SoftCo AP Automation

SoftCo implementation team always delivers and the product (especially the new version) is excellent

Comments: Moved from paper based to online PO's with significant reduction in staff levels in purchase ledger and almost 100% compliance with payment terms. Much better control of release of payment runs.

Pros:

The product is very easy to use with new in-email approval a huge step forward. Visibility of spend and tracking versus budget is a great feature. GRNI accrual for the finance team is easy. Easy to raise POs, so no excuses. Easy to change routing of approval if a PO has a particular need for customised approval. We use verify (as an option in addition to approve) to ensure that costs coded to particular account codes are reviewed as appropriate to that code before the PO is approved, e.g., Capex.

Cons:

Not cheap, we are a waste management business not a bank, but we have found it good value for money.

Hydro-Gear's Review of SoftCo

Comments: The AP team has settled into a routine and we have seen a significant drop in workload. It was very difficult early on, but we are overall happy with the product now and are continuing to find ways to improve and develop metrics that work for us.

Pros:

Access to information all in one placeThe matching function is accurate and immediately beneficialAbility to route easily for approvals, confirmations, etc...

Cons:

ReadSoft/Capture - throughout implementation, we were very focused on the SoftCo product. When it came to understanding the ReadSoft portion, we were generally told to trust that the system would learn what to do. When we have issues with capture, it is difficult to get black and white answers from SoftCo and to understand exactly what can be done to improve the success. There aren't many views where the coding is viewable.BOL matching was not in place when we started implementation, which we were under the impression was standard. The intuitiveness could be improved for what business users need to do - i.e. folder views with the # in parentheses is unclear, the order of operations that need to be taken to go from details to coding, when there is a balance it isn't clear that users can't approve/move on because of that (the balance in RED is not very noticeable at the bottom of the screen).

Softco Review

Comments: Team was top notch. Sales and implementation.

Pros:

It provides our AP team with a tool for better and faster processing of their invoices.

Cons:

Couple glitches with integration with our ERP.

Softco Review

Comments: Over my experience with Softco has been good. Service to tickets if prompt and we even had our sales rep do an impromptu training session with us just this week! Really felt like he went out of his way to assist us and answer some processing questions for us! We have also received positive feedback about this change for our users on how they review and approve invoices.

Pros:

I have really liked the ability to approve invoices from the email. I am aware of most invoices that I will be receiving for approval, so it is super handy to be able to approve those ones through email.I also have really liked the search feature to be able to see where an invoice is at and who we are awaiting on for approval. So that we can prompt those users when necessary.

Cons:

I think the smart coding is not working for us quite like we anticipated. The hope is that it will be magical and just do everything we need; but I think this will take a bit more time.

AP Softco User advantage

Comments: We now have all of our ap invoices in one place with easy access to all of finance for audit purposes and looking up invoices to see if they are paid. We also have less payment of duplicate invoices..

Pros:

I loved the AI. Other programs didn't really have it. It was all done in other countries with people manually. I loved the layout and the price was more reasonable and got a lot more than the competitors. I also love that it picks up on duplicate invoices.

Cons:

We are not fully automated yet so sometimes it gets the wrong vendor or doesn't find the date or invoice number.

Softco AP Automation

Comments: Overall Softco is great. It is a time saver, easy to follow the logic in the invoice processing. We are fairly new using the application and we are still continuing to learn some nuances. The implementation team from Softco were great. The customer support team is amazing. They are always quick to respond to all our queries and updates are sent on a timely basis.

Pros:

Using the software is a time saver. No need typing invoice information.The matching functionality works great, a big time saver on data validation. I also like the ability to view and track invoices anytime.

Cons:

I would prefer to have customizable reports within the application. It is great to have the ability to export data into excel however the user needs to piece together various to be able to get some meaningful information. There are also views that cannot be exported to excel.I wish that there is a page where one can view the status of invoices, all in just 1 page.

I'd recommend SoftCo for mid-size businesses that don't want to spend all their time on A/P

Pros:

Easy to use, integrated fairly well with our ERP, customer service is fantastic - speedy response time, and helpful folks who are dedicated to getting satisfactory resolutions

Cons:

I think there is room for improvement on the little things, like how the header values for net and tax amounts aren't linked to the invoice coding rows when you use Smart Code

Easy to use, easy to implement, flexible, easily integrated. Excellent investment.

Comments: Paperless filing at its very best; everything you would expect is delivered.

Pros:

Softco excels in a multi company environment. It is simple to find historical information irregardless of how many companies are on the system. Love the integration with our accounting software.

Cons:

Can't open on two screens at the same time. Display boxes for account codes could / should be larger.

