The Dutch Hospital Association (NVZ) had three employees working on a single Excel file, but that proved impractical when someone was on leave or sick. Elari’s advanced XML option certainly caught their attention.
After drawing up a list of requirements, they began comparing different suppliers online. Once Elari convincingly won this competition, the NVZ wanted to get started as soon as possible. With two employees, they gathered the necessary data and thus contributed to a lightning-fast implementation.
NVZ: processing invoices digitally
“When the commitments administration in Excel no longer matched the invoices, we had to look for an efficient solution to bring invoices and commitments together,” explains Monique van de Haar, then a Financial Administration staff member at the NVZ. “We first thought about exactly what we wanted and then began our search.”
“Before Elari, both invoice processing and the commitments administration were handled entirely manually. When we received invoices, I or one of my two colleagues would look up the corresponding commitment in the Excel file. That’s how we kept track of the commitment status and verified the invoice at the same time.”
Having three employees working on a single Excel file turned out not to be an effective way of working. “If my colleague was absent, I didn’t know exactly where he had left off. Then the records were no longer accurate, and I didn’t have any reports to present to the management team, which is exactly what we’re supposed to do.” So things had to change, but where to start?
It starts with Google
The selection team, consisting of a secretary, the executive and board secretary, the controller, the Operations Manager, and Monique, established the following requirements:
- The software ensures a fast and efficient process.
- The software has options for digitally storing invoices.
- The software links invoices to commitments.
- The software is user-friendly.
- The software integrates with Exact.
“Individually, we searched Google for ways to bring commitments and invoices together. That gives you a list of providers, and then you face the next choice. After reviewing several websites, we had found a number of vendors and began the real comparison. What are the benefits? And which benefits align with our requirements?”
“Thanks to the reports, I can provide targeted guidance for the second half of the year.”
Monique van de Haar, Former Financial Administration Employee at the NVZ
Implement as quickly as possible and get started
“After unanimously choosing Elari, we wanted to get started as soon as possible. We asked if a quick implementation was possible and received a clear overview of the data we needed to provide. Two of us worked on it, so the implementation was completed before we knew it.”
The NVZ has a simple procedure for its commitments administration. For a major investment, a department meeting, or any expenditure over €1,000, a quote is requested. The accounting department records the selected quote as a commitment and reports this back to the department. This way, they know how much of the budget remains for each new commitment.
“We also have a project fund for each department that we monitor based on commitments, such as the innovation project, for example. We assign a commitment with a project code to all quotes we receive for this purpose. This allows us to quickly and easily see which commitments belong to that project.”
“Our suppliers are also very cooperative: 60% submit their invoices digitally, and that number is growing. We’re already ready to switch to XML. Unfortunately, our suppliers tend to look at us blankly when we bring it up.”
Focusing on the future
“I can say with certainty that we have fully achieved our goal. Everyone is working comfortably with the new, more efficient method. We’ve restored structure to our processes, and we have a clearer picture of budget utilization. Life without the Commitments module would make my job much more difficult.”
“Thanks to the reports in Elari, I can provide targeted guidance for the second half of the year. I review the budget, look at the reports, and let them know which expenses they should keep in check. Our next goal is to implement monthly reports. We finally have the time for this now.”
Curious about what Elari can do for your organization?
Wondering if Elari Invoice Processing and commitments administration would work for your organization too? We’d be happy to demonstrate Elari’s capabilities live during an online demo. Learn more on the Invoice Processing page.
