ABV Eliminated Paper Invoices Entirely and Reduced Finance Headcount from 4 to 2 with IQInvoice

Challenge

ABV manufactures sheet metal working machines and metal cutting and forming equipment, operating from 3 AP locations across India. Before IQInvoice, the company processed approximately 1,000 invoices annually through a home-grown barcode scanning system - one that required two full-time employees dedicated solely to barcoding invoices before they could be entered into the system.

That system had no formal approval structure. Invoices were routed to whoever was available rather than any defined delegation of authority. Some routine billings were processed without any approval at all - a control gap the business had accepted because it had no structured alternative.

PO matching was not happening. Procurement and AP operated independently, with no system link between what was ordered and what was being paid. Discrepancies between purchase orders and invoices weren’t being caught.

The three AP locations had no shared system. Data was fragmented, visibility was limited, and reporting required manual aggregation. The paper archive was growing without any digital equivalent. Remote work was impractical - invoice approvals required physical presence or manual follow-up.

Solution

IQInvoice replaced the barcode scanning system with automated invoice ingestion via a dedicated AP email address. Invoices arriving from vendors were automatically captured, supplier-identified through intelligent image recognition, and routed to the correct approver - with no manual handling at intake.

DoA-matched approval workflows were configured for ABV’s delegation structure. Each invoice was routed based on amount, category, and entity - with Approve, Reject, and Hold options available. Straight-through processing was configured for approved vendors, reducing handling time for routine invoices to near zero.

PO matching and electronic validation were added to the approval workflow - connecting procurement and AP for the first time and catching discrepancies before payment.

Mobile access allowed approvers to review and action invoices from any device, from any location. The dependency on physical presence was eliminated. All operations became fully paperless - the two employees previously hired solely for barcoding were redeployed, and the finance team reduced from 4 to 2 FTEs.

ABV’s headcount reduction and 70% processing time improvement are consistent with IQInvoice outcomes across manufacturing businesses at comparable invoice volumes. See IQInvoice pricing to assess the investment required. Read more customer stories in our case studies.