The UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities, McCarthy Stone is one of the latest construction industry organisations to join the Causeway Tradex community, with the primary aim of streamlining its accounts payable processes and aiding the business’ ongoing digital transformation.
McCarthy Stone, which operates 483 retirement communities nationwide, had begun improvements to its accounts payable process by adopting an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scanning solution to speed up data input. Upon further review, the developer identified accounts payable as an area where additional improvements could be made to drive further efficiencies through digitalisation.
McCarthy Stone had been made aware of Causeway Tradex via the CIO Forum, where construction peers share their experiences and new technology implementation.
Causeway Tradex - an industry specific electronic invoicing solution - was recommended to McCarthy Stone by some of the top construction companies already using the software and highlighted the construction focus and the clear benefits it could provide.
The Causeway Tradex solution, which is already used across the industry by some of construction’s leading organisations, will enable simple and efficient management and processing of invoices throughout McCarthy Stone’s supply chain.
Anna Brown, Director of Strategic and Corporate Finance at McCarthy Stone commented, "Causeway Tradex has proven to bring tangible efficiencies to our Accounts Payable process and we are excited to be part of the community. With over 75% of our key suppliers trading electronically through the platform, we’re able to deliver value fast to us and the supply chain."
With Causeway Tradex, all suppliers submit their invoices through the dedicated portal.
At this point, all invoices undergo an automated validation process that ensures it is an HMRC compliant invoice, checks it is not a duplicate and confirms it contains a valid purchase order (PO) number and that the details match the PO information. This means only invoices that are ready to be paid are delivered to the accounts payable team. If an invoice does not meet the requirements, the supplier is automatically notified of the reason for the return and provided with the option to edit and resubmit, removing the need to credit and re-issue.
This automated validation delivers up to a 50% time saving for the accounts payable team.
Causeway Tradex also provides benefits for McCarthy Stone’s suppliers as the increased efficiency means that invoices can be paid quicker. Furthermore, as a complete e-invoicing solution, Causeway Tradex gives the suppliers access to self-service invoice status and statement reconciliation portal, with no need for input from McCarthy Stone.
Causeway and McCarthy Stone are working closely with suppliers to ensure a smooth transition to the new process, especially for those suppliers who were not yet part of the Causeway Tradex community.
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