Process automation case study using the ROI-FIRST approach
Invoice Filing & Approval for Payment
Industry
Business Services
Date
Aug 24, 2026
Recommendation
✅ Automate
Time saved
De 31 min a 9 min por factura
ROI Automation, recommendation and costs
COP
currency $:
Level of Automation | % Automation | Cases x Month | Time x Case (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
High - structured digital approval routing, automatic notifications, SLA enforcement, real-time dashboard, and full audit trail per invoice | 70 | 132 | 0.525 |
Personas Involucradas | Nivel de Cargo Promedio | Average Monthly Salary | Real Company Cost with Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
4 | Mixed: General Manager/Director (Level 1), Senior Head (Level 2), Coordinator/Supervisor (Level 3), Assistant/Operator (Level 6) | 6.031.250 | 9.247.591 |
Monthly Operational Cost | Annual Operational Cost | Estimated Monthly Savings |
|---|---|---|
4.292.310 | 51.507.718 | 3.004.617 |
Estimated Annual Savings | Year 1 Investment | Net Benefit Year 1 |
|---|---|---|
36.055.403 | 10.228.950 | 25.826.453 |
Cumulative Net Benefit 3 Years | FTE Equivalente Liberado |
|---|---|
79.577.259 | 0.41 |
Power in Numbers
253
ROI Year 1 (%)
3.4
Payback (months)
3.5
Cost/Benefit ratio
✅ Automate
70% of the process is automatable. The current model consumes 69.3 hours per month across 4 roles - from General Manager to Assistant - all spent on cascaded approvals routed through WhatsApp, email, and verbal requests with no audit trail. A single invoice takes 2 full days to complete a cycle that, once automated, runs in hours with zero manual follow-up. The financial case is clear: COP $36,055,403 in annual savings against a COP $10,228,950 Year 1 investment yields a 253% ROI with a 3.4-month payback. Beyond the numbers, the risk being eliminated is real: today there is no formal record of who approved each invoice, when, or at what stage - a direct compliance and fraud exposure that automation resolves with an immutable audit trail.
Signs of inefficiency detected
132 invoices per month approved via email, WhatsApp, and verbal communication - no formal record. No visibility into invoice status: teams must ask manually at each level. 2-day cycle time per invoice with no SLA defined per approval level. No alerts when payment deadlines approach - late fees and financial penalties are a direct risk. Critical dependency on 4 roles including General Manager, whose availability becomes a process bottleneck. No audit trail: no record of who approved what invoice or when. Risk of lost or duplicate invoices in the approval chain. Parallel inefficiencies identified in HR flows (vacation requests, payroll novelties, employment certificates) and continuous improvement actions - all managed manually.