Case Study
Cut Invoice Time in Half with Automation
Cancer Research Wales is dedicated to transforming the lives of cancer patients across the country. By 2030, it’s estimated that 230,000 people in Wales will be living with cancer. Research has never been more critical.
With a growing team and staff working across multiple sites, managing internal processes efficiently is essential.
Already working with Excellence IT for ongoing support, the team asked us to help streamline their internal invoice approvals, so less time would be spent on administration and more on fundraising and research.
Listen to the Audio Case Study
The Challenge
Like many charities, Cancer Research Wales faces the pressure of doing more with less.
Every internal process needs to work efficiently so that time and resources stay focused on research, not admin. One area that was slowing things down was the invoice approvals.
Alison, Head of Finance & Corporate Services, explained:
“We have a responsibility to our supporters to make sure that we’re operating in the most efficient way that we can. The invoice approval process was quite long-winded, with lots of different systems being used. There would be, particularly at month end, delays. The process we had in place was very manual, with lots of steps to it.”
The Problem
Alison added:
“We needed something fit for purpose so that we could support our remote working staff. We wanted something that would be more efficient, to create capacity within the team.”
The Solution
Daniel Price, Software Developer at Excellence IT, explained:
“We (Excellence IT) recommended automating the whole thing using tools that they already pay for – Power Automate and Microsoft SharePoint.
Now, when an invoice comes into the shared inbox, it’s picked up automatically and stored in SharePoint. The admin team fills out a quick form, which triggers the approval process.
While the invoice is being reviewed, the document is locked to avoid any accidental edits. Approvers get an email, leave their feedback or approval, and the status updates automatically.
It’s made the process quicker, more accurate, and easier for the whole team to stay on top of – all without adding any additional software or licences.”
The Outcome
Pawel, a member of the Cancer Research Wales finance team shared the impact:
“All the information is kept in one SharePoint, so it’s really, really useful.
We can see straight away how many invoices need to be recorded, how many are due for approval, and how many have already been approved. We are saving a lot of time. It used to take us up to 10 minutes – now it takes 5.
There are fewer mistakes, and I’m confident that the system works as suggested it’s going to work.”
In a previous webinar, the software team provided a brief example of this process, which can be viewed in the video below.
Working with Excellence IT
Alison closed by sharing her experience of working with the Excellence IT team:
“We’ve had a really positive experience working with the software team. They listen, they’ve got a lot of patience.
They explain quite complicated things in an easy way – we’re not IT people, we’re not techie people – and the way they explain things is really easy to understand. They provide our day-to-day support as well as some of this development work. The whole team are great and we get really rapid responses to helpdesk calls.
I can’t speak highly enough of the team at Excellence IT, and I would certainly recommend them to anybody else.”
Looking to streamline your internal processes?
We help organisations simplify the way they work using the tools they already have. From finance approvals to document workflows, we build smart, reliable systems that save time and reduce admin.
Let’s talk about how we can help your team work smarter.
