Jacobs Saves $72K Annually With Custom Invoice Workflow Automations Using Workato + Quickbase

The Solution

Quickbase and Workato Procurement Automation

Quandary Consulting Group began with a comprehensive procurement workflow and business process assessment of Jacobs' existing environment. The team analyzed how vendor information, purchase orders, invoices, compliance documentation, and payment data moved through the organization.

The assessment identified fragmented email communication and manual data handling as major sources of data loss, processing delays, errors, and unnecessary costs and rather than automating isolated tasks, Quandary redesigned the underlying workflow and developed a centralized vendor management and invoice automation platform powered by Quickbase and Workato.

• Quickbase served as the centralized application and data management layer, bringing vendor, compliance, purchase order, and invoice information into one structured environment.
• Workato provided the integration and workflow automation capabilities required to connect the platform with Jacobs' existing accounting processes and automate the movement of critical financial data.

Together, the technologies created an integrated procurement workflow: Vendor Management → Compliance Validation → Purchase Order → Vendor Portal → Electronic Invoice → Automated Processing → Accounting System → Payment

1,000+ Electronic Invoices Submitted in the First Three Months

Vendor adoption occurred quickly and within the first three months following launch, more than 1,000 electronic invoices were successfully submitted through the new Jacobs vendor portal. This early volume demonstrated the platform's ability to support high-volume vendor activity while shifting invoice processing away from fragmented email-based workflows; in addition, this also established the foundation for eliminating Jacobs' dependence on external invoice data-entry services.

Quickbase Creates a Single Source of Truth for 5,000+ Jacobs Vendors

Quandary centralized Jacobs' vendor information within a custom Quickbase vendor management application. The platform gave procurement teams one structured environment for managing information across more than 5,000 vendors. Now, vndor records that were able to be included:

• Primary contact information
• Multiple remittance addresses
• Payment details
• Certification documentation
• Compliance records
• Qualification status
• Purchase order eligibility
• Purchase order history
• Invoice information

Previously fragmented vendor data from spreadsheets and legacy programs was consolidated and reconciled within the new system and this resulted in a single source of truth for Jacobs' vendor and procurement data, improving accuracy while reducing the administrative burden associated with maintaining information across disconnected systems.

A Custom Vendor Portal Standardizes Electronic Invoice Submission

One of the most important changes was the creation of a secure online vendor invoicing portal. Instead of invoices arriving through multiple email channels, Jacobs' vendors gained a standardized digital process for submitting invoices electronically. The portal also provided visibility into the information required to successfully complete an invoice, including:

• Purchase order information
• Invoice calculations
• Contact information
• Required invoice components

Rather than Jacobs' procurement employees spending time locating, sorting, reorganizing, and manually entering invoices received through different channels, information entered the process through a controlled digital workflow, this standardized the beginning of the invoice lifecycle.

Workato Connects Quickbase With Jacobs' Accounting Environment

Centralizing invoices in Quickbase was only one part of the solution, because invoice and procurement information also needed to move efficiently into Jacobs' existing accounting environment.

Quandary used Workato integration and workflow automation to connect the Quickbase platform with Jacobs' accounting processes. Historical information was migrated into the new environment to preserve continuity, while automated integrations reduced the need for employees to manually transfer invoice information between systems, as a result, Workato helped enable:

• Automated invoice data movement
• Accounting system synchronization
• Reduced manual data re-entry
• More consistent financial information
• Faster downstream invoice processing

The integration transformed Quickbase from an isolated application into part of a connected procure-to-pay automation ecosystem for Jacobs.

Automated Invoice Routing and Status Tracking

The platform automated key stages of Jacobs' accounts payable workflow after an invoice was submitted. Invoices were routed through the appropriate processes while procurement teams gained greater visibility into invoice status and payment progress and now, instead of searching through email threads to determine whether an invoice had been received, reviewed, or processed, Jacobs employees could access centralized information within the platform. This improved transparency for both internal procurement teams and external vendors.

Vendor Compliance Connected Directly to Purchase Order Governance

For Jacobs, procurement efficiency couldn't come at the expense of compliance because many vendors were subject to specific certification and federal compliance requirements. This lead to Quandary incorporating these requirements directly into the procurement workflow

The system connected vendor certification status with purchase order eligibility. For example, if a vendor failed to meet required compliance standards, the system could prevent a purchase order from being issued. This established a direct relationship between: Vendor Certification → Compliance Status → PO Eligibility. For Jacobs, this meant that instead of relying entirely on employees to manually verify compliance before issuing a purchase order, Jacobs could embed the control directly into its procurement process.

Automated Compliance Controls Reduce Invalid Invoice Activity

Compliance automation also strengthened downstream invoice processing by identifying non-compliant vendor activity earlier in the procurement lifecycle, Jacobs could reduce the likelihood of invoices progressing through the system when underlying requirements had not been satisfied. The automated controls helped:

• Identify non-compliant invoices earlier
• Reduce payment disputes
• Prevent unauthorized vendor activity
• Improve procurement governance
• Increase vendor accountability
• Provide clearer visibility into compliance status

Rather than treating compliance as a separate administrative exercise, Jacobs incorporated it directly into the vendor-to-payment workflow.

Eliminating Third-Party Invoice Data Entry

Before implementation, Jacobs relied on an external service to support invoice data entry. That service cost approximately: $6,000 Per Month. By standardizing electronic invoice submission and automating the movement of invoice data, Jacobs was able to eliminate this recurring expense.

That translated into approximately:$72,000 in Annual Cost Savings The savings came from eliminating a specific recurring third-party processing cost and instead of simply digitizing an existing process, the Quickbase and Workato solution removed manual work that previously required an ongoing external service.