Use Case
Invoice Processing Automation with UiPath
(D365 Finance / SCM)
For our energy client, the Accounts Payable organization was overwhelmed by manual work. Each invoice arrived by email or PDF, requiring clerks to re-key data into Dynamics 365. The volume of transactions had grown steadily with new supplier contracts, and the team could not keep up without expanding headcount. Errors in data entry were frequent, leading to payment delays, supplier escalations, and mounting rework.
Finance leadership saw discounts slip away and cycle times stretch into weeks. Beyond the immediate financial impact, staff morale suffered as skilled employees spent most of their time performing repetitive, low-value entry rather than analysis or supplier engagement. After a year of attempting to implement an alternative, the team turn their sites to Intelligent Automation.
The company deployed UiPath unattended bots combined with Document Understanding to automate invoice capture and posting. Incoming invoices were ingested directly from shared email inboxes and scanned PDFs. The bots extracted header and line-level data, validated it against master data in Dynamics 365, and posted approved entries automatically. Invoices that failed validation or triggered tolerance checks were routed into an AP dashboard for review, ensuring that human attention was applied only where judgment was required. Each transaction created a full audit trail, which improved compliance readiness.
The rollout was executed in phases to minimize risk. The first sprint focused on high-volume suppliers and invoices with standardized formats. Once accuracy targets were met, additional supplier formats were added, and tolerance thresholds were refined. Training sessions equipped AP staff to oversee exceptions and manage the new dashboard. Within three months, the automated process stabilized at scale and handled the majority of invoices without human touch.
Solution
Key Features
The automated solution delivered several core capabilities. Document Understanding allowed the system to extract both structured and unstructured invoice formats, adapting to a wide range of supplier layouts. Direct integration into Dynamics 365 enabled seamless validation against vendor records and purchase order data. An exception management workflow ensured transparency, allowing staff to resolve discrepancies quickly while maintaining accountability. A real-time dashboard displayed throughput, cycle time, and accuracy metrics, giving leadership a clear view of process performance. Finally, the system created a continuous audit trail, reducing compliance risk and simplifying external reviews.
Outcomes
Manual effort reduced by approximately 70 percent
First-pass accuracy improved to over 90 percent after training the document models
Invoice cycle times cut from multiple days to a few hours
Supplier satisfaction improved, with fewer escalations and disputes
Early-payment discounts consistently captured, improving working capital
Payback achieved in less than one year
Business Drivers
The business case for automation rested on several clear drivers. Finance leadership needed to lower the cost per invoice while absorbing steady growth in transaction volume. Manual entry created compliance risk by allowing errors and inconsistencies into the ledger, which exposed the company during audits. Delays in processing meant lost opportunities for early-payment discounts and strained supplier relationships.
Finally, the AP staff had become disengaged, spending the bulk of their time on repetitive data entry instead of analysis, vendor negotiations, or process improvement. Automation directly addressed each of these issues in a measurable way.
Technologies
UiPath Orchestrator and Document Understanding formed the core of the automation platform. The solution was fully integrated with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance for validation and posting.
Invoices were ingested from Outlook and SharePoint, and exceptions were handled through UiPath Action Center. The reporting layer was delivered through Power BI dashboards linked to Dynamics transaction data, providing finance leaders with real-time visibility into process health.