A Rapid-Response Solution to a Global Property Consultancy’s Rising Demand

A leading UK bank faced a recurring challenge in managing their annual VAT invoices. These invoices, auto-generated by their billing system, were historically printed and then manually scanned back into PDF format to be sent to clients. This process was not only resource-intensive but also became increasingly burdensome as the bank’s loan book expanded. The inefficiency was further compounded by delays in processing new business and the necessity of considerable overtime expenses to manage the workload. 

As the UK bank continued to grow, the annual VAT invoice management process became unsustainable. This year, the bank anticipated the need to handle over 22,000 individual invoices, which would have placed significant strain on resources. The manual process was time-consuming and led to delays in client communication, resulting in a less-than-optimal customer experience.

Recognizing the severity of the issue, the bank quickly mobilized its automation team to collaborate with business SMEs (Subject Matter Experts). Within approximately eight weeks, the team developed an AI-driven solution that completely transformed the way the bank handled VAT invoices.

The AI solution was designed to:

• Automatically download and file all relevant invoices to the appropriate customer files.
• Compress and organize these invoices into smaller, manageable folders that could be automatically distributed to clients.

Results: The impact of the AI solution was immediate and significant:

• Over a single weekend, the AI successfully downloaded and saved all 22,000 files without any manual intervention.
• The automation eliminated the need for overtime and reduced the potential for delays in processing new business.
• Clients received their invoices in a timely manner, improving their experience with the bank.

This automated process is now a replicable annual solution, promising enormous time savings in the years to come. By embracing AI, the UK bank has significantly improved its operational efficiency and customer service, ensuring that as the bank continues to grow, it can do so without being hampered by legacy processes.