"We spend about 12 hours a week on invoices."
— Adelaide consulting firm owner
When we measured, it was actually 191 hours per month. After automation: 8.9 hours.
Here's what really happened, including the problems they don't put in the brochures.
What you'll learn in 3 minutes
- The shocking gap between perceived and actual invoice processing time
- Why 95% time reduction is possible (with real numbers)
- The 4 problems that nearly killed the project
Before: The Hidden Time Drain
The firm: 35 people, 280 invoices/month
The assumption: "Maybe 12 hours a week total"
The reality: 191 hours per month
The 4-step manual process
Step 1: Get invoices → Sort → Log in Excel → Print → Walk to managers
Time: 15 minutes per invoice
Step 2: Manager approval → Handwritten notes → Walk back to accounts
Time: 8 minutes (plus 3.2 days waiting)
Step 3: Type into Xero → Match purchase orders → Update tracking
Time: 12 minutes per invoice
Step 4: Create payment batch → Review → Process bank file
Time: 6 minutes per invoice
Total monthly cost: $172,428 (including error correction and management time)
The wake-up call
When the owner saw 191 hours per month, his first reaction: "That can't be right."
It was. Most firms are off by 50-70% on process time estimates.
After: The 95% Reduction
Monthly time: 8.9 hours (down from 191)
Processing speed: 0.9 days (down from 4.1 days)
Error rate: 0.8% (down from 8.3%)
Annual cost: $25,404 (down from $172,428)
What automation actually does
Capture: Monitors email inboxes → Extracts PDF data automatically
Route: Sends approval links to the right managers instantly
Process: Pushes approved invoices straight into Xero
Pay: Creates payment batches by due date automatically
Human time required: ~18% of invoices need a quick review for exceptions.
The 4 Problems That Nearly Killed It
Problem 1: OCR was terrible (first 3 weeks)
What happened: Only 76% accuracy on data extraction
Suppliers sent scanned invoices, not digital PDFs