Jira
monday.com
Team: CFO, Accountant, Finance Team
Problem
Before implementing a structured process, vendor payments at Railsware lacked structuring and documenting, which led to inefficiency, requiring a lot of processing time, and back-and-forth communication. Manual interventions, communication gaps, and potential compliance risks troubled the accounts payable workflow:
- Invoices were submitted to the accountant without proper validation
- No clear responsibility for information accuracy
- Significant back-and-forth communication between teams
- Challenges with W8/W9 form collection and verification
- Lack of a standardized process for tracking and approving payments
Previously, our payment process was a constant game of catch-up. Invoices would land on the accountant’s desk with minimal context, leading to time-consuming investigations and potential errors. We needed a way to distribute responsibilities and create a transparent, efficient workflow.
Main Challenges:
- Decentralized invoice submission process
- No clear validation mechanism for invoice details
- Inefficient communication between reporters and accountants
- Risk of compliance issues with tax documentation
Solution
The implementation of Smart Tools by TitanApps at Railsware involved a comprehensive approach to streamlining the vendor payments process. The team began by focusing on reporter responsibility, training team members on proper invoice submission, and establishing clear guidelines for invoice details. A key shift was making reporters directly responsible for initial information validation, ensuring accuracy from the first step.
The process was strategically divided into four key stages: submission via Jira Service Desk, where reporters provide detailed and validated invoice information; review, where the accountant carefully categorizes payments; ensuring compliance requirements are met for all payments done (for example, when there is a need to collect a relevant W-form); approval, involving a designated approver who checks and releases payments; and Reconciliation, ensuring the final verification of completed transactions.
Main innovations included automated W8/W9 forms tracking, budget and account consistency checks, integrated communication within Atlassian Jira tickets, and a standardized approach to payment source and account categorization.
After improving the already existing process, the Railsware team has documented the workflow using Smart Templates for Jira. The built-in scheduler allows the automation of issue creation every Friday. Additionally, the Railsware team has used different types of variables:
- Variable {{project}} to customize the process across different projects, providing flexibility and precision;
- Variable {{deadline}} to reflect the due date in the issue title and add it automatically to the Deadline field.
Smart Checklists for Jira integration allow you to add clear ToDos for each stage of the payment process. The additional instructions and useful links are added in the checklist item description to minimize human error and make onboarding to the workflow easier.
Result
The implementation of Smart Tools transformed Railsware’s vendor payment process, delivering efficiency gains:
- 2023: 462.32 hours spent on 1,407 payments (0.33 hours/payment)
- 2024: 386.42 hours spent on 1,495 payments (0.26 hours/payment)
Key Features:
- Standardized Process: Structured and documented workflow for vendor payments; clear responsibilities and tracking for all stakeholders.
- Automated Workflow: Scheduled ticket creation with built-in Smart Templates Scheduler.
- Integrated Checklists: Detailed steps for each payment stage.
- Dynamic Templates: Adaptable to different projects and payment types
- Reduced Human Error: Systematic W8/W9 form and budget verification
