Accounting Services Based on the SAP B1 System for Nexera Holding Sp. z o.o.

Provision of quality accounting services based on the system selected by the Client is one of the most important advantages of outsourced accounting. It often happens that Clients of our offices in Katowice and Warsaw decide on this variant of cooperation.

Our Client operating in the telecommunications industry is building a modern fibre-optic network throughout Poland. This project is being implemented under the governmental OPDP (Operational Program Digital Poland) programme. The entities of the group are not the first Clients of MDDP Outsourcing operating in this industry. This confirms that the services we offer meet Clients’ expectations

Identification of the Client’s needs

Before starting the implementation work, it was necessary to examine the Client’s needs so that the implementation process itself would meet their expectations to the greatest extent. In this case, the need to implement the SAP Business One system was largely related to the fact that this accounting software had already been used by the Client’s related entities. Over time, the need to standardise the software for all entities of the group was ascertained – so that people in counterpart positions in different locations could see the same interface and operate similar processes in the same manner defined by the company. In addition, this system met the list of conditions that we, together with the Client, defined as necessary to carry out accounting processes with maximum efficiency and without spending more time on them. The system implementation projects carried out to date allowed us to consider that proper cooperation between MDDP Outsourcing and the implementation company would result in the streamlining of many functional areas of the Client’s financial departments.

Bearing in mind the scale of the enterprise, it was clear that the key to improvement would be to identify and then automate repetitive tasks which had formerly taken the most time, while at the same time minimising the risk of human error. Thanks to the actions taken, we quickly achieved benefits that could be recognised by the Client.

First benefits after the implementation

The first benefits that we noticed and that were appreciated by the Client were improvements in the processing of accounting documents and payments. Below are the most important of them:

• In the implemented and configured system, it is possible to post a significant number of invoices in a very short time.

Currently, the invoicing requests transmitted from the billing system are converted into sales invoices, and the necessary data are transferred together with tags or cost centres, if any. The invoices issued in this way are automatically transmitted to the billing system, from where they are sent to the company’s counterparties. Since the entities re-invoice costs between each other, a possibility has been set up to automatically generate sales invoices based on purchase invoices and to transfer a newly issued invoice to the other entity’s base as a purchase invoice, which also significantly reduces the time of posting.

• In the case of prepayments, we not only shortened the operation time but also eliminated the risk of error.

We made it possible to enter the entire cost into the system along with information that it is necessary to post it in instalments. According to the data kept, every month the system prompts what value from a given document should be recognised as cost. Appropriate allocation of such items takes place upon receipt of the document; in subsequent periods, we only approve the posting, and the system reminds us to do it.

• We automated recurring administrative payments by generating PDF files based on data previously stored in an Excel table.

The Group’s entities for which we implemented the SAP software have a rather specific way of operating. They receive administrative decisions according to which they pay annual fees (these give rise to a cost and payment obligation in the same amount every year, usually over a period of 10 years). Previously, such information was collected in an Excel table, and, for instance, it was about 1000 items in 2019 alone. Thanks to our internal IT team, in 2020 we generated documents on this basis, and then these documents were paid and posted. The fees were generated automatically according to the adopted process: each line from MS Excel was converted into a document in PDF format; scanned documents went through the approval path, and then transfers were created, also in an automated manner.

There were also other solutions introduced in the SAP B1 system to avoid collecting data in separate files. On the basis of the decision, a periodic document is created, and the system reminds about paying and posting a given item every year. Posting is partially automated in this case. Upon receipt, the document is allocated and other necessary parameters are filled out.

Improvement in management reporting for the Group

During the implementation project, our attention was also focused on meeting individual and Group-specific management reporting needs. In order to meet the Client’s expectations, we customised our accounting system by, i.a.:

• creating an individual chart of accounts,
• implementation of additional tags to generate data fulfilling the Client’s expectations and needs.

We also suggested the implementation of a dedicated report for the purposes of the company’s tangible fixed assets, which are mostly structures located throughout the country. Drafting dozens of declarations would certainly be a cumbersome task. However, the above report makes it possible to divide tangible fixed assets into particular areas and categories, and all that needs to be done is basically to rewrite the data into the appropriate fields of the relevant declaration.

Not only SAP Business One

Although the Client’s need was related specifically to the indicated system, similar improvements are possible on the basis of other financial and accounting programmes. This applies, among others, to popular software like Comarch (ERP, Optima), RAKS SQL, Symfonia (Forte) or Oracle Hyperion.

Such efficient customisation of the accounting services offered by MDDP Outsourcing is possible due to the active role played by our internal IT department, which supervises the correct implementation and configuration of systems, and strives to use their full potential.

Feel welcome to enquire our experts in the Warsaw and Katowice accounting offices of MDDP Outsourcing about the range and pricing of services related to group management reporting.