Finance System Strategy & Automation
WMS Ltd are a industry leading pipework prefabrication, packaged plant and technical R&D manufacturer
Overview
WMS appointed Rich Material to review how its accounts department operated and identify opportunities to reduce duplication, save time, and improve reporting.
The business was using Sage to produce specific reports that were important for understanding job costs and profitability. However, this meant parts of the accounts workflow were being duplicated, creating unnecessary admin and additional software dependency.
We reviewed the existing finance processes, mapped the key workflows and worked with the accounts team and their accountants to create a more efficient process using Xero and automation.
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Process Audit
Finance process audit covering invoices, purchases, timesheets and payroll.
Xero Reports
Sage reporting replicated in Xero to support job cost and profitability analysis.
Automation
Smartsheet-to-Xero automation created to generate draft invoices and reduce manual admin.Grant Funded
The system was grant supported, by several successful submissions over the years.
To produce these reports, the team had to duplicate data entry and maintain parts of the process across more than one system. This created extra admin, increased the risk of errors and meant the business was spending time maintaining a process that could be improved.
WMS needed to understand where duplication was happening and whether the same reporting outcomes could be achieved in a simpler way.
This included mapping core finance tasks such as invoices, purchases, timesheets and payroll. The process maps helped show how data moved through the accounts department and where information was being duplicated.
Once the current process was understood, Rich Material worked with the WMS accountants to identify how the required reports could be replicated in Xero by changing the finance process.
Working closely with WMS and Northern Accountants, the required Sage reporting was replicated in Xero, removing the need to maintain duplicated workflows. The accounts department was then trained in the new process and was able to adopt it quickly.
This meant the business could remove Sage, which reduced cost and time for the business.
Ongoing improvement
The second part of the project focused on automation between Smartsheet and Xero.
Previously, project managers raised invoice information in Smartsheet, which then had to be manually entered into Xero by the accounts team. Rich Material created an integration so that when the accounts department changed the status of a record in Smartsheet, a draft invoice was automatically created in Xero.
The accounts team could then manually check and approve the invoice in Xero, keeping control of the final step while removing a large amount of repetitive admin.
The outcome
The project helped WMS reduce duplicated data entry, speed up finance processes and reduce software costs.
By moving the required reporting into Xero and automating invoice creation from Smartsheet, the accounts department saved time and reduced the need for manual re-entry between systems.
This gave the team more time to focus on chasing debtors, refining internal processes and creating accurate reports.
The work was also supported by grant funding, helping make the project more cost-effective for the business.
What made the project successful
The success of the project came from understanding the finance process before recommending a system change.
Rather than simply replacing one piece of software with another, we mapped how the accounts department worked, identified where duplication existed and helped redesign the process around the reporting WMS actually needed.
This meant the change was practical, achievable and quickly adopted by the team using it.
What’s next
The finance process improvements created a better foundation for future automation and reporting.
With Xero, Smartsheet and the internal workflow more closely connected, WMS has a more efficient finance process that can continue to evolve alongside the wider business systems.