Good product,easy to use,streamlines processes but it is expensive to maintain and upgrade

Comments: Cost savings
Tracibility of invoices throughout the p2p cycle

Pros:

Reduces human touch points Receipt of electronic invoices Rejection back to suppliers Visibility of invoices at every point in cycle

Cons:

Expensive to make changes or upgrade product Automatic verification could be better Post project support could be better to ensure we are happy

Recommended

Pros:

Improved processing of invoices. It helps to match the invoice and get an approval, replaces manual work.

Cons:

I could use some more free trials to show it for the new users

Softco AP

Pros:

Reliability, scalability, customer service and feature set.

Cons:

I have not found nor have users reported and significant deficiencies

SoftCo AP Automation

Pros:

Integration, ease of use and functionality of the product.

Cons:

There isn't anything we didn't like about the product.

Highly Recommend SoftCo

Comments: We implemented an AP automation solution to avoid hiring a second AP person. We chose SoftCo because of it's functionality and straightforward user interface.

Pros:

SoftCo is user friendly and achieves our internal controls requirements for 3-way matching and invoice approvals. It also provides visibility on unapproved invoices for accruing at month-end. Searching for invoices is easy with multiple options to search by as well as monitoring unapproved invoices for following up with approvers to ensure vendors are paid on-time. The invoice capture software is accurate and learns the layout of each vendor's invoice. SoftCo support responds within 24 hours and tickets are resolved quickly.

Cons:

Reporting could be better as it focuses on unapproved invoices, rather than all invoices. The invoice capture software crashes occasionally, but works again after it's restarted, which is very quick.

A successful project implementation, delivered on promises and created a positive user experience.

Comments: We automated what is traditionally a heavily paper based and manual process through the implementation of user friendly software. All actions are now taken electronically and there is no paper in sight.
We improved the process with the introduction of a pre-approval step so costs are more easily controlled and budget holder awareness is guaranteed before any commitment to spend. Our AP team now spend more time managing supplier accounts through the review of statements and significantly less time manually processing invoices.

Pros:

The software is highly configurable which enables you to self administrate and customise to meet your business requirements as they evolve. The system is very easy to navigate from a user perspective so the training and implementation process can be supported with basic demos and QRGs.

Cons:

As a system administrator the softwares configurability encourages core users to suggest change requests quite often. Not a fault of the system but a challenge for the administrators.

Very positive experience. Should have done it sooner. Year 1 return on investment.

Comments: Year 1 return on investment. Easy to use for staff at all levels, reduced processing times as well as full visibility over all invoices on the system. There were of course some teething issues but SoftCo were always on hand to address these straight off and ensure the implementation went smoothly.

Pros:

The number 1 thing I like is that the software is easy to use for all levels in our organisation. This ensured that the buy-in from our staff was gained straight away and they could see that it made their jobs easier. The results have been great too. We have achieved a straight-through processing match rate of 75% of all invoices and increased the capacity of our AP team by more than 50%. By automating our AP process, we have reduced our labour costs despite handling an increasing volume of invoices (over 300,000 per annum). We also now have complete visibility over all our invoices in the system which helps greatly at month end.

Extremely professional, hands-on integration project team who add value rather than just implement .

Pros:

System driven approvals, audit trail = major control positives. Seamless interface with Accounting system (SAP). Ease of use for volume users. Prompt helpdesk resolution. Standardisation of approvals / payment processes across large , multi divisional organisations.

Cons:

Bespoke / Automated Reporting Capabilities need to be improved / made more user driven. Dosent always give Senior Management the KPI / Dashboard information that proves how powerful the product is. Current version is restrictive in some regards - screen resolution / cursor missing issues, which while not major, cause irritation to users and thus damage the products image.

Review for SoftCo AP Automation

Pros:

SoftCo AP Automation has an excellent customer service especially in terms of technical expertise.

Cons:

It will be more useful if technical support team could solve the problems we face faster.

Excellent product, does what it says, capable of handling large volumes and workloads

Pros:

It is a full out of the box package offering a complete end to end solution, but is highly customable so we could adapt it to our specific business needs. Softco understood our requirements and provided invaluable expertise in setting up the optimum solution.

We had an excellent experience both with the vendor and the software

Comments: This software completely transformed our transaction processing capabilities and allowed straight through processing

Pros:

Easy to use, fast, efficient, introduced transparency, and completely transformed our transaction processing capability

Great product to improve office automation

Comments: Ability to manage AP for multiple companies in one office

Pros:

Nothing gets lost, full traceability of every stage in invoice processing from receiving the suppliers invoice right through to approval and payment.