Case Study: Mears Group achieves 500% Accounts Payable efficiency increase with Proactis

Mears Group increases AP efficiency by 500% with Proactis

Mears Group, a UK housing services provider with 16,000+ employees and over 100,000 invoices per month, faced a rapid-growth challenge: manual, paper-based AP processes that would have required hiring many new clerks to cope with volume. The organisation selected Proactis to replace its resource‑intensive systems with an invoice automation platform that could handle both paper and electronic invoices and integrate with its in‑house purchasing system and Infor SUN finance system.

Proactis implemented a two‑phase project using PRINCE2 methodology, deploying a scanning and data‑capture solution that automatically extracts invoice information (PDF and XML) and introduced best‑practice controls. The result: Mears now processes 100,000 invoices per month—up from 20,000—using the same team of eight, a 500% increase in AP efficiency, with improved accuracy, reporting, visibility and compliance.

Mears Group

Ben Westran

Group Financial Controller