All invoice types via the same service a successful move

By automating and streamlining, Kron International has managed to keep its production of cleaning tools at home in Sweden.
And this philosophy has not stopped on the shop floor; the administration also works in the same spirit.
When the finance department realized that, in addition to e-invoices, they could also send PDF and paper invoices via the InExchange invoice service, many hours were freed up. Time that can now be used more meaningfully than printing and scanning invoices.

Jenny Ahlberg is pleased that she and her colleague Ulrica in the finance department are now using a much higher proportion of the capacity of InExchange invoice printers than was the case three years ago. Scanning paper invoices and then attaching PDF files to emails was a step that, according to Jenny, was a relief to get rid of.
Kron International were relatively early adopters of e-invoices - their first electronic invoice went out via InExchange in 2014 - but the rest of the flow was handled the old-fashioned way, which took time.
- "We printed out the invoices that would not be sent as e-invoices from the business system and then scanned them in. Then it was back to the computer, open the PDF file, rename it to the correct invoice number and then email it to the customer, Jenny says.
Was it long-winded? Yes, you bet it was. Was it efficient? No, it certainly wasn't. And above all: it wasn't even necessary. The invoice printer was just sitting there on the computer screen wondering why it couldn't do more work.

Welcome efficiency gains

But when Jenny joined the company three years ago, there was a major discussion about the invoicing process. At the time, it was perceived as cumbersome. Together, they started reading up on what could be done via InExchange, as that service was already in use. The instructions stated that PDF invoices could also be sent via InExchange. When this message was put into practice, processing immediately became smoother. It was then discovered that some paper invoices could also be sent in the same way. Which made things even better. Because it means you don't have to print, envelope, stamp and post the invoices.
Jenny sums up:
- Now they follow through with the rest of the invoicing. Then it's done. We think it's very easy to do. Especially since we added that PDF should go that way, it saves a lot of time. I estimate we're talking about two hours a week, we still send a number of invoices every day.

Easy to change

The changes themselves, which had to be made, were also easy to arrange.
- "Yes, adding the PDF invoices wasn't difficult at all, because InExchange was already connected to the ERP system. The transition to sending PDFs via InExchange was therefore very smooth. We have Jeeves as our ERP system and the system already had a connection to InExchange invoice printers, because we sent our e-invoices that way. That made it easier, of course. All we had to do to start sending the PDF invoices via InExchange was to change the setting on our customers in Jeeves that the invoices should go to the InExchange invoice printer instead of our physical printer in the office.
- As I recall, I logged in to InExchange and read up on how to do it. We tested it on one customer and it worked. Then we continued to add more customers the next day. Then a couple more customers the day after that. We took it step by step and today we have basically added all customers.
And these are not the only benefits. Jenny takes the opportunity to point out another procedure she uses, which has simplified management a little further.
- "If we have a question about an invoice or it hasn't been paid on time, which also happens sometimes, I usually go into InExchange on the web and look up the invoices there instead of in the ERP system. It's quicker and more convenient, because then we can send them again directly from there. This saves steps when you have to resend an invoice.

Constant development

The ability to see winning solutions is in the walls at Kron International in Vinslöv between Hässleholm and Kristianstad. This Scanian manufacturer, with dishwashing brushes, toilet sets and broom sets as its main bestsellers, has invested heavily in automation and streamlining of production over the past 30 years. This has increased capacity, but has also been a prerequisite for keeping production in Sweden while maintaining competitiveness.
The fact that the finance department is also open to new technology and new approaches is in line with the business as a whole. The company may be 150 years old, but its hallmark has always been to keep up with developments.
- "Every year, we have a priority list of investments," Jenny points out.