American Senior Communities
Improving financial visibility and eliminating manual invoice processing in half the initialization time
A DataServ Client since 2019
Key Results:
- 3.47 days average turnaround time for new invoices
- 0% downtime during initialization and tailoring
- 100% reduction in manual invoice processing
- Initialization and rollout timeline 50% shorter than expected
Key Stats:
- Invoice Volume: 80,000+ annually
- Team Size: 1,000 - 5,000
- ERPs: MS Dynamics GP
- Industry: Healthcare
Executive Summary
American Senior Communities (ASC) owns and operates dozens award-winning senior living facilities across Indiana. These facilities are specifically designed to provide a multitude of lifestyle choices with integrated services and amenities to senior citizens and have been locally owned and operated since 2000.
Prior to initialization with DataServ, the Accounts Payable team at ASC was annually processing approximately 155,000 invoices, about 84% of which were on physical paper. Each of their 91 geographically diverse locations was placing orders in one portal with multiple vendors. The invoices were then downloaded into an accounting system weekly.
Because of the snail-like pace of this management system, American Senior Communities was experiencing a significant lack of visibility into their financial processes. Invoices were not being turned in on time, were being lost completely, were coded incorrectly by the facilities, or a disastrous combination of these issues. Their observation that each of the 155,000+ invoices touched too many hands before they were stored in their document imaging system was holding the team back and contributing to massive confusion on the administration side of the business.
Outcomes
Beginning with six pilot facilities, DataServ created and executed a tailored plan for ASC as part of the phased project rollout. Three weeks after initialization, with very few challenges, the pilot program was rolled out to half of the 91 communities. Three months later, all 91 facilities were fully running the new AP program.
The solution began with routing invoices to DataServ through mail, email, or fax to then be scanned, imported, and hosted online. The Invoice Processing Machine at DataServ captures various data fields using a powerful SaaS OCR, which provides American Senior Communities’ processors early visibility and tracking of invoices and liabilities. After the initial data capture is complete, their invoices enter an automated workflow, where they are coded and routed to the designated approver. Once approved, the documents are sent to American Senior Communities’ accounting system for payment.
American Senior Communities had expected to complete the rollout to all facilities over 6 months, but ultimately only needed half of the originally planned timeline to achieve the desired results with 0% downtime during the transition. DataServ provided the ASC team with comprehensive training on all APIA capabilities to support this new program, and the DataServ Client Success team assisted employees with all questions and concerns.
As of their most recent Executive Business Review (2024), ASC is achieving an average turnaround time of 3.47 days for new invoices, which is better than current global best-in-practice standards.
Business Impact
American Senior Communities sought the following criteria from their chosen APIA solution provider and refused to compromise on these requirements:
- One central repository for invoices
- A uniform automated workflow
- To reduce processing errors
- Accelerate invoice processing time
- Gain visibility into their AP process to more efficiently manage the company’s finances
To meet their needs, DataServ provided the following capabilities for AP processing:
- SaaS OCR data capture from AP invoices
- Automated workflow processing
- Default invoice coding
- Analytics reporting
- Management of retention and storage of AP documents
The AP team at American Senior Communities now sees faster approval of invoices and the invoices are loaded into their ERP system much more quickly. They have been able to make tailoring tweaks to the new solution to improve results as needed with the help of their client support representatives at DataServ.
Thoughts from American Senior Communities
“I can only say how amazing the support team at DataServ has been. I have worked with a lot of software companies and it’s like pulling teeth at times to get help or get your cases resolved. Our cases are being looked at and resolved in a day or two. That is VERY important to us."
“Our experience has been positive and when we run into a bump, DataServ helps resolve it quickly. They aren’t afraid to get upper management involved when needed, and the team keeps you posted where things are in terms of a resolution. You have an account manager that stays with you, this is so important. You need to build a relationship with this person because they are your partner in crime and are here to help you. I like knowing I can go to them and know I will get the Gold Star Treatment. They actually get to you quickly, and a majority of the time, they fix the issue, and you don’t see it happen again. They always find a way to solve your challenges. You are not dealing with a solution that you must put Band-Aids on.”
Let’s Start a Conversation
Regardless of where you are at in your AP automation journey, DataServ will meet you there and help you evolve.