Ephesoft-Powered Invoice Automation
Project Type
Finance Automation
Date
Jan 2022
Location
Bairnsdale, Australia
Role
Finance Consultant
Client Industry
Food and Beverages
Tech Stack
Ephesoft (pre-AI OCR, intelligent document capture, rule-based field training)
Infor M3 APIs (invoice creation, PO matching, ledger updates)
Middleware (XML transformation and orchestration)Exception handling workflow for unmatched invoices
The Client
The client is a leading Australian food manufacturer known for iconic convenience and gourmet savory food brands, with a strong presence across supermarkets, sporting venues, and foodservice channels. It specializes in chilled and frozen products, combining large-scale manufacturing and distribution with a focus on quality, brand recognition, and ongoing product innovation.
The Challenge
Invoices were received in multiple formats, requiring manual extraction, validation, and entry into M3, which was time-consuming and error-prone. Matching invoices to purchase orders, updating the accounts payable ledger, and handling exceptions often delayed month-end close. With high invoice volumes, the finance team needed a streamlined, automated solution to process invoices efficiently while maintaining audit and compliance standards.
The Solution
The solution leveraged Ephesoft as the central invoice capture tool, integrated with middleware and M3 APIs to enable end-to-end automation. Using a rule-based training approach (prior to widespread AI/ML adoption), Ephesoft was configured to recognise and extract key invoice fields—such as invoice number, date, supplier, amounts, and line items—across diverse supplier formats, producing structured XML outputs. These XML messages were transformed by Infor ION into M3-ready invoice messages and posted via M3 APIs. PO invoices were automatically three-way matched when price and quantity fell within tolerance, while non-PO invoices were posted directly to the accounts payable ledger. Only invoices failing tolerance checks required manual review, and successfully matched invoices updated the AP ledger in real time, improving financial visibility. By placing Ephesoft at the front of the process, the solution delivered accurate, automated invoice capture and efficient downstream processing, dramatically reducing manual effort.
