Data Friendly Space (DFS) is a US-based non-profit organization focused on providing data-centric applications to humanitarian organizations. In addition to software development, DFS also offers a range of analytical services aimed at strengthening the capacities for data collection and analysis in humanitarian emergencies. They work with numerous humanitarian organizations, such as United Nations agencies and the Red Cross.
Most of the Data Friendly Space team are contractors who submit their invoices once a month. When DFS first started, they relied on a cumbersome approval process via email for invoice approval. But as the organization began to grow and the complexity of their projects increased, the lack of a proper approval process became obvious and DFS realized that the organization required a more systematic approach to approvals.
“I looked at several solutions; some are too expensive, others don’t integrate with QuickBooks Online. We even considered building our own approval system, but then I found ApprovalMax. When I realized that if we were going to build our own system it would work exactly like ApprovalMax, it made perfect sense to just start using it,” says Ewan Oglethorpe, Executive Director of Data Friendly Space.
DFS now has 3 approval workflows for 3 sections of their organization, each with 3 to 5 approval levels. Initially they created a new approval workflow for each project, and eventually counted about 25 different ones. But they soon realized that many workflows were overlapping and the sheer number just added more complexity. In the end, they decided on only 3 flows all in all.
With clearly defined approval workflows and automated notifications ApprovalMax really does reduce the organizational complexity for DFS. This saves a lot of time that would otherwise be wasted on waiting for approvals coming in by email. Plus, and most importantly, ApprovalMax provides an audit trail containing the complete history of approving - a must for compliance.
Organizations like Data Friendly Space don’t use OCR tools because they don’t need to enter lots of data. They do, however, work with a significant number of contractors. For such organizations it’s very convenient to allow their contractors access to ApprovalMax to let them create and submit their invoices there. After full approval they’ll get published to QuickBooks Online ready for payment. You can find more about this option here.
If you want to learn more about ApprovalMax, check out our on-demand webinar, "Bill Automation Tech Stack: Establishing proper financial controls for accounts payable" here. Or start your own 30-day free ApprovalMax trial here and see for yourself!
Author Bio: Konstantin Bredyuk, Director of Product at ApprovalMax
With roots in business process management and optimization software development, Konstantin Bredyuk has undertaken hundreds of product implementations for ApprovalMax clients worldwide.
Numerous organizations have consulted Konstantin about bill automation and spend control app stacks, with business profiles ranging from SMBs to large accounting and advisory practices.