Efficiency Through Automation – Managing Incoming Invoices Smartly

“And then suddenly, the pandemic hit,” says Daniëlle. This was the catalyst for change. “Normally, an invoice comes in, goes to the person who needs to review and approve it, and then to the accounting department to be paid. As long as managers were in the office, that traditional process worked just fine. But during the pandemic, invoices sat around longer. They were paid late because the process required all sorts of manual steps, such as scanning, emailing them to remote workers, and even following up by phone for approval. That wasn’t how we, as a service-oriented organization, wanted to operate.” The incoming invoice process needed to be automated, made more flexible, and designed more intelligently.

Tamoil operates 230 gas stations in the Netherlands, approximately 80% of which are unmanned pumps. “That’s why our administrative processes are centralized, and we simply can’t afford any payment errors.” The energy transition was also a catalyst for improving the process for handling incoming invoices. Tamoil is investing heavily in sustainability, which generates additional and new invoice streams—for example, from its technical service department, which now also maintains electrical installations. Daniëlle continues: “Our organization is purchasing more and more goods and services, such as marketing promotions, cleaning services, customer apps, maintenance supplies, and much more. With a team of eight administrative staff, this created an ever-increasing workload, while we needed to be ready for the future.”

Tamoil held discussions with Roberto van den Heuvel (Business Consultant – OneXillium), following an earlier conversation about document management with the parent company, Oilinvest Group. “We decided to automate all our incoming invoices and the associated authorization processes using OneXillium’s Xtendis solution. The deciding factor was its integration with Lodder Software, which automates administrative and logistical processes for gas stations. The Xtendis software has access to that software’s database, where customer numbers, cost centers, bank account numbers, and VAT numbers are automatically verified and checked.”

The solution provided not only makes administration easier and more straightforward, but also benefits all managers with signing authority. Marjan Rozemeijer, Head of Marketing at Tamoil, had this to say: “Nowadays, I can view all invoices by supplier, cost center, or date in a single centralized solution. That’s great because it gives me a complete overview and control over all my marketing expenses. In addition, I can approve invoices while on the go or at home, as long as I have a VPN connection. Another feature I appreciate is that the system sends me a reminder when a new invoice is ready, so we can always process it on time.”

According to Daniëlle and Marjan, the words that best describe the solution provided are: greater clarity, ease of use, and speed of payments. Opportunities have also been created to make administrative work more appealing. Daniëlle says: “Time has been freed up for administrative colleagues to help develop new business models. The world of charging stations, for example, is completely different from the world of gas stations. Tamoil offers customers sustainable fuels and electric charging at an increasing number of locations. This will undoubtedly generate new invoice flows, and if we need extra help with that, setting up a meeting with Roberto is a breeze.”