Key Summary:
PMOs work to reduce project bottlenecks and ensure projects are delivered within budget
ServiceNow PPM and Invoiceflow works in tandem to ensure all project invoices are onboarded automatically to specific projects
This integration automates data entry of invoice header and invoice line items
Project audits will be better as invoices are validated and approved with Invoiceflow.
A well-managed project can help organizations to grow and reap benefits faster. Project leaders or PMOs are critical cogs in the project who ensure project bottlenecks are reduced and actively manage relationships with stakeholders. PMOs face a lot of challenges while managing projects and have to work defining timelines, managing tools, and most importantly, ensuring the project is within budget.
As per Gartner, rigorous upfront project planning improves benefits realization by 39%.
Practical Challenges Faced by Project Managers
While managing projects, every PMO face key challenges that include:
- Manual entry of actual cost is time-consuming and error-prone
- No real-time visibility into the actual cost of a project
- Possibilities of missing expense lines cost against the project cost plan
1. Manual Entry of Costs
Project managers often handle multiple projects with multiple responsibilities and multiple resources simultaneously.. While doing project planning, project managers map roles and responsibilities with resources and timelines and come up with budgeted project costs. In actual-world situations, all budgeted cost is not exactly the same as actual cost as they get incurred. And, at each stage of invoice approval and payment, the actual cost needs to be captured in the accounting system/software.
These actual entries are often manually processed. When there are large amounts of invoices being paid off for multiple projects, this manual data entry task is not only time-consuming but also prone to human error.
When done manually, actual cost posting errors can include duplicating the same entry or an account is recorded correctly but to the wrong customer or vendor. Another error could be an error of omission involving no entry being recorded despite a transaction occurring for the period. These types of errors can cause major distortions and require lots of time and resources to find and correct them.
2. Lack of Real-time Visibility
Out of sight is always out of mind. Often project managers are not aware of the real-time visibility of actual cash outflows. At times, there can be a change in the prices, change in the quantities ordered, or change in delivery modes. All these factors can cumulatively impact the amount of actual costs. Lack of visibility can result in high-cost variance as well as incorrect budgeted costing for similar upcoming projects that negatively affect project performance and profitability.
3. Missed Expenses
However, detailed and minute care is being taken while posting the entries in the expense line, chances are always there of any of it being missed.
How Aavenir Invoiceflow + ServiceNow PPM Integration can seamlessly tackle these issues?
To tackle these projects and inherent issues, organizations use ServiceNow ITBM Module and which has specific Project Portfolio Management tools. Using ServiceNow PPM, PMOs can create cost plans in a project to capture different costs – fixed, recurring, and labor for each project. Cost plans contain expense lines that represent actual cost – capital expenditure or operational expenditure.
Built on the ServiceNow platform, Aavenir Invoiceflow uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically extract invoice data from multi-page invoice documents and manage invoice approvals using digital workflow on ServiceNow.
How does this work?
- Aavenir Invoiceflow auto-captures invoices received at your AP email
- Invoiceflow extracts PO and vendor information from Invoice
- Invoiceflow uses AI-enabled 2 –way/ 3-way match for invoice validation
- For validated invoices, Invoiceflow identifies related cost plans based on PO
- Invoiceflow updates invoice table with cost plan and project details
- Invoice approval request is sent via email with cost plan and project details
- After the invoice is approved, Invoiceflow creates a new expense line item in ITBM PPM cost plan with invoice details – invoice number, vendor, amount, payment due date, and payment status, etc.
Benefits of using Invoiceflow with ServiceNow PPM
- This integration automates data entry of invoice header and invoice line items. This automated data entry gives real-time visibility to everyone and hence brings more transparency between the organization’s AP department and project teams.
- Project audits will be better as invoices are validated and approved with Invoiceflow. It enhances the entire project performance by providing insights on reallocation and optimization of budgetary figures.
- Invoiceflow uses workflows and different rules to reduce invoice frauds, which in turn improves the bottom line.
End-note
For any organization, any project – to gain visibility into project expenses and control cost variance is a must. You can achieve maximum visibility and update your project plan as and when needed with this integration. If you are a ServiceNow user, it is the right time to embrace Invoiceflow and maximize your ServiceNow investments in project management. Get a better understanding of project risks and monitor the financial performance of your projects in real-time. Learn more about this integration.
