From Paper to Real-Time Digital

The Logline

Independent Support Services (ISS), a leader in self-directed care, was drowning in paper-based expense approvals, with processing times stretching to 9+ weeks and executives spending hours reviewing documents daily. Harmonic developed a custom expense approval solution that cut processing time by 75% while maintaining compliance standards and enabling unprecedented operational scaling.

The Plot Tension

The painful truth: ISS was processing over 70,000 expense submissions monthly using printed documentation. This meant:

• Executive leaders spending hours reviewing paper documents daily
• No real-time visibility into participant budgets
• 9-10 week processing times for reimbursements
• Increased risk of errors and compliance issues
• Limited ability to scale operations efficiently

“When I started with ISS, it was a milestone when we made 500 participants. We now have over 2,000,” explained Liz Lukan. For a company dedicated to person-centered service, these delays and inefficiencies created a growing disconnect between their values and their operations.

Production Journey: The Studio Method in Action

Pre-Production:

Every great solution begins with deep understanding. Through structured discovery workshops, Harmonic peeled back the layers of ISS’s challenges to reveal the core needs beyond the obvious paper-to-digital conversion. We uncovered requirements for high-volume transaction processing with strict compliance standards, diverse approval workflows, immediate budget visibility, and a framework that could grow with the organization.

Our collaborative sessions established clear measures for success: shrink processing time from 9+ weeks to under 2 weeks, convert hours of daily reviews into minutes, preserve compliance while accelerating throughput, and accommodate multiple approval approaches.

Core-Production:

Armed with these insights, our team engineered EEA (Electronic Expense Approval) with sophisticated technical architecture:

• Custom sync engine using oData for optimal performance
• Local data storage with encrypted access
• Secure gateway for database communication
• Processing capacity for 100,000+ records in under 25 seconds

As Harmonic lead developer Brian noted,

“If I was still freelancing and somebody pitched me a project like this with these requirements, I probably would have passed.” But through persistence and innovation, we delivered what initially seemed impossible.

Post-Production:

The true test of any system comes when facing unexpected challenges. When ISS’s Executive Director needed to take a leave of absence, Sheryl from bookkeeping suddenly inherited all expense
approval responsibilities. Despite initial technology hesitation, she mastered the system in just two hours.

“The system transformed our workflow completely,” Sheryl reflected. “What used to take hours now takes minutes. I can process an entire category of budget expenses with a single click, then focus on items that need careful review.”

Rewriting the Script

The custom expense approval solution fundamentally changed how ISS managed their financial operations:

• Processing time reduced from 9+ weeks to 2 weeks
• Executive review time compressed from hours to minutes
• Budget visibility transformed from delayed reports to real-time insights
• Security enhanced through encrypted, file-specific authentication
• Growth capacity expanded through scalable architecture

The Final Cut

The impact of this transformation extended throughout the organization:

• 75% reduction in processing time
• Executives reclaimed hours previously lost to manual reviews
• Improved budget management and compliance adherence
• System scaling capabilities matching organizational growth

As Liz Lukan observed, “It is seriously a thing of beauty… it’s smooth, it’s fast, and it is intuitive. With this solution, it’s now possible to scale while maintaining our standards.”

Director’s Notes: Why It Worked

• Solution tackled both user experience and technical performance challenges
• System architecture designed for high-volume transaction processing
• Interface accommodated diverse workflow preferences
• Real-time budget visibility empowered better decision-making
• Comprehensive training ensured smooth adoption
• Scalable foundation supported continued organizational expansion