Campus Condorcet, a leading research hub supporting eleven academic and scientific institutions, was struggling with a growing volume of supplier invoices and a heavily manual accounts payable process. With only two full-time employees managing approximately 500 invoices per month, the finance team faced time-consuming administrative work, delayed approvals, and increasing supplier complaints due to late payments and limited visibility into invoice status.
By implementing invoice automation through Symtrax’s Compleo Invoice Platform (CIP), Campus Condorcet transformed its AP operations, cutting processing times by 50%, eliminating repetitive tasks, and improving supplier relationships through faster, more transparent payment workflows. Discover how seamless integration with SAP and Chorus Pro helped the organization modernize invoice management, improve efficiency, and free finance teams to focus on higher-value work.
With a small administrative team, they faced a complex and time-consuming workload, particularly because of:
- A high volume of low-value invoices for book acquisitions for the research library, building maintenance, and operating expenses.
- Construction work invoices, some of which could reach several million euros.
On average, the accounting team had to process 500 invoices per month, representing a real organizational challenge with only two full-time equivalents (FTEs) dedicated to this activity.
Initial Situation: A Manual, Laborious, and Time-Consuming Invoice Management Process
The entire workflow was manual, creating several repetitive and low-value tasks:
- Download invoices from the public Chorus Pro portal.
- Copy and save invoices into supplier folders.
- Manual entry of data into the ERP system (SAP/SIFAC).
- Verify and reconcile data between Chorus Pro and SIFAC using Excel exports.
“We spent a significant amount of time retrieving invoices from Chorus Pro, renaming them, filing them, and re-entering them in SAP. It was tedious and error prone”. – Lalatiana Ramahaimanana, Accountant.
Impact on Supplier Relationships
Because of the slow pace of manual processes and the lack of visibility on payment status, the organization faced several challenges, resulting in:
- Delays and even missed invoices.
- Frequent supplier complaints and strained relationships.
- Financial penalties due to late payments.
On average, the finance department had to deal with these disputes twice a week.
- High volume of low-value or small invoices
- Time-consuming manual invoice processing
- Inefficient follow-up and approval tracking
- Late payments resulting in supplier complaints and dissatisfaction
Choosing Symtrax and Compleo Invoice Platform (CIP)
Faced with these challenges, Campus Condorcet decided to automate its accounting operations by deploying Symtrax’s Compleo Invoice Platform (CIP). Factors that led to the decision are:
- Quick deployment: Symtrax deployed the solution in just 1.5 months, a major advantage for an institution looking to resolve its invoice management problems quickly.
- Interoperability with Chorus Pro and SAP: Thanks to CIP for its connection with Chorus Pro, it retrieves, analyzes, and integrates invoices directly into the ERP.
“What impressed me the most was how quickly we were able to connect Chorus Pro and CIP. It was a collective achievement.” – Antoine Astorg, CFO, Campus Condorcet
Thanks to this multiple interconnection, the accounting team no longer had to handle each invoice individually. Today, around 15 people at Campus Condorcet use the solution, including accounting managers and approvers of payments and service completion records.
- Tailored support: Symtrax’s proactive approach during both pre-sales and customer service stages helped precisely identify the institution’s needs. This personalized approach ensures consistent and effective support throughout the project.
“The support was a real advantage. The Symtrax team was attentive and responsive at every stage.” – Antoine Astorg
Supplier Invoice Management: Concrete and immediate benefits
Implementing CIP has significantly transformed supplier invoice management at Campus Condorcet. By automating the receipt of invoices from an electronic portal and enabling the direct processing of electronic invoices, CIP has delivered substantial improvements at multiple levels:
- Significant time savings.
- 50% reduction in processing time for simple invoices.
- Elimination of repetitive tasks, enabling the accounting team to focus on more complex, value-driven tasks.
“The time spent on 20-euro invoices was at least 20 minutes. Today, some steps have been eliminated completely.” – Antoine Astorg
- Automated checks:
- Automatic detection of errors and inconsistencies.
- Instant alerts in case of anomalies, avoiding corrections and delays
- Intuitive and centralized interface:
- Quick access to invoices and key information (mandatory fields, suppliers, banking details).
- Centralized data eliminates time-consuming searches through Excel files and emails: everything is now available in just a few clicks.
- Real-time monitoring and improved traceability:
- A dashboard offering complete, real-time visibility of payment progress
- Enhanced traceability strengthens internal control and limits missed or processing delays.
“I use Compleo every day, and it has truly changed my routine. Everything is now centralized and smooth. I couldn’t go back.”– Lalatiana Ramahaimanana, Accountant
- Improved financial management and simplified communication:
- Better anticipation of due dates and optimized payment planning.
- Automated reminders reduce the administrative workload of supplier follow-ups.
- Fewer internal email exchanges thanks to automated alerts and notifications sent directly to users.
- Improved collaboration between the finance teams and other departments due to streamlined processes.
Overall impact
Overall, the implementation of CIP has enabled:
- Faster, more reliable, and less burdensome processes, allowing teams to focus on higher-value, strategic tasks.
- Improved supplier relationships thanks to better visibility into payments and fewer delays. Campus Condorcet is thus strengthening its image as a reliable and responsive partner to its suppliers.
“Since we started using CIP, we’ve gone from two supplier complaints per week to zero.” – Antoine Astorg, CFO
Future growth prospects
Following the successful automation of supplier invoice processing, Campus Condorcet plans to extend the use of Compleo to other areas, including digital signatures and archiving, to further boost the efficiency of its financial and administrative operations.
In summary, the Campus Condorcet has transitioned from a labor-intensive, manual process to an automated, dependable, and effective system.
“I’m more motivated to do my work with this tool. Compleo has brought simplicity, practicality, and reliability. It’s a miracle for me… I didn’t expect such progress.” – Lalatiana Ramahaimanana, Accountant
