AI and Automation Cut Invoice Matching and Revenue Reconciliation Time by 90% for Shopping Engagement Platform

Investigating invoice matching and revenue reconciliation is a core function of every financial organization, but manually sifting through partner invoices, Salesforce data, bank statements, and Business Central accounting systems records can be incredibly time-consuming and tedious. Manual invoice processing workflows create delays that impact business operations and drain the energy and morale of highly skilled finance professionals who must perform this dull, repetitive work.

The finance team at Atolls, a leading shopping engagement platform faced a major bottleneck because analysts spent hours manually matching invoices from various affiliate networks with revenue data from Salesforce and Business Central to complete reconciliation processes. These delays also crippled their month-end close procedures—it took weeks to reconcile partner payments and update payment records with proper cost accounting attributes. Fraud risks were also a concern, requiring a system that could deliver outstanding accuracy.

Every business in the affiliate marketing industry understands that timely payments are a crucial component of the industry’s win-win business model.

This fast-growing business recognized the potential of AI to enhance its invoice matching and reconciliation processes. They wanted to transform their system with best practices and AI and partnered with RapidCanvas to find a better way.
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Challenges Faced

Resource Bottleneck:Every affiliate invoice required manual analysis by finance professionals to match with Salesforce revenue records, limiting Atolls' ability to scale their partner network and process payments efficiently.

Analysis Limitations:Manual processes limited the scope of reconciliation to basic matching rules, so complex revenue patterns and VP ID Code relationships weren't being properly identified across multiple data sources.

Business Impact: Long wait times for invoice processing and revenue reconciliation, sometimes extending month-end close cycles, left partners waiting for payments and created cash flow management challenges.

Scalability Issues: Partner networks constantly evolve. It was challenging to onboard new affiliates because the old workflows required manual setup and analysis for each new revenue stream and payment structure.
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Solution Implemented

RapidCanvas deployed a specialized team of experts with extensive experience in AI, financial services, and revenue reconciliation to collaborate with Atolls' finance team and IT professionals. Through workshops and collaborative sessions, they analyzed existing invoice matching processes and developed a tailored solution to address the customer's specific needs and objectives.

RapidCanvas created a bespoke automated reconciliation platform to streamline and enhance invoice processing. This platform featured a centralized data repository with automated data ingestion from affiliate networks, Salesforce, Business Central, and Preset.io, ensuring a comprehensive view of every transaction. AI-powered algorithms identified VP ID Codes by matching Salesforce and affiliate network datasets using advanced matching rules and machine learning models.

A dynamic reconciliation engine automatically created provision flags for each VP ID Code and prepared invoice posting data in the required format for Business Central, including all necessary cost accounting attributes. Interactive dashboards provided clear and accessible visualizations of matching results and reconciliation insights, empowering finance teams to make informed decisions. The dashboard data can also be exported back into their system and integrated via APIs .

AI agents embedded in the system identified hidden revenue patterns and generated automated posting recommendations for each transaction. Accompanying clear explanations were designed to foster understanding and trust while delivering the ability to articulate financial status to stakeholders.

AI also handled the bulk of verification work, significantly reducing overall review time. Human experts remained critical for validating results, particularly with edge cases requiring more detailed analysis.
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Results and Benefits

RapidCanvas orchestrated a process redesign that transformed the engagement platform's financial operations. What was once a collection of manual processes that taxed the resources and patience of the finance team became an efficient automated solution.

In the first year of deployment, Atolls achieved their target success criteria across all phases. Matching accuracy reached 80% in the first 90 days and exceeded 90% by 180 days. Manual reconciliation time was reduced by over 90%, and the automated system successfully integrated with Business Central for direct posting of reconciliation data.

The finance team responded positively to the changes. On average, each analyst's workload was reduced by 75%, enabling them to focus on more complex financial analysis and strategic partnership initiatives. Furthermore, non-technical staff were empowered to utilize the reconciliation tools, with clear explanations and AI-driven insights visualized in the user-friendly Preset.io dashboard.

The RapidCanvas solution has also been transformative for the partnership team. Previously, they had to wait weeks to complete payment reconciliation for new partners. The new system analyzes affiliate data and provides instant VP ID Code identification and provision flag assignment. Further, partners receive faster payment processing and automated status updates. The platform even creates customized reconciliation reports to streamline financial reporting and keep accounting processes running smoothly.
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Conclusion

Real-world stories like this illustrate the profound impact that expert-led AI and automation solutions can have for financial services businesses. Finance teams work best when they are empowered with AI and industry-leading automation. With RapidCanvas, you and your team can win back the time to do the strategic financial work you love while driving even better results for your business.

To learn more about how RapidCanvas can help your business with invoice matching and reconciliation challenges, contact us today for a free consultation.