in front of him.

The ease of use made it possible to get invoices approved/queried much more quickly, which in turn means that our purchase ledger is up to date on a daily basis.

With so many people working from home due to the pandemic, has PaperLess made any difference?

Yes, definitely… PaperLess has been helpful in remote working especially at this uncertain time. Previously, with the requirement to have physical invoices and files, I was unable to work remotely.

With PaperLess both the main users and those who are just approving invoices, can easily work from home without losing productivity. This would not be possible if we still had paper invoices going around the office to get approved or if we had to physically store and retrieve them.

What do you consider to be the main areas to improve in the software?

The CTRL+ALT+P function, which should allow document viewing from Sage, is not always working which can be problematic as this is an essential function for us.

It would also be quite useful if when we need to send a document via email, PaperLess could retrieve the supplier’s email address directly from Sage. At the moment, we need to login to Sage to check the email address and then go back into PaperLess to type it in.

Overall, do you consider that the goals Access Mobility had when implementing PaperLess were achieved?

Yes, PaperLess has achieved the three objectives of implementing it which were to save time by moving away from manual data input, implement a better and automated invoice filing system and reduce the need for physical storage space.

In addition, it has improved accuracy by removing duplications and mistyping. It has also improved the authorisiation process, by making it less daunting and time-consuming.

Regarding productivity gains and savings achieved, how do you think PaperLess has impacted your business?

With PaperLess the productivity gains are huge and I would say that it saves at least half the time I would have once spent importing and processing purchase invoices on to Sage.

After the initial set up / teething process, the system is now automating our invoice data capture processes and also the approval process. This translates into significant time-savings in all areas of the business that one way or the other were involved in the invoice processing side of things.

It is also important to mention that our printing and paper costs have reduced by approximately 80% and the ever-increasing space for invoice archiving is no longer required.

It is in our plans to expand the user of PaperLess even further and we are just looking at resolve three issues, two of which are minor, but all of which would make PaperLess even more valuable. Once we achieve that, we plan on using PaperLess not only to process purchase invoices and credit notes but also to expand its use to new areas- such as sales invoicing – which will increase the gains in productivity even more.

Click here to learn more about PaperLess

Click here to learn more about Access Mobility