Invoice Processing at Enterprise Speed: Transforming Accounts Payable Performance

With strong expertise across industries, AROBS enables finance leaders to turn Accounts Payable from an administrative burden into a source of measurable business value. Finance teams spend countless hours on invoice processing, buried in emails, downloading PDFs, validating data, matching POs, and chasing approvals. The result? Late payments, penalties, frustrated vendors, and very busy teams.

By 2025, the performance gap between manual and automated finance operations is undeniable. Ardent Partners’ AP Metrics That Matter 2025 reports that automation leaders process invoices five times faster and at 80% lower cost than their peers. Those savings directly translate into improved cash visibility, stronger supplier trust, and greater financial agility.

A leading educational institution partnered with FWF, part of AROBS Group, to capture those gains. The team reshaped the institution’s invoice processing lifecycle, delivering real-time processing, zero backlog, and a clear path to sustainable cost reduction.

The Client

An educational institution with a complex supplier mix, resulting in a large number of invoices being processed each month. The finance team’s work was email-driven and subject to strict payment terms. The organization needed to improve its processes to avoid penalties, take advantage of discounts when possible, and maintain uninterrupted operations. They needed a fast, scalable, and secure transformation.

The Challenge

Invoices processing involved the documents arrived in shared mailboxes. The financial team manually opened messages, downloaded attachments, checked supplier details and items, validated amounts, performed payment order matches, and routed payment approvals. Every step required a human touch, and each end of the month was becoming quite an administrative burden. Additionally, there were risks associated with inconsistent data entry, lost emails, and limited visibility into where invoices stalled. The team needed a way to compress cycle time and mitigate risks.

The Solution

FWF by AROBS implemented an intelligent invoice processing automation solution built on Microsoft Power Automate and Azure OpenAI Services, directly integrated into the institution’s finance system and Microsoft Teams environment.

1. Smart Capture and Extraction

Power Automate automatically captures incoming emails and attachments. Azure OpenAI reads the email body and attached invoices, extracting vendor details, totals, PO numbers, and due dates. Unlike legacy OCR tools, this AI doesn’t need templates or training.

2. Automated Validation and Matching

Predefined business rules instantly validate invoice data and perform PO matching. Any discrepancies are flagged automatically, ensuring errors are caught fast, without damage.

3. Approval in the Flow of Work

Instead of drowning in email, approvers receive actionable notifications in Microsoft Teams. With one click, they can approve, reject, or comment inside their daily workflow.

4. Seamless Finance System Integration

Once approved, clean data flows directly into the finance system. Every action is logged, and every invoice is traceable, eliminating spreadsheet chaos and lost documentation.

The Benefits

1. No training or templates: The Azure OpenAI extractor automatically adapts to new vendor formats.
2. Close-to-zero manual effort: Email opening, file download, copy-paste, and spreadsheet gymnastics disappear. Staff focus on exceptions and cash optimization.
3. Zero backlog, zero penalties: Real-time capture plus Teams approvals keep invoice processing flowing. Payment calendars are met; late fees are out.
4. Less costs, more speed: According to the mentioned 2025 benchmarks, shifting from manual to automated processes typically cuts unit cost by more than half while reducing cycle time from weeks to days, or even minutes for straight-through invoices.
5. Higher data quality & audit readiness: Standardized rules, consistent enrichment, and a complete audit trail reduce rework and compliance risk.
6. Scalable as it goes: Peaks around fiscal year-end or procurement surges are absorbed without extra headcount.
7. Better Vendor Experience: On-time, accurate payments improve standing with suppliers and help capture early-payment discounts.

Conclusion

By combining Microsoft Power Automate with Azure OpenAI Services, FWF, part of AROBS Group, redefined how an educational institution manages its payables. The solution removed manual effort, ensured compliance, and delivered the kind of real-time control that manual processes could never achieve.

The results speak for themselves: automation isn’t about substitution, it’s about empowerment. Discover how we can unlock together efficiency, accuracy, and strategic value in your finance operations. Connect with us!