DC Thomson had grown through a series of acquisitions, but financial integration hadn't kept pace with commercial growth. By the time transformation began, the business was running on 15 separate finance systems, each with its own data, processes and ways of working. There was no centralised reporting, no shared audit trail and no single view of AP performance.

The transformation goal was ambitious: one finance system, one finance team, single processes and modern tooling across the function. But closing the gaps in capability, particularly in AP, required more than a system migration.

"The objectives of the financial transformation were a single finance system, team, processes and ways of working. Xelix was a key part of achieving one version of the truth to generate insight and to achieve finance efficiencies." - David Reeves, Group Financial Controller.

Before Xelix, DC Thomson had no visibility into invoice workflows, no process for supplier statement reconciliation and no ability to detect duplicate payments or invoice errors before they happened. Issues surfaced reactively, often only after they had already created problems.

The absence of supplier statement reconciliation was particularly significant. Without it, there was no reliable way to confirm that all invoices were being received and processed accurately - a gap that sat right at the heart of financial reporting integrity.

For a media and publishing business operating across multiple acquired entities, operating without centralised AP controls creates real exposure beyond the finance function. Supplier relationships, accurate P&L reporting across business units and the reliability of board-level financial reporting all depend on an AP operation that works. DC Thomson had used AP solutions before, but previous vendors hadn't provided the implementation support or ongoing partnership needed to drive real change, leaving the core capability gaps unresolved.

What the business needed wasn't just another tool. It was a vendor willing to actively support the transformation: clear on what the product did, invested in the customer's success and prepared to prove value quickly.

"One of the standout aspects of working with Xelix has been the level of support we receive. It feels very much like a partnership rather than a standard support function."  - David Reeves, Group Financial Controller.

DC Thomson, running their finance operations on Microsoft Business Central, needed to close multiple capability gaps simultaneously, without a large team or a lengthy implementation. Xelix offered a full platform across Statements, Transactions, Helpdesk and Vendors: an out-of-the-box solution that could be deployed quickly and configured to DC Thomson's specific requirements.

DC Thomson wanted a partner that could demonstrate ROI quickly and actively support the team to get there. Xelix stood out for clear product value, support through implementation and the ongoing review process to ensure maximum value from the investment.

"It was very clear what Xelix did and how it’s different. We were supported throughout implementation, and the review processes made sure we're getting the best value for money whilst using the tool to maximum effect." - David Reeves, Group Financial Controller.

With Xelix Statements, DC Thomson introduced a capability that had never existed before: structured, automated supplier statement reconciliation. Moving from zero visibility of outstanding invoices to active tracking across supplier accounts gave the team the confidence that all invoices were being received and processed accurately.

The reconciliation process became increasingly automated over time as the system learned from processed statements. Pre-built templates made supplier communication faster and more consistent, whilst filtering by outstanding balances meant the team could prioritise where to focus.

Across Transactions and Helpdesk, the shift was the same: from reactive and manual to proactive and structured. Potential duplicate invoices are now flagged before payment. Invoice errors, including mismatches, missing data and incorrect values, are identified and corrected quickly.

Every supplier query is logged, tracked and owned, with a full audit trail for the first time across the function.

"All actions are clearly recorded, supporting audit requirements and providing full visibility of invoice history." - David Reeves, Group Financial Controller.

The Xelix deployment sat at the heart of a transformation that consolidated 15 finance systems into one. As automation took over manual processing, the shared service team was able to operate at a fraction of its former size by building a leaner, higher-skilled function focused on oversight, exception handling and process improvement rather than data entry.

For David, the four outcomes the transformation needed to deliver were clear going in: visibility, efficiency, insight and financial control. Xelix delivered all four.

"I've got visibility, efficiency, insight and the financial control." - David Reeves, Group Financial Controller.

Key results:

• 2.5x ROI within 1 year: £190k in duplicate invoices caught

DC Thomson now detects duplicate invoices and flags errors before payment, not after. In 2025, Xelix identified 37 confirmed duplicate invoice pairs worth £190k, which was 2.5x ROI within a year of going-live. A further 70 invoice errors were flagged and corrected. For a business that had previously relied entirely on manual, reactive processes, this represents a step in the right direction.

The team also has a complete compliance-ready audit trail and real-time status visibility across all invoices.

Key results:

• 83% of supplier statements automatically reconciled in year 1
• £225.97k recovered in missed credits
• £8.99m identified in missing invoices

Before Xelix, supplier statement reconciliation never existed at DC Thomson. This meant credit notes were left on the table there was no view into cashflow, creating risk for payments, reporting and financial control.

Within a year of implementing Xelix, the team had reconciled just under 2000 statements, with 83% of reconciliation fully automated, up from 49% in the first quarter. The process recovered £225.97k in missed credits and identified £8.99m in missing invoices, within a year of going-live, giving the business a clear understanding of which invoices to recover for a clear audit trail.

Key results:

• 97% of supplier queries resolved on first contact
• Average query handling time reduced by 80%

One of the most significant outcomes of the transformation has been what it has done for the AP team itself. With manual data entry replaced by automated workflows, roles have shifted from processing to oversight: managing exceptions, driving process improvements and operating tools to support a modern function.

The Helpdesk numbers reflect the same efficiency gains: 97% of supplier queries are now resolved on first contact, with average query handling time reduced by 80% since go-live.

"We've created a new kind of AP career. Rather than manually entering data, the team now manages the tools, handles the exceptions and works the feedback loop to stop them from happening again. It allows a more rewarding, value-add role for the team." - David Reeves, Group Financial Conroller.