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Industry: Food & Beverage
Solution: Cloud-based accounting system, automated invoice processing
Results: Improved accuracy, significant time savings, and enhanced reporting capabilities
Table of Contents
The Challenge
The client, a well-established F&B chain with multiple locations, known for their popular restaurant chains offering Cantonese cuisine and home-style dishes across multiple locations, faced several challenges with its legacy accounting system. Using a server-based solution (ACCPAC), alongside manual paper processes, the organisation experienced poor accounting hygiene and operational inefficiencies.
Key issues included
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Frequent data entry errors
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Difficulty tracking financial data across locations
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Inability to generate location-specific Profit & Loss (PNL) reports
These limitations reduced financial visibility and increased the risk of errors, making effective oversight challenging.
The Solution
AccountServe implemented a cloud-based accounting platform (Business Central) to streamline operations and improve data accuracy.
Key enhancements included:
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Standardised SOPs to ensure accurate consistent data entry across all locations
- Location tagging to enable accurate tracking and reporting by location Implemented Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) solutions such as FileAI, to automate invoice data capture and significantly reduce manual data entry.
- Enabled automatic document attachment to streamline data processing, improve traceability and facilitate faster document retrieval.
These improvements transformed a largely manual process into a more streamlined and controlled finance operation.
The Results
The transition to a cloud-based system and the introduction of automation tools delivered significant operational and reporting benefits:
- Increased Efficiency: Invoice processing time was reduced from approximately five minutes per invoice to just one minute for review and approval, representing an 80% reduction in processing time.
- Improved Accuracy: Standardised workflows, location tagging and automated data capture significantly reduced manual errors and improved data reliability.
- Enhanced Financial Visibility: Accurate location-level P&L reporting provided management with clearer insights into the performance of individual locations, supporting better operational and strategic decision-making.
- Stronger Financial Control: Automated document management and improved audit trails strengthened governance and accountability across the finance function.
By modernising its accounting processes through cloud technology and automation, the client achieved substantial time savings, improved reporting capabilities and stronger financial oversight across its multi-location operations.
The Impact
The transformation provided the client with a more scalable finance environment that could support its growing multi-location operations without relying heavily on manual processes.
With financial information structured consistently across locations, management gained a stronger foundation for comparing performance, identifying operational trends and making decisions across the business. The improved accessibility of accounting data and supporting documents also made collaboration between finance and operational teams more efficient.
More importantly, the combination of cloud accounting and automation allowed the finance function to move beyond routine data processing and place greater focus on financial analysis, reporting and business support. This created a more sustainable accounting framework for the client as its operations continue to evolve.
How AccountServe Can Help
As F&B businesses expand across multiple locations, maintaining consistent accounting processes and clear location-level financial visibility can become increasingly challenging. AccountServe combines cloud accounting, automation and outsourced accounting support to help businesses streamline finance operations and strengthen financial control.
Speak to our AccountServe team to explore how we can help your multi-location business improve accounting efficiency, strengthen financial visibility and build a scalable finance function.
Fionn Shoo
Director
FionnShooPY@rsmsingapore.sg
How Ya Wen
Director
HowYaWen@rsmsingapore.sg
