Highways contractor Pavenet adopts CausewayOne e-Invoicing

Road and highways maintenance specialist Pavenet is implementing e-Invoicing technology to help reduce final account settlement periods from around two months to just 30 days while improving commercial visibility and forecasting accuracy across its projects.

Why do missing supplier invoices delay final accounts?

As the business has grown, managing and reconciling supplier invoices across multiple contracts has become increasingly time consuming. Delays in locating invoices, matching costs to projects and obtaining approvals can affect the speed at which final accounts are agreed and closed out.

One digital workflow from supplier invoice to payment 

To address this challenge, Pavenet has selected CausewayOne e-Invoicing that will automate invoice receipt, validation and processing, providing a single digital workflow from supplier submission through to approval and payment.

Managing Director Lee Powell explained: "Supplier invoices are one of the most important elements of project cost control. If invoices are missing or delayed, it can impact forecasting, payment processing and the speed at which final accounts are settled."

"There have been occasions where we've discovered four or five invoices that hadn't been received or processed, meaning costs were not reflected in project accounts at the right time. The new system will give us much greater visibility and confidence that everything has been captured."

Lee Powell, MD of Pavenet

The business works with a diverse supply chain that includes materials providers, specialist subcontractors and service companies, supporting clients such as M Group, Volker Highways and Bridges Electrical.

CausewayOne e-Invoicing is expected to deliver benefits beyond faster invoice processing. By ensuring supplier costs are captured in real time, project teams will gain more accurate monthly cost reporting and forecasting, helping managers make informed commercial decisions throughout the life of a contract.

Lee Powell continued: "At the moment, invoice approvals are managed through a combination of emails, manual checks and accounting processes. While that works, it can take time to track progress and identify outstanding items.

"By digitising the process, we'll have far better visibility of supplier commitments and project costs. That will improve forecasting and help us reach our goal of settling final accounts within 30 days wherever possible."

Lee Powell, MD of Pavenet

The implementation will also support the company's wider digital transformation strategy by improving auditability, strengthening document control and reducing administrative effort across the finance and commercial teams.

In addition, the enhanced visibility of supplier expenditure will support Pavenet's sustainability reporting requirements by making it easier to collect and analyse supply-chain data, including information used for carbon accounting and environmental reporting.

Pavenet has consistently met client expectations for final account settlement and sees the new system as an opportunity to further improve performance, strengthen supplier relationships and enhance cash-flow management.

The company expects CausewayOne e-Invoicing to provide:

• Faster capture and processing of supplier invoices.

• Improved monthly cost reporting and forecasting.

• Reduced risk of missing or delayed invoices.

• Enhanced approval tracking and audit trails.

• Better visibility of project costs and supplier commitments.

• Improved data collection for sustainability and carbon reporting.

• A reduction in final account settlement periods from approximately 60 days to a target of 30 days.

How does two-way PO matching work in e-Invoicing?

CausewayOne e-Invoicing lets connected suppliers send invoices electronically as structured data, reducing reliance on scanned paper and emailed PDFs. Each invoice then follows five steps:

1. Receive: connected suppliers submit the invoice electronically as structured data.

2. Validate: each invoice is checked automatically against agreed business rules, including checks for duplicates.

3. Match: invoices are matched against purchase orders on a two-way basis.

4. Resolve: anything that does not match is either routed for approval or returned to the supplier with the reason stated.

5. Post: matched invoices flow into Sage Professional without re-keying.

Connecting suppliers is often the hardest part of an e-invoicing rollout. Causeway’s supplier network already includes more than 60,000 suppliers, and Causeway’s experience is that around 60% of a contractor’s supply chain is typically connected from the outset. A community management team works with the remaining suppliers and keeps them engaged after onboarding. Several of Pavenet’s larger suppliers already invoice electronically, and others are moving as their systems allow.

From 60 days to 30: Pavenet’s final account target

Pavenet wants to know what a job has cost before the job ends.

As Pavenet prepares to implement CausewayOne e-Invoicing, it expects invoice data to arrive as work is delivered, not weeks after it finishes. Lee Powell believes the business can settle final accounts within 30 days of completion, compared with around two months today. That gives the quantity surveyor the information to close the account and keeps the final cost close to the target.

The benefits extend beyond the final account. Invoices will be approved by the project managers responsible for each job, so the people who sign off costs can see them directly. Pavenet also expects fewer supplier chasing calls, which supports stronger supply chain relationships. 

Key outcomes include:

• Final account settlement working towards 30 days or less after completion, from around two months today

• Supplier invoices matched against purchase orders and routed to the responsible project manager for approval

• Earlier sight of invoice costs against each project’s estimate, reducing the risk of missing invoices

• Automated validation against business rules before invoices reach the accounts system

• Less time spent chasing suppliers, supporting stronger supply chain relationships

•  Actual cost and material data available to support carbon reporting against estimates

Pavenet also sees its own process as proof for the wider market. Lee Powell hopes to demonstrate to main contractors that a business of Pavenet’s size can run e-Invoicing successfully before it is scaled further.

Contractors and housebuilders face the same final account pressures. To find out how CausewayOne e-Invoicing can bring supplier invoices into project costs sooner, speak to our team today.