How CPS Group achieved real-time cash visibility and automated accounting by integrating with Microsoft Business Central

A conversation with:

Ángel López

Finance Director

CPS's finance team relied on manual downloads and spreadsheets for cash management and accounting, manually recording thousands of accounting entries. They aimed to automate and digitise these processes to improve real-time visibility, reduce errors, and increase operational efficiency by integrating with their ERP, Microsoft Business Central.

Headquarters

Madrid

Sector

Engineering

Employees

500-1001

ERP

Microsoft Business Central

Before Embat

Lack of real-time visibility of daily cash positions
Reliance on manual downloads of bank statements
Use of multiple spreadsheets for cash forecasting
Manual bank accounting with tens of thousands of entries

With Embat

Real-time cash visibility through API connectivity
Automated accounting and bank reconciliation with AI
Centralisation of financial data and cash forecasting
Integration with ERP (Microsoft Business Central) to automate accounting processes
Increased productivity and reduction of manual tasks
Fast and accurate decision making

The customer

CPS Group is a family-owned Spanish company and leader in the technology, engineering and innovation (R&D) fields, with a strong presence in the Intelligent Transport, Defense, Security and Telecommunications markets.

CPS Group, a strategic supplier to the transportation, defence, security and telecommunications sectors, was struggling to obtain real-time visibility of its daily cash position during a period of constant growth. The finance team relied on manual downloads of previous day's statements and used multiple spreadsheets to get a snapshot of the cash position, as well as short-term cash forecasts. In addition, the accounting for the banking operation included tens of thousands of accounting entries that were recorded manually.

The CFO of CPS and his team were aware that they had to automate and digitise processes in order to overcome growth challenges, so that everyone could work in a more secure, error-free environment with less workload. CPS partnered with Embat to implement API connectivity with all its banking relationships in Spain, access its banks in real time and automate accounting and bank reconciliation with Embat’s connection to their ERP (Microsoft Business Central).This initiative aimed to revolutionise CPS' treasury and accounting operations by providing improved cash visibility and operational efficiency.

"During a time of growth, the only way to survive was to automate and digitise all processes, so that our people can work in safer environments, without errors or excessive workloads. If you apply a dose of AI to this, the result is highly promising and exciting. Our partner Embat accompanies us in this journey, whose Treasury and Accounting solution is perfect for our organisation".

The challenge

CPS set out some very clear objectives to address its treasury challenges:

1. Improve visibility of its banking pool in real time‍

Enable informed decision making through real-time monitoring of cash positions.

2. Centralise cash forecasting‍

Provide a centralised solution connected to banks and Microsoft Business Central to give visibility of short-term cash flows in the portfolio.

3. Optimise bank reconciliation processes‍

Automate the receipt of bank transactions and automation of the cash accounting and bank reconciliation processes, thus improving the efficiency of daily cash management.

4. Improve team productivity and workplace quality‍

Leverage digitalisation to increase the productivity of the department, directing efforts towards more strategic tasks. At the same time, improve workplace quality, reducing administrative tasks and promoting employee well-being.

Discover more about Embat

The solution

Embat worked hand in hand with CPS’ finance and technology teams to provide API connectivity with all of their banking relationships in Spain. The main focus was to ensure the integrity of treasury information at all times and bi-directional connectivity with Microsoft Business Central.

Key elements of the solution include:

Optimised connectivity between Embat and Microsoft Business Central

Embat and Business Central were configured to be connected in API format and synchronised in real-time.

Data centralisation and decision making optimisation

A unified platform that allows the finance team to monitor current and future cash availability in real time, optimising working capital management and improving decision making.

Automated bank reconciliation with AI

The time taken to perform bank reconciliation has been substantially reduced thanks to the implementation of generative AI model for portfolio settlement.The reconciliation of nearly 90% of bank transactions has now been automated.

User experience

Embat's solution was designed to optimise the user experience and make usability as efficient and simple as possible for the CPS team, without requiring months of training or a prior understanding of the platform.

Customer training

Embat's philosophy is to offer training sessions throughout the implementation process and for the CPS team itself to be trained as the treasury process is defined.