Shortening the invoice issuance time from 3 days to 45 minutes
In a transport company, invoices were issued manually once a week. We implemented an automaton that retrieves data from GPS and generates documents itself.
Mr. Mariusz from Trans-Logistyka Jaworski lost three days every month just writing out invoices. We introduced a simple mechanism connecting data from GPS transmitters in trucks with a settlement sheet. Now the whole process takes less than an hour, and errors in amounts have completely disappeared.
The challenge
The company has 14 tractor units serving domestic routes. The main problem was a mess in the papers – drivers handed in crumpled delivery receipts late, which held up payments. The accountant, Ms. Grażyna, had to manually rewrite kilometers and rates from each order into a separate file, which took her an average of 26 hours a month.
Often mistakes of 100-150 PLN occurred, which resulted in complaints from contractors and even greater delays in transfers. There was no system that would see where the car actually was and how much it traveled, without waiting for the driver's return to the base in Radom.
Our approach
We started with an audit of the office work from the last two months to see exactly where the time was escaping. It turned out that most energy went to verifying routes with the GPS system, which the company already paid for anyway, but no one used its reports for invoicing.
Our team prepared a script that pulls ready data about completed courses once a day. Instead of building an expensive system from scratch, we used what the client already had, adding only a module connecting this data with an invoice pattern. We tested this on 5 selected routes before we ran the process for the entire fleet.
The solution
We created a control panel where accounting sees a list of courses ready for settlement. Each item already has an assigned route, registration number and a calculated amount based on the rates saved in the database. Ms. Grażyna clicks one button, checks if the data matches and generates a PDF file ready for shipping.
We also implemented simple notifications for drivers. If the system sees that the course has finished, and the photo of the delivery document has not reached the database through the phone app, the driver gets an SMS. Thanks to this, the office does not have to call 14 people every week asking about missing papers.
Results
The effect exceeded the owner's expectations, because not only did we speed up the office, but we also improved the company's financial liquidity. Invoices are now sent the same day the goods reached their destination, and money reaches the account much faster.
Timeline
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September 2024Analysis of 48 invoices from the previous month and catching errors.
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September 2024Connection of the GPS database with a new settlement script.
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October 2024Training for accounting and drivers in sending delivery document photos.
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November 2024First collective shipment of invoices in less than an hour.
"I thought that with my 14 cars it was not worth changing anything, because it is supposedly only for big companies. Orzeł Business Strategy showed me that it is enough to connect what I already have to gain two days off."