Invoicing
Each customer has its own format and approval path. Your team rebuilds the same information into different templates, then chases approvals through different channels.
/01 · Executive summary
Start where the manual load is highest.
What we heard
Invoicing is the biggest manual load. Every customer has its own format and approval path, and rework and rejections push cash out further.
Where we start
Invoicing is repetitive, measurable and independent of the ERP decision.
First engagement
Two weeks of discovery, with a written process map, quantified opportunity assessment and scoped plan.
$2,500 USD · 2 weeks
Credited in full against any work that follows.
/02 · What we heard
Three operating realities.
Inventory
Inventory sits in Fishbowl, and the specific bottlenecks live with Jackie.
ERP
An ERP move is coming once Jason is in the seat, likely NetSuite or Oracle.
/03 · Invoicing automation
What automation handles.
| Capability | What it does |
|---|---|
| Data collection | Pulls job, material, labor and freight data from QuickBooks and Fishbowl. |
| Customer rules | Applies each customer's format, field mapping and backup documentation rules automatically. |
| Output | Produces the right output per account, whether that is a formatted PDF, an email package or a portal submission for OpenInvoice, Cortex, Ariba or Coupa. |
| Validation | Validates against that customer's rejection rules before anything leaves your building. |
| Status | Tracks approval status in one view so nobody has to call to find out where an invoice sits. |
| Human review | Routes anything the system is not confident about to a person rather than guessing. |
Business outcomes
- Invoice preparation shifts from hours of assembly to minutes of review.
- First-pass acceptance goes up, which pulls DSO down.
- Rework disappears from your team's week.
- You can see the position of every open invoice across every customer without asking anyone.
/04 · Inventory
The second target.
Based on what we see in fabrication shops running Fishbowl, the usual wins are real-time allocated versus available stock, reorder points rebuilt from actual consumption rather than settings nobody has touched in years, and forward demand signal on long-lead material tied to the job pipeline.
We are not going to claim more than that before Jackie walks us through the day to day.
/05 · ERP transition
The logic stays. The connector changes.
We build the automation as a layer that reads from and writes to your system of record. Today that is QuickBooks and Fishbowl. If Jason selects NetSuite, Oracle or something else, the connector changes and the logic stays.
Nothing gets thrown away
The customer-specific invoicing requirements are solved outside the ERP rather than becoming custom development inside it.
Independent technical input
We are happy to sit in on evaluation calls with Jason as a technical second opinion. We do not resell NetSuite or Oracle and take no vendor commission.
/06 · How we start
Prove the approach before a larger build.
Start here
Step 1 · Discovery
$2,500 USD
Two weeks. Credited in full against any work that follows.
- Working sessions with Andrew and Jackie, and Jason once settled
- Map invoicing across top accounts
- Review QuickBooks and Fishbowl structures
- Quantify volume, hours and rejection rates
- Written process map, quantified assessment and scoped plan
Step 2 · Prototype
Under $10,000 USD
A working proof of concept against one or two real customer invoice formats, using your actual data.
- Your team can run an invoice through it
- Proves the approach on your workflows
- Creates a concrete basis to decide whether to expand
Step 3 · Full build
Scoped after prototype
Scoped and priced only when we both know exactly what we are building and what it is worth.
- No number before the prototype
- Scope based on proven workflows
- Decision after your team tests the proof of concept
Discovery assumptions
- Read-only or sandbox access to QuickBooks and Fishbowl
- Roughly six to eight hours total from Andrew, Jackie and Jason across the discovery period
- Sample invoices, format requirements and portal details for top accounts by volume
If you stop after discovery
- You keep the written process map
- You keep the quantified opportunity assessment
- You keep the scoped automation plan
- Jason can take the requirements documentation into the ERP evaluation
/07 · Timeline
From discovery to a tested prototype.
Weeks 1 to 2
Discovery sessions and process mapping
Week 3
Findings, quantified opportunity and prototype scope
Weeks 4 to 7
Prototype build and hand-off for your team to test
Week 8 onward
Decision on scope and pricing for full build
/08 · Why Webisoft
Automation experience for industrial systems.
Document automation
Document generation and approval automation is a core practice for us, not a first attempt.
Integration experience
We have built automation on top of QuickBooks, NetSuite, Epicor, Business Central, Vista and AS400.
Onshore in Canada
Montreal-based, roughly forty engineers, all onshore in Canada. No offshore subcontracting.
Industrial manufacturers and distributors are a primary market for us. If we move forward, we will run the AI workshop discussed for your broader team at no charge.
/09 · Next steps
Confirm the two-week discovery engagement.
$2,500 USD · credited in full against any work that follows
- Confirm the two-week discovery engagement
- Introduce Webisoft to Jackie
- Loop in Jason when he is ready
- Schedule an Odoo demo session if you still want the reference point