Client Overview: Renowned Distributor in the U.S. Industrial Piping Industry

The client is a prominent U.S.-based distributor of industrial piping systems and supports a wide range of sectors through its 60+ branches nationwide. The company has been operating for nearly 60 years and is well known for its vast technical expertise and reliable service. It offers high-purity solutions, corrosion-proof systems, fluid filtration, instrumentation, valve automation, and fiberglass-reinforced plastic systems. The company is a highly respected name in industrial supply chains due to its competent workforce that works closely with clients on complex and critical projects.

Business Requirement: Streamline Support and Improve Order Management Efficiency

The client faced growing pressure to manage a large volume of daily financial transactions across multiple systems and teams. With expanding operations and increased M&A activity, their internal finance staff struggled to keep pace with payment posting, invoice classification, and account reconciliation. Delays in processing, backlogs in collections, and mounting vendor coordination tasks began to affect overall financial accuracy and operational efficiency.They needed a partner who could:

• Accurately process and classify a high volume of daily invoices.
• Manage payment postings and remittance matching across various platforms.
• Handle AR follow-ups, customer inquiries, and tax discrepancy resolutions.
• Scale quickly to support growing transaction complexity and operational load.
• Provide consistent reporting and coordination with internal finance leadership.

Challenges: Rising Call Volumes and In-House Bandwidth Constraints

Pressure on the client's finance operations, especially Accounts Payable (AP) and Accounts Receivable (AR), increased as its national reach grew. Overseeing large numbers of transactions on several platforms became a daily task. Specific issues included:

• Invoice Volume and Categorization

  • 150–200 invoices in the parking lot every day, requiring error resolution
  • 100–150 invoices needing classification via the PNC portal
  • 200–250 invoices manually processed from BNR reports

• Cash Application and Payment Processing

  • 120–140 payments matched daily through Billtrust
  • 500–600 customer payments posted daily in Prelude
  • 10–15 daily credit reference requests needing urgent attention

• AR and Customer Support Workload

  • 250–300 invoice follow-ups daily for payment status
  • 100–150 customer service emails per day
  • Frequent red-letter issuance due to discrepancies in tax, freight, or discounts

• Sales Tax Disputes

  • 25–30 daily sales tax dispute emails needing validation and resolution

• Vendor Communication Management

  • 10–15 vendor emails daily concerning onboarding and compliance

Turnaround times and internal bandwidth were hampered by bottlenecks and inefficiencies brought about by the manual workload, disjointed systems, and increasing transaction volume.

Our Solution

Outsource2india deployed a multi-skilled financial operations team to support the client's AP and AR functions with accuracy, speed, and scale. Key aspects of our solution included:

• Vendor Invoice Review and Processing

  • All incoming invoices are reviewed daily for discrepancies.
  • 98% of discrepancies are resolved without requiring client intervention.
  • 200–220 invoices are processed daily with 98% accuracy.

• Invoice Classification and Categorization

  • Invoices are classified and categorized within 4–5 hours each day.
  • The process consistently maintains a 95% accuracy rate.

• Cash Application and Payment Posting

  • 120–140 payments are matched to remittances daily with 95% accuracy.
  • 500–600 customer payments are posted in real time, ensuring account visibility and accurate reconciliation.

• Accounts Receivable Follow-Up and Discrepancy Handling

  • 250–300 accounts are monitored and followed up on daily for payment status.
  • Discrepancies such as short payments (due to tax, freight, or discounts) are flagged and escalated to sales or credit teams.
  • Red letters are issued promptly to resolve account-level issues.

• Weekly AR Aging Coordination

  Weekly meetings with the client’s credit supervisor ensure:

  • Timely updates to aging reports
  • Accurate tracking of overdue accounts
  • Proactive resolution of outstanding balances

• Sales Tax Management

  • 25–30 sales tax-related cases are handled daily.
  • Activities include certificate validation, account classification, and resolution of tax discrepancies.

• Vendor Management

  • Daily vendor-related emails are managed efficiently.
  • Tasks include onboarding coordination, monthly reconciliations, and query resolution.
  • Processes are designed to ensure accounting accuracy and vendor compliance.

Results: Tangible Improvements Across the Finance Function

1. Lower Internal Workload

   • Repetitive, high-volume tasks offloaded to Outsource2india's team
   • Freed up internal staff to focus on more strategic activities

2. Faster Processing Times

   • Improved turnaround time for both invoice processing and payment posting
   • Significant reduction in processing backlogs

3. Better Accuracy in Customer Accounts

   • Accurate and timely remittance matching
   • Improved transparency and communication with customers

4. Improved Operational Scalability

   • Started with one bookkeeper and scaled to a 10-member team
   • Included bookkeepers, junior accountants, and senior accountants to manage increasing M&A-driven workload

5. More Reliable Financial Operations

   • Enhanced system integration and consistent delivery
   • Greater focus on strategic financial planning and analysis for the client’s internal teams

The Bottomline

By working with Outsource2india, the customer scaled back-office operations and removed financial bottlenecks without straining internal workers. With a dedicated offshore team handling everything from invoice processing and payment posting to AR follow-ups and vendor coordination, the client achieved greater efficiency, faster turnaround times, and improved financial accuracy. Our ability to integrate seamlessly with their systems ensured minimal disruption and maximum transparency throughout the engagement.

Looking to optimize costs and improve operational efficiency? Contact us today and let our finance experts confidently streamline your accounting operations.