SharePoint Solves Check Voucher Routing Problems at State Agency

Our client, a large state agency, required an efficient system for generating check vouchers that could replace paper-driven and time-consuming manual processes.

A check voucher is a request to submit payment for an invoice. Vouchers start their lives in one of the agency’s 18 local offices. The vouchers then need to go through a number of intra-office and district-wide approvals before being sent to headquarters. Once at headquarter, the agency’s financial department gives the voucher a final review before a check is issued via a financial software platform.

The agency required a solution that could meet the following requirements:

• Seamlessly integrate with a Microsoft SharePoint environment.
• Replace all existing paper-based processes with a digitized workflow.
• Track the voucher as it moves between different recipients and approvals.
• Route the voucher from point-to-point without manual processing.
• Record and save all actions taken.
• Attain real-time visibility into in-progress voucher status.
• Run reports on historical voucher data for analytical purposes.
• Receive notifications as vouchers progress along the workflow.

Crow Canyon Software was particularly well-placed to assist this agency, as automation technology is at the forefront of our SharePoint-integrated business productivity software. In this case, we wanted to alleviate wasted time and effort by bolstering SharePoint’s native functionality. We focused on making the agency’s workflows more accurate, faster, and easier-to-use – in other words, automation of as much of the process as possible.

The revised process began with the treatment of vouchers. In order to digitize the workflow, all vouchers were turned into digitized tickets. Tickets are self-contained electronic records that contain detailed information (e.g., date & time stamps, creator, documents, issues, financial data, and so on) and can be easily moved between different recipients.

The Check Voucher system creates a workflow-based path that the ticket will follow — the ticket is automatically routed from approver to approver until finalization, based on criteria on the ticket, such as dollar amount, what item(s) it is for, office location, etc.

As soon as a ticket is created, it is immediately sent to its first destination. Approvals result in the process continuing while denials result in a different outcome based on pre-configured settings. All details are recorded as the ticket speeds through its transitory states: approval reviews → final review → export to financial software → check issuance.

Highly Configurable to Meet Client’s Needs

Our system is highly configurable, including our notification and alert framework. Triggers can be pre-determined as well as notification delivery preferences. Users and management have the capability to receive alerts at any stage that they deem important, such as:

• Ticket denials.
• Voucher ticket remains unanswered for a certain period of time.
• Check issuance / ticket finalization.
• Prompt approval required for extenuating circumstances; and so on.

When finalized (i.e., the financial software issues a check), all data recorded during the ticket’s journey is automatically saved for further analysis.

Improving the Flow with Our SharePoint-based Reporting & Analytics

Management, and users with the proper permissions, can view the current status of voucher tickets at any time throughout the process. Every solution from Crow Canyon Software includes user-friendly and intuitive dashboard interfaces that convey real-time details; in this scenario, our client could view details such as the current number of outstanding vouchers, completed tickets, and tickets that reach a certain status (e.g., “Overdue”). Clicking on a ticket name enabled them to drill-down and view multiple layers of detail, as needed.

Our reporting capabilities empowered our client to gain the insights they needed to understand how their workflow worked and where it needed to be improved. The daily accumulation of workflow data, over time, provided a rich and fertile data source from which our client could discover bottlenecks as well as recognize improvements. Powerful report filters enabled the agency to view highly specific information based on multiple dimensions and metrics.

Conclusion

With this newfound transparency and fluid movement, the SharePoint-based check voucher process developed by Crow Canyon saved many hours for the originator, the approvers, and the agency’s financial department. The end result was quicker resolutions and less confusion over when invoices will be paid.