The client is a national labor union whose members work across hospital systems, long-term care, property services, and public services, and which supports allied political organizations through grassroots campaigns and targeted donations. Its Political Check Request process ran on paper: accounting staff physically walked checks from approver to approver, and the invoices, approvals, and backup documentation sat in large physical cabinets. i3solutions replaced that process with a paperless approval and archival system on Microsoft SharePoint and InfoPath, pairing workflow automation with the SharePoint development work behind it. Requests are submitted on a web-based Check Request Form in the union’s SharePoint portal, routed automatically through each stage of the approval process, and on final approval the system alerts the accounting department to generate the check. Check requests, transmittal letters, and supporting documents are stored and indexed in SharePoint document libraries, so accounting personnel search for a record instead of walking to a filing cabinet, and every request leaves a digital audit trail.
Transforming Manual Accounting with Digital Workflow Automation
Case Study
Transforming Manual Accounting with
Digital Workflow Automation
The Customer
And Their Challenge
The client is a national labor union uniting workers across hospital systems, long-term care, property services, and public services. As part of its mission, the union supports allied political organizations through grassroots campaigns and targeted donations. To manage these efforts, the union relies on a streamlined financial process to issue and track check requests and donations efficiently.
However, the organization’s Political Check Request process was highly manual and inefficient. The process involved multiple stages where accounting staff physically walked checks to various approvers, causing delays and increasing the likelihood of human errors. Compounding the issue, all supporting documents, invoices, and approvals were stored in large physical cabinets, making it difficult and time-consuming for staff to search for backup documentation. The union recognized the need for a paperless solution that could automate approvals, eliminate errors, and provide centralized digital storage for all documents.
The Solution
i3solutions developed a robust, automated workflow and archival system tailored to the union’s needs using SharePoint and Microsoft InfoPath. At the heart of the solution is a web-based Check Request Form, designed using InfoPath and accessible through the union’s SharePoint portal. This form allows users to submit check requests electronically, eliminating the need for physical forms. Once submitted, the system automatically routes the request through each stage of the approval process, gathering necessary approvals or rejections along the way. Upon final approval, the system alerts the accounting department to generate the check.
To address the union’s document management needs, i3solutions created a series of document libraries within SharePoint to serve as a centralized digital repository. The libraries store electronic copies of check requests, transmittal letters, and backup documentation, making all records easily searchable and retrievable. The indexing functionality within SharePoint ensures that accounting personnel can access the information they need quickly, reducing the time spent searching for documents and improving overall productivity. By eliminating the manual handling of paperwork and ensuring data accuracy, the solution effectively modernizes the union’s accounting operations.
Technologies
Used in the Solution
SharePoint serves as the central platform for the union’s automated workflow and document management system, providing a centralized repository for storing, indexing, and retrieving check requests, transmittal letters, and supporting documentation.
InfoPath powers the web-based Check Request Form, enabling users to electronically submit, route, and track approvals while integrating seamlessly with the SharePoint-based workflow to automate and streamline the entire approval process.
Measurable Benefits
and Business Impact
Automated and streamlined
check request process
Replaced the manual, paper-based check request system with a fully automated electronic process, allowing faster approvals and check generation.
Centralized and searchable
document repository
Replaced physical filing cabinets with a consolidated digital library that enables accounting personnel to quickly search, access, and retrieve supporting documents.
Enhanced accountability with
a digital audit trail
The system provides a comprehensive paper trail for all check requests, making it easier to trace and monitor account activities and approvals.
Reduced errors through automation
Eliminated human errors associated with manual approvals and document handling, improving the accuracy of financial transactions.
Improved efficiency and time savings
Dramatically reduced the time required to process check requests by automating workflows and centralizing document access.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the union’s check request process look like before the automation?
It was highly manual and ran through multiple stages. Accounting staff physically walked each check to the various approvers, which caused delays and increased the likelihood of human errors, and all supporting documents, invoices, and approvals were stored in large physical cabinets, so staff searched those cabinets by hand whenever backup documentation was needed.
How does the automated approval routing work?
Staff submit a web-based Check Request Form, designed in InfoPath and reached through the union’s SharePoint portal, instead of a physical form. The system then routes the request through each stage of the approval process, gathering the approvals or rejections along the way, and on final approval it alerts the accounting department to generate the check.
Where do the supporting documents live now?
In a series of SharePoint document libraries that act as one centralized digital repository, holding electronic copies of check requests, transmittal letters, and backup documentation. SharePoint indexing makes those records searchable and retrievable, so accounting personnel find what they need quickly rather than searching physical files.
Can we trace who approved a payment?
Yes. Each request is submitted electronically and routed through every stage of the approval process, and the system records the approvals or rejections it collects, alongside the check request, transmittal letter, and backup documentation held in SharePoint. That paper trail covers all check requests, which makes account activities and approvals easier to trace and monitor.
If approval steps in your organization still move on paper, the cost usually shows up in two places: requests waiting on someone’s desk for a signature, and backup documentation nobody can find later. A first conversation covers how your current approval chain actually runs today, which stages can be routed and tracked automatically, and where the supporting documents should be stored and indexed so they stay searchable. You leave with a written description of the process as it stands and the specific automation steps it needs, which is what your finance and IT approvers will want in hand before your committee agrees to fund a change. Start the conversation
Ask anyone in accounting where a pending approval is and the honest answer is usually on somebody’s desk, which is also why it stops moving when that person is out. A senior workflow architect will trace one of your own approval chains and show where routing, reminders, and supporting documents can live together.
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