WG Carter Builds a Better Way to Invoice Management
Founded in 1947, WG Carter brings over 70 years of expertise as a trusted, high-quality builder in Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds. Specialising in high-end residential refurbishments, the company is known for its work on listed buildings, carefully restoring historic properties with attention to detail.
However, the business’s finance team faced significant challenges with manual data entry and tracking invoices on hold. To simplify these tasks and enhance efficiency, the team implemented an invoice automation solution that integrated with Xero accounting software.
Deconstructing the AP difficulties
Due to managing multiple projects simultaneously, usually between 6 and 8, the WG Carter finance team handles a lot of paperwork and documentation (1000 documents per month).
Amanda, who joined the finance team over 3 years ago, has been instrumental in managing the day-to-day accounts operations. However, with only 2 people in the team, the manual processing of accounts payable (AP) tasks became increasingly challenging and time-consuming.
"Most of my time was spent on invoicing. I worked full-time, and out of the 5 days a week, I’d probably spend at least 3 of them just managing invoices.” - Amanda Oxendale, Accounts Admin
The team used DocuSign for document approval, but this made it difficult to track which invoices were on hold.
"It was difficult to track what was on hold. If people weren't signing them off for payment, it became challenging to monitor their status.”
To free up Amanda’s time from the burdens of manual data entry, which was consuming much of her day, the team decided to implement Lightyear.
Cementing Time Savings
Post-Lightyear implementation, the team saved a significant amount of time. Amanda explained, "With Lightyear, you just need to get the document in, and it picks up everything for you, rather than having to manually enter every single line."
After cutting down AP tasks from 3 days to just 1, the team gained additional time. For Amanda, this meant she could finally dive into management accounts and take on other tasks that had been on the back burner.
“The financial director used to handle a lot of it himself, but now I’m able to step up and support him with those tasks because Lightyear has taken so much of the workload off me."
With Lightyear, the team can now easily see which invoices are on hold and track their status, with the added benefit of notes explaining why they’re held up. This has saved Amanda considerable time, as she no longer has to chase people for updates.
"If anyone has an invoice on hold and it's causing delays in payment, I can quickly see who it is in Lightyear and follow up with them. That definitely helps a lot." highlights Amanda.
Constructing Financial Clarity
Time-saving with Lightyear has also improved WG Carter's financial operations. Amanda shared, "Chasing people to sign off on invoices used to be the main task, but now once they're signed off, they go straight into the accounts, and cash flow updates instantly."
Before Lightyear, financial visibility was limited, with only the accounts team having access to invoicing information. This lack of visibility meant that the wider team had to rely on Amanda to manually retrieve invoices or cost reports, especially when working remotely.
With Lightyear, the whole team now has access to real-time financial data. They can independently run cost reports. This increased visibility has improved their overall financial management.
"The QSS now use Lightyear for the cost reports. Before, I used to have to do them manually out of our accounts package, but now they can generate them themselves. It’s just a lot clearer.”
Support That Holds It Together
Although WG Carter was new to automated systems, the onboarding process was smooth and efficient.
Amanda highlighted that when she encountered issues with mapping during the initial setup, the support team was quick to respond.
"I'd email a screenshot, and within an hour, it was resolved. They've been really helpful throughout the process.”
Saving Half a Head on AP Tasks
Since implementing Lightyear, WG Carter has effectively saved the equivalent of a part-time employee's salary by reducing the time spent on AP tasks.
This has been made possible by automating key AP processes, allowing Amanda to manage the workload on her own without the need for additional staff.
"I think we’d probably need someone part-time by now to help me if we hadn’t started using Lightyear." says Amanda.
When asked what advice Amanda would give to anyone thinking of automating their AP processes, she said:
"I highly recommend Lightyear. It’s a great asset and works really well with Xero. It’s made a significant difference for us, and I’d suggest trying it.”
See what our other customers say about Lightyear
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Ready to see how Lightyear can work for your business? Book a free demo today.
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