Managing the payment for suppliers can be a major headache. Was this person paid on time? Was this invoice approved? Was this the service we asked for initially?
A lot of companies are using Jira beyond its roots of software development. It is a flexible tool that can handle project management for any business process. Of course at Valiantys, all of our teams use Jira to manage their workflows – including our financial services department. In France alone, the financial department received over a thousand invoice within the last year, and it is vital every invoice gets the attention it deserves.
Each invoice we receive from suppliers is created as a Jira ticket inside the Payment Authorization Process (PAP). The ticket creation can be done automatically when suppliers send an email to a specific email address. Notes can be added in the ticket to clarify any details regarding the payment. The invoice then moves along a designated workflow:
Once the accountant checks all the necessary information is included in the ticket (due date, correct amount, etc.), she can send it along to the proper manager for approval, moving the status of the workflow to “Posted in Accounting.” This sends an automatic email to the person who needs to approve the payment.
There can be a two-step authorization for payments. This could include the person who is directly affected by the service, and the manager who oversees the global operations. When the invoice is approved, the ticket moves into the “awaiting payment” status until the team can process the payment. Once the invoice is paid, the ticket is closed by the accountant.
This clarifies exactly where each invoice is in the workflow. If an invoice is denied, an explanation can be included in the ticket as to why that decision was made. This facilitates the follow-up, as the entire accounting team can be aware of the situation and communicate the decisions or ask for additional information from the supplier.
One of the great things about Jira is a JQL query can easily be used to set up a filter for the tickets. Valiantys filters the tickets for invoices by due date, making sure the invoices which will need to be paid soon will be processed first. Valiantys’ filter looks at the invoices that need to be paid within the week, giving the team visibility over their priorities.
This also makes it easy to see any invoices that are overdue. In the event that the due date has passed, the team is alerted and can urgently follow-up with the approvers of the invoice and the suppliers.
Valiantys has another filter for critical tickets that need to be paid in order for mission critical functions to remain intact. For example, if an invoice regarding the wifi connection is filed, this ticket is flagged to take priority over other, less urgent tickets.
As Valiantys has expanded across 12 different locations, Jira ensure payments can be centralized at the headquarters. Many stakeholders are involved in approving the invoices across the world, so without the formalized PAP system in Jira it would be all too easy for important payments to slip through the cracks.
The accountants use a Kanban board, which allows them to manage the status of each invoice and also filter by country. This helps the accountants manage their daily tasks, but also general managers in each country are able to get a global picture over all the invoices at any given time.
Ready to get your business teams’ processes aligned? Get in touch with Valiantys and let’s talk about setting up the right workflow in Jira for your team!
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