In the intricate world of education systems, the relentless paperwork around purchase requisitions, PO requests, check requests, and invoice processing can feel like a never-ending jungle. Today, we’ll explore a pragmatic journey inspired by the stories of other school districts, like Palm Beach County Schools, steering through the challenges and rediscovering the true focus: education.
Picture your AP team engrossed in the manual jungle of invoice data, researching issues, and lengthy back-and-forths. It's not just a local woe; both vendors and buyers share the consequences of this struggle. So, what can you do?
Palm Beach County, Seminole County, and Walton County Schools have all walked the talk. We’ll give you a couple of examples:
The Palm Beach County Schools case study isn’t a show-off; it’s a nod to the power of districts finding practical relief in an invoice processing and accounts payable automation solution (see case study) where we now have technology to read/OCR an invoice (Paper or electronic image/PDF) and automatically extract the appropriate information from it (Invoice #, PO #, Date, Dollar Amount and line item details if required) and then kick off a workflow process or match the invoice to the PO and then update their accounting system or ERP. This eliminates manual data entry and labor costs, speeds up the overall process, and helps them to avoid mistakes.
Two different school systems in Georgia, are another example: there we’ve taken paper forms or PDFs and converted them to eForms and have related workflows behind them that automate the process, interact with other back-end systems (Accounting/Finance) and then archive it for future storage and retrieval.
The users access the forms in a form library within a browser/portal to kick off the process, and include financial, personnel, contracts, and new hire forms), such as:
Financial:
Personnel:
Contracts:
New Hires:
As we navigate our everyday paperwork chaos, let’s not think of tech solutions as an ad but as practical tools to help you tackle your district’s unique challenges in an efficient and cost-effective way. It’s about finding a breath of fresh air amidst the paperwork turmoil and getting the support you and your team need to steer toward a reality where education is the focal point, and not just a byproduct of never-ending administrative tasks.
Interested in learning how we can support your school system?
