MANUAL INVOICE PROCESSING AT VOLUME CREATED INEFFICIENCIES AND LIMITED VISIBILITY

Due to the specialized nature of Ropeblock’s products, all components are sourced, then assembled in-house. This generates high volumes of complex Accounts Payable (AP) invoices that, year-on-year, have continued to rise.

Before implementing Precise AP Automation Suite in 2025, Ropeblock’s invoice approval process was largely manual. Invoices were printed, manually entered into the Epicor Kinetic ERP system, and then physically routed to multiple approvers for tracking via email.

“It was hard to get an overview. We had to return to email to see what questions were raised, or investigate the invoices that had to be processed in person.”

This created several operational challenges. Ropeblock had limited visibility into invoice status. Approvals were often delayed or fragmented by manual routing and email communication, and audit trails were weak. This created a high administrative workload. They also wished to identify and reduce the root cause of invoice exceptions.

“For the AP clerk, it was tedious work to print and record them manually. We were looking to scale up the work done, without increasing AP staff headcount.”

At the same time, business growth and growing invoice volumes meant these manual processes were not sustainable. Ropeblock needed a solution that would let them better handle these increasing volumes, without expanding their finance team.

“Previously, invoices were printed, tracked, and circulated manually with no visibility. With the number of invoices increasing each year, we needed a scalable solution without adding headcount.” Robin Feith
Business Controller, Ropeblock BV

FULLY AUTOMATED INVOICE WORKFLOWS THAT INTEGRATE AND EXTEND EXISTING ERP FUNCTIONALITY

Ropeblock had already implemented Epicor as their ERP of choice, using the system since 2009 and upgrading to Epicor Kinetic in 2020. Because Precise AP Automation Suite is built specifically to integrate with Epicor Kinetic, implementation was straightforward and did not require complex custom development. This made Precise AP Automation Suite a front-runner when Ropeblock began looking for a more effective AP invoice processing solution.

We looked at different products. But Precise AP Automation stood out, because it was very well integrated with Epicor Kinetic. It’s really tailormade for Epicor Kinetic, which is a big advantage. It’s always easier to
have a single-source solution, and we were familiar with working with Precise

The Precise AP Automation Suite extends Epicor Kinetic’s functionality. It automates invoice capture and matching, while acting as a guardrail that catches errors or price mismatches before they reach the ERP, so core business data remains clean and accurate. This was ideal for the challenges Ropeblock was facing.

It gave us visibility into things that were not working well on our end. For example, if purchase orders arrived in a different unit of measurement from the invoice, of course there would be no match. Where we gained visibility, it helped us to identify those points. Now we can work to solve them.

Ropeblock was also an early adopter of the OCR invoice recognition functionality and worked closely with the Precise team during implementation. This helped Precise refine how the system handled different invoice formats and languages, including Dutch invoices, and ensured the solution was well-suited to their international supplier base. Initial hiccups were turned into positive feedback for the product.

Invoices are automatically three-way matched with purchase orders and receipts where
possible and pushed through to Kinetic unless there is a discrepancy. Ropeblock can set its acceptable tolerance for small variances in the workflow engine, and initiate automated approval workflows for invoices that fall outside these limits, ensuring issues are identified and resolved before payment.

This has helped Ropeblock identify pricing differences or outdated prices, and highlighted unit-of-measure mismatches that previously often slipped through. Thus allowing them to recover costs through supplier credit notes and maintain more accurate purchasing data.

The system records all the necessary data from the invoice, and also links it through to Epicor, making for a lot less manual work. And it
saves us money if we track discrepancies and talk with our suppliers about them so we can properly credit differences.

With this structured workflow, all communication related to an invoice is recorded within the system, in turn improving both auditability and traceability across the company. The product also offers real-time analytics and smart risk analysis for further visibility and control.

This way, it’s always traceable, noting how differences were solved and why this was the correct action to take.

Beyond automation, this visibility has helped Ropeblock identify process inefficiencies and improve its workflows with time.

When we started the project, we compared it to running hurdles. Digitizing didn’t remove the hurdles but it made them visible. Now we can remove them one by one and “run faster”. It’s an ongoing process of improvement.

With their AP processes flowing smoothly, Ropeblock is now exploring additional functionality for even further enhanced results within their operations.

AUTOMATED INVOICE PROCESSES THAT DELIVER EFFICIENCY AND
TRANSPARENCY

Since implementing Precise AP Automation Suite, Ropeblock has significantly enhanced its Accounts Payable processes.

With the automation of invoice recording, review, and approval, the AP process has become significantly more efficient and transparent. We now have real‑time visibility into invoice status, clear ownership throughout the approval flow, and structured communication within the system. This has improved control, strengthened auditability, and removed several operational bottlenecks.

Precise AP Automation reduced AP invoice processing time by approximately 30%, with further efficiency gains as processes were optimized.

Time saving equals extra productivity. We have even been able to assign an AP clerk to support HR with administrative tasks due to a reduction in the need for full-time equivalents

This reassignment meant Ropeblock not only saved within their AP department, but also did not need to hire an additional HR resource, resulting in further direct cost savings for the business.

Hand-in-hand with this automation has come significant improvements in their invoice review quality and financial control. Using Precise AP Automation Suite, Ropeblock’s detection of invoice exceptions has improved, with better alignment between purchase orders and invoices.

The increased awareness, accountability, and improved checks and
balances have contributed to broader process improvements, including
within the purchase ordering process.

Full visibility and transparency across AP processes were critical to Ropeblock’s goals. With this in mind, they specifically requested that Precise create a new dashboard for their implementation to surface their data effectively. Ropeblock can see which suppliers generate the most exceptions or delays, allowing it to have more informed, data-based vendor relationships.

This extends outside of AP needs, too. Managers’ and approvers’ experiences also improved with a clear workflow and visibility, rather than relying on email chains and manual follow-ups.

The approval process has become structured and visible, no more long email chains between people. Anyone who needs to see an invoice flow can find it. It raised the confidence level that we’re in control. As a business controller myself, or for the CEO, that’s important.

Entered data also integrates with Epicor Kinetic automatically, further improving visibility. They now experience shorter lead times for invoice review, alongside efficient order entries and improved cost control.

Now, we can take away those hurdles and inefficiencies in our company that have always been there. We have more visibility on these issues, and can address and optimize them.

Invoice automation has also improved scalability, enabling Ropeblock to handle higher invoice volumes as the business grows, whilst maintaining control and efficiency without adding headcount to the finance team.

The AP clerks are happy they don’t have to key everything in manually. We don’t want to go back to our old processes.