In the fall of 2013, Bryan Cave implemented a new paperless A/P workflow product. The timeline for rollout was extremely optimistic and aggressive, partially due to the need to complete it before year-end. Although we implemented on schedule, we experienced a number of unexpected complications and, in some cases, missed opportunities. We believe our challenges are not specific to the product we used, but rather relate to this type of project. Listed below are some points we learned in implementing paperless A/P:
- At the outset, we recommend reviewing the existing approval process and identify what is working correctly and what isn’t being followed. For example, we had secretaries signing approvals on behalf of their lawyers and the lawyers were never involved in the process. Once automated, the attorneys were then bombarded by requests that they felt they had not been responsible for previously. Ideally, the workflow should be as simple as possible while ensuring accountability for decision-making.
- Another important consideration is understanding that implementing the rules (and the exceptions to the rules) in the data flows between the workflow product and the Accounting system can be both complicated and time-consuming. You will want to budget more time than you initially think necessary. It took us substantially longer to do this than we expected.
- Budget more time to work with each administration group as the workflows in each department can be substantially different and they may have different exception or reporting requirements.
- As this is a very detailed project, we don’t recommend getting too aggressive with the timeline. For example, the complexity in your data feeds can easily push back your deadlines. Also, if you have many exceptions to your standard workflow rules, it will take additional time to build and test.
- We suggest testing with a small pilot group for at least a month to shake out any problems and understand the types of concerns that will likely be raised in a broader rollout. After a successful pilot phase, we recommend rolling out to the firm in small groups over a 3 to 4 month period. This will enable you to spend more time with each group and help answer questions and address issue that weren’t covered in training. It is also probable that you will identify new issues not experienced by prior groups.
- Provide hands on training and tailor it specifically to each administrative group. You may also want to approach lawyer / secretary training by practice area or section as the workflow may vary between them.
- Involve at least one person from each of the larger branch offices (if applicable) in the process from start to finish, so that there is a local expert to serve as a resource.
- If your firm uses purchase cards as opposed to credit cards, separate purchase card training from the regular training sessions. This will help the users understand why purchase card submissions need to be treated differently.
At Bryan Cave, it has been over four months since we implemented paperless A/P and the questions / issues are decreasing. The reduction in paper volume and manual labor provides significant savings.