Invoice-to-Delivery Note Automation That Saved €50K+ Annually for Grocery Chain

Client Background

Emerald Grocers operates 50 retail stores across Ireland, processing over 1,200 supplier invoices and delivery notes every month.

Each invoice typically spans 6+ pages and can reference 50+ individual delivery dockets, with strict line-by-line VAT reporting requirements.

The Accounts Payable (AP) team and store assistants faced constant challenges:

• Manual indexing of scanned dockets into TRACKS software.
• Vendor invoices with inconsistent names (“Spice G Life” vs. “Spice Life”) leading to duplicate suppliers in Xero.
• VAT reporting complexities (0%, 13.5%, 23%) that had to be broken down by rate.
• Time wasted categorizing invoices into resale vs. non-resale accounts.
• Long invoices (6+ pages) requiring summarization by category rather than posting each line item.

This process often required re-typing quantities, checking signatures, and reconciling mismatches manually.

Challenge

• Each invoice (6 pages) took 2–3 hours to extract, code, and match.
• Docket indexing was fully manual, often consuming several staff days per week.
• Misclassified suppliers (due to spacing, dashes, or naming variations) caused errors in Xero.
• VAT percentages had to be reconciled line by line, adding another layer of manual work.
• High staff fatigue and inconsistent accuracy across different stores.

As one manager explained during discovery:

“If we have to decide what’s resale or non-resale before we even upload, it defeats the purpose of automation.
The system has to figure it out for us otherwise, we might as well keep posting invoices manually.”

This insight shaped Satva’s entire solution approach: true automation must eliminate decision-making, not just data entry.

Solution

Satva Solutions deployed a custom-built Invoice Delivery Note Automation System specifically engineered for grocery retail accounting workflows.

Core Technology Components

• OCR + AI Extraction: Captured supplier names, invoice numbers, VAT breakdown, and line items from scanned invoices and dockets.
• Smart Vendor Matching: Normalized supplier data using VAT numbers to eliminate duplicates in Xero.
• Category Mapping: Linked product descriptions (e.g., “Walker’s Crisps”) to internal tracking categories and chart of accounts.
• Resale vs Non-Resale Auto-Detection: System identified COGS vs. expense accounts without requiring staff to pre-sort invoices.
• Summarization Rules: Allowed large invoices (6+ pages) to post as summarized totals by category instead of line by line.
• Delivery Note Indexing Automation: AI extracted docket numbers, quantities, store codes, and signatures directly into TRACKS, removing manual typing.
• Tolerance & Variance Flags: Highlighted only true mismatches (short deliveries, VAT errors, missing dockets).

Results (3-Month Pilot)

• Invoice processing time reduced from 2–3 hours → under 5 minutes each.
• Docket indexing time cut by 80%, eliminating repetitive re-typing.
• Supplier duplication eliminated via VAT-number based matching.
• VAT compliance improved invoices now split correctly across 0%, 13.5%, and 23% rates.
• Same AP team handled 5× more volume, without adding staff.
• Annual savings of €50,000+ in staff time, disputes, and late payment penalties.

Why This Solution Worked

Satva Solutions’ Differentiators

1. Industry-Specific Expertise

• Deep understanding of grocery retail workflows
• Knowledge of Irish VAT compliance requirements
• Experience with multi-store operational complexity

2. Custom Integration Approach

• Seamless connectivity between Xero and TRACKS
• Preserved existing workflows while adding automation
• No disruption to daily operations during implementation

3. Intelligence Over Automation

• AI that learns and improves over time
• Smart exception handling, not just rule-based processing
• Automated decision-making that matches human judgment

4. Measurable ROI Focus

• Clear metrics tracked from day one
• Continuous optimization based on performance data
• Transparent reporting on time savings and cost reduction

Conclusion

Through AI-driven automation and deep accounting integration expertise, Satva Solutions transformed a complex, labor-intensive grocery finance process into a seamless, intelligent workflow

This project exemplifies how accounting automation delivers measurable ROI improving speed, accuracy, and operational control while enabling businesses to scale without proportional cost increases.

Key Takeaways:

• Manual invoice processing is a solvable problem, even with complex VAT and multi-store requirements
• True automation eliminates decision-making, not just data entry
• The right integration partner can deliver 5× productivity gains without additional headcount
• ROI in accounting automation is measurable, predictable, and sustainable

Ready to Transform Your Accounting Operations?

If your business struggles with:

• Manual invoice processing and reconciliation
• VAT compliance complexity
• Vendor data inconsistencies
• Limited AP team capacity

Satva Solutions can help.

Contact us to discuss how custom Accounting automation can eliminate your accounting bottlenecks and deliver measurable ROI in 90 days or less