B.W. Rogers Leverages Tribute to Streamline Accounting Processes
By Tim Taylor, Inventory Manager, B.W. Rogers Company
In 2007 B.W. Rogers Co. saw their growth through acquisition as a strain on corporate administration. Future growth projections would require additional staffing for A/R and A/P. An analysis was done to identify those accounting processes that could be improved. While process improvements had been made in other areas of the business (pricing, inventory, customer service, warehousing), accounting had been neglected for years. Many manual processes were still being performed:
- Manual bank deposits
- Manual cash posting
- Manual invoice processing
- Manual check printing
- Manual paper filing
The decision was made to work with Tribute Inc. to develop solutions for each of these areas. Although growth was anticipated, an unexpected benefit has emerged. With business lagging in 2008 and 2009, A/R and A/P are now being handled with 2.5 fewer employees, and in a much more productive manner. The following Tribute changes were critical to make this happen.
What changes were made?
A/R Cash Receipts Import
Our previous process consisted of manually adding/balancing checks and remittances, driving to the bank to deposit the checks, manually entering the remittance information into Tribute, then trying to identify short/over payments for resolution. Once completed, the remittances were filed away for several years.
We have streamlined this process using the A/R Cash Receipts Import program. This program allows a flat file containing cash receipts information to be imported into Tribute. It will apply the cash receipts to the appropriate transactions if possible, and also provides a system for balancing discrepancies if a match cannot be found. The A/R Cash Receipts Import program auto-allows small variances, accounts for discount days, identifies tax/freight short payments, and allows for invoice lookup and posting.
B.W. Rogers Co. originally chose a bank lockbox service to capture the cash receipts information. The bank would deposit the checks and send a file each day. An online system was used to view electronic images of the check and remittance. While this did work, it was a costly solution.
A year later, a character recognition software package (OCR) was purchased. The checks are scanned and deposited from the company’s corporate office. The remittances are also scanned and the pertinent information is captured into a flat file that is imported into the A/R Cash Receipts Import program. All documents are captured electronically, thus the originals can be destroyed and no filing is needed. This system paid for itself in less than 12 months and requires about 12-14 employee hours to process $1.2 million of cash receipts each week.
A/P Invoice Import
Our previous process consisted of manually entering vendor invoice information into Tribute and then trying to identify invoice discrepancies. This was done several days after receiving the invoice, since it was likely the material had not been received at the time the invoice was received. Once completed, the invoices were filed away for several years.
We have simplified this process using the A/P Invoice Import program. This program allows a flat file containing vendor invoice information to be imported into Tribute. Similar to the A/R Cash Receipts Import program above, the A/P Invoice Import program will apply the vendor invoices to the appropriate purchase orders, and provides a system for balancing discrepancies if a match cannot be made. Discrepancies are categorized into common reasons: freight, tax, pricing, material not received, bad PO number, invoice already paid, etc. This has provided a real-time online solution for discrepancy resolution. This program also contains a useful option to re-process all invoices for purchase orders that previously had not been received.
The same character recognition software used for cash receipts is used for A/P invoices. The invoices are scanned and the pertinent information is captured into a flat file that is imported into the A/P Invoice Import program. All invoices are captured electronically, thus the originals can be destroyed and no filing is needed. This system also paid for itself in less than 12 months and requires about 20-24 employee hours to process $1 million of vendor invoices each week.
A/P Electronic Payment
Our previous process consisted of printing laser form checks weekly, folding/stuffing the checks into envelopes and then applying postage and mailing.
The A/P Electronic Payment program (along with other program changes) allows vendors to be paid electronically. This can replace a paper check payment with several payment options: ACH, wire transfer, credit card, or bank issued check.
This solution is still in development, but essentially each vendor will be assigned a payment type. Tribute will create an output file containing each vendor to be paid, the method by which they are to be paid, and the specific invoices to be paid. This file is then sent to the bank, and the bank initiates all payments. These changes will reduce our time spent on vendor payments from 5 hours per week to less than 1 hour, and are expected to create a yearly savings of over $20,000.
About B.W. Rogers Company:
B.W. Rogers Co. was founded in 1928 by Bruce W. Rogers, in Akron, Ohio. Eighty years and three generations have passed. And while less than 1% of American companies from his generation are still operating, BW Rogers continues to proudly carry the family name and is recognized as a premier supplier of fluid connectors, motion control, tooling systems and process equipment. www.bwrogers.com
