Developing and Launching Enterprise Finance Automation for a Leading Australian Manufacturing and Distribution Group

NetSuite integration, OCR-driven AP, bank reconciliation, remittance workflows, vendor bills, payroll automation, and measurable FTE savings—built for ROI, control, and security.

Enterprise finance automation is rarely about “adding software.” It’s about removing friction from workflows that quietly drain capacity, create risk, and slow decisions: vendor bills, bank statements, reconciliations, remittances, and payroll cycles.

This project was delivered for a long-established Australian group operating nationally across manufacturing and distribution. The mandate was direct: build an automation layer on top of core finance operations, tightly integrated with NetSuite, and designed for enterprise expectations—auditability, security posture, reliability, and measurable ROI.

The enterprise problem: operational complexity shows up in finance

At enterprise scale, finance becomes the convergence point for everything the business does:

• Thousands of vendor bills and supporting documents

• Multiple bank accounts and bank statement formats

• Remittances that must be consistent and traceable

• Payroll cycles with strict timing and control requirements

• Continuous reconciliation pressure (not only month-end)

• Governance expectations: approvals, evidence, separation of duties

Even with a capable finance team, bottlenecks are predictable:

• manual data entry from PDFs and email attachments

• spreadsheet-based matching and exception tracking

• slow exception resolution due to missing context or evidence

• inconsistent approvals and limited audit trails

• delays that impact cash planning and supplier relationships

The business didn’t need another “system.” It needed a workflow engine that turned these activities into a controlled, repeatable process.

What enterprise stakeholders needed (and why it shaped our design)

Finance leadership wanted:

• faster cycle times and lower cost-to-serve

• fewer errors and fewer surprises

• measurable ROI expressed in FTE capacity returned to the business

IT and Security wanted:

• least-privilege access and role separation

• secure data handling and clear environment separation

• monitoring, logging, and operational readiness

Audit and Compliance wanted:

• traceable approvals and immutable logs

• evidence retention and consistent control execution

• clear change management and accountability

These requirements are why we built the platform as an enterprise product: secure by design, observable, and auditable by default.

What we built: an automation platform around the finance lifecycle

The solution was structured as modular components that could be rolled out safely and expanded over time.

1) NetSuite integration layer

NetSuite was the system of record, so automation had to integrate cleanly and reliably. We implemented a connector pattern for:

• vendor and account structures

• bill creation and updates

• payment and remittance metadata

• reconciliation status updates and reporting outputs

2) OCR component for document-driven workflows

A significant share of finance operations arrives as PDFs and email attachments. We built an OCR-driven intake pipeline that:

• ingests documents (vendor bills, statements, remittances)

• extracts key fields and validates them against business rules

• routes exceptions to the right owner with original evidence attached

This reduced manual re-keying while preserving human review where needed.

3) Vendor bills automation

We automated the end-to-end vendor bill workflow:

• capture → extract → validate → approve → create in ERP

• duplicate checks, threshold rules, mandatory field enforcement

• exception queues with ownership, SLA visibility, and resolution history

4) Bank statements ingestion and reconciliation engine

Bank reconciliation is where enterprises quietly lose capacity—especially across multiple accounts and entities.

We built:

• bank statement ingestion and normalization across formats

• matching logic for transactions vs. expected activity

• exception handling for partial matches, missing references, and timing gaps

• audit trails for every action, including approvals and adjustments

5) Remittance workflow automation

We implemented remittance automation that:

• generates consistent remittance outputs

• links payments to vendor bills and evidence

• provides traceability for “what was paid, when, and why”

6) Payroll automation

Payroll is high-risk and time-sensitive. We automated critical workflow steps:

• structured intake and validation

• approval flows aligned to enterprise controls

• reconciliation outputs for finance review

7) Automation components designed to drive FTE efficiency

Instead of positioning ROI as a vague “time saving,” we built the system to make capacity gains measurable:

• standardized steps that can be counted and benchmarked

• exception categories and resolution timing metrics

• workflow throughput dashboards (volume handled per period)

• reduction of rework loops through validation rules and evidence linking

This is how enterprises translate automation into a clear benefit: FTE capacity returned, not only “hours saved.”

Milestone timeline: how we delivered without disrupting operations

Phase 1 — Discovery and controls blueprint

We mapped the finance lifecycle end-to-end and formalized:

• sources of truth and data ownership

• approval requirements and role separation

• exception categories and routing

• evidence expectations for audits

Phase 2 — OCR + vendor bills (first measurable ROI)

We launched the OCR intake and vendor bills workflow first because it immediately reduced manual handling and improved consistency.

Phase 3 — Bank statements + reconciliation

Next came bank statement ingestion and reconciliation, designed for high volume and repeatability.

Phase 4 — Remittance automation

We standardized remittance workflows to reduce supplier friction and eliminate manual variation.

Phase 5 — Payroll automation

We extended the platform into payroll-related finance workflows with enterprise-grade controls.

Phase 6 — Ongoing expansion of automation components

We continued expanding automation across adjacent processes, focusing on measurable throughput and exception reduction.

The technology stack (enterprise-ready and maintainable)

• TypeScript / JavaScript

• React (frontend)

• Node.js (backend)

• AWS (cloud infrastructure and deployment patterns)

• PostgreSQL (data layer)

• LLM-assisted components where they materially reduced manual work

The emphasis wasn’t only the stack—it was the operating characteristics: reliability, auditability, and controlled evolution.

Security and operational readiness (what enterprises actually evaluate)

• role-based access and least privilege

• encryption in transit and at rest

• audit logs for critical actions and approvals

• monitoring and alerting for production reliability

• environment separation and disciplined release processes

• evidence retention aligned to audit needs

This reduced procurement friction and made the platform safe to scale across teams.

Outcomes that mattered: ROI, control, and confidence

We don’t publish generic “90% savings” claims. Success was measured in enterprise terms:

• reduced manual entry and fewer spreadsheet dependencies

• faster reconciliation cycles and fewer unresolved exceptions

• improved traceability across bills, payments, remittances, and approvals

• stronger consistency in payroll-related workflows

• measurable FTE capacity returned via higher throughput and fewer rework loops

• reduced operational risk and better confidence in finance outputs

For enterprise leaders, this is ROI: lower cost-to-run finance operations, faster cycles, fewer errors, and less audit friction—backed by measurable FTE impact.