Stadsschouwburg Utrecht has been using Elari Invoice Processing and Contract Management since 2013. Today, about 99% of its invoices arrive digitally and the turnaround time is 10 days at most. Financial Coordinator Martin Berghoef explains how they do it.
Why did Stadsschouwburg Utrecht choose Elari?
Martin Berghoef, Financial Coordinator, has been working at the Stadsschouwburg since 2001. Together with one other colleague, he has been handling Elari application management, among other things, for years. He explains: “When we became an independent organization in 2012, we found ourselves temporarily without any software systems. During that transition, paper invoices had to be passed around the organization again for a stamp and an initial. We immediately started looking for a solution and chose Elari.” The Stadsschouwburg has now been using Elari Invoice Processing and Contract Management since 2013. The benefits are still evident.
In 2024, the Stadsschouwburg also began using smart payment cards for employees. Read more in the Elari Cards success story.
Working almost paperlessly with XML invoices and PEPPOL
“Working with Elari is still going great,” Martin continues. “About 99% of our invoices come in digitally. We basically never have to scan anything anymore. We use XML invoices, templates, and definitely the PEPPOL network as well. It’s also great that I can assign a fixed workflow to a general ledger account. That way, you have less and less to enter when processing invoices.”
Elari invoice processing software is user-friendly
For application administrators and other employees
Martin handles all of Elari’s application management together with just one colleague. He says: “Creating new Elari users and assigning roles is very easy. I send new employees a single email with a brief explanation of Elari, about half a page long. After that, they can start working with it right away without any problems.”
“New employees receive a single email with some instructions. After that, they can work with Elari without any problems.”
Martin Berghoef, Financial Coordinator at Stadsschouwburg Utrecht
“My colleague and I actually don’t get any questions,” Martin continues. “Even colleagues with no computer experience can use Elari just fine. The work is pretty straightforward: approve or reject. Budget managers can also easily navigate the digital archive. Even project leaders from outside our organization can easily integrate into our workflow. Everything is set up so logically.”
Elari offers many more benefits
“Furthermore, the integration with Visma.net Financials is excellent,” Martin notes. “Our invoices can also be found in our accounting program as PDFs. That’s very convenient.” Elari’s contract management and smart payment cards are also well-received. Martin adds: “We’ve been using smart payment cards for employees since June 2024. Now they no longer have to pay out of pocket and submit expense reports. That’s another great feature.”
Read more in the Elari Cards success story featuring the Stadsschouwburg.
Less work for the audit
“When you’re working with an auditor who operates very independently, Elari saves me a tremendous amount of work,” says Martin. “For the audit, all I really need to do is provide an Elari login. It has a built-in archiving feature, so the auditor can look up whatever they need on their own. I can also run an audit trail to see what changes were made and when. Auditors really appreciate that kind of thing.”
Turnaround time of up to 10 days
Thanks to the various fully digital workflows, invoice processing at Stadsschouwburg Utrecht is much faster than it was ten years ago. Martin: “From the moment a purchase invoice comes in until payment is made, our turnaround time is a maximum of 10 days. We’re very satisfied with that. If an invoice takes longer to process, there’s usually an issue. Fortunately, we can easily check this in Elari. You can find invoices in just a few seconds. In addition to an excellent search function, Elari also offers clear reports and easy-to-understand statistics.”
Aiming for a 10-day turnaround time?
Follow the example of Stadsschouwburg Utrecht and automate your invoice processing with XML and PEPPOL. A touchless process is within reach! We’d be happy to demonstrate Elari’s power live during an online demo. We look forward to hearing from you.
