The verdict in three sentences
Automating supplier invoice processing in London runs 15,000 to 35,000 EUR (excl. VAT) in 2026, depending on volume, OCR quality and the number of accounting integrations. The return comes from data-entry time (-80%) and fewer matching errors (-60%), not from AI magic. Budget 2 to 4 months from scoping to production on your ERP.
What the budget covers
Price mostly depends on monthly volume, the diversity of supplier formats and the depth of the purchase-order / goods-receipt / invoice reconciliation (the classic 3-way match).
| Tier | Monthly volume | Scope | 2026 budget (EUR excl. VAT) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | < 500 invoices | OCR + field extraction + accounting export | 15,000 - 20,000 | 2 months |
| Standard | 500 - 2,000 | + PO matching, approval workflow | 20,000 - 28,000 | 3 months |
| Advanced | 2,000 - 6,000 | + 3-way match, multi-entity, ERP API | 28,000 - 35,000 | 3-4 months |
| Bespoke | > 6,000 | + anomaly AI, multi-currency | 35,000 + | 4 months + |
Recurring costs sit outside these figures: OCR/AI licensing (150 to 600 EUR/month by volume), hosting and maintenance (10 to 18% of the project per year).
Template OCR or AI: which engine to pick
Everyone sells "AI", but the extraction engine drives the real straight-through rate and therefore your savings.
| Criterion | Template OCR | OCR + AI (LLM/vision) |
|---|---|---|
| Extraction without touch-up | 70 - 85% | 90 - 97% |
| New supplier formats | Manual setup | Zero-shot, auto-learned |
| Setup cost | Lower | + 4,000 to 8,000 EUR |
| Cost per document | Near zero | 0.01 - 0.04 EUR/invoice (tokens) |
| Complex fields (line items, multi-rate VAT) | Fragile | Reliable |
For a heterogeneous flow (hundreds of different suppliers), AI pays off fast: less residual manual entry, so fewer staff tied to no-value tasks.
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Mini case study
Sarah is Finance Director of a 140-person industrial SME in London. Her team handles 2,000 invoices/month, with 2.5 FTE on capture and matching, each costing about 3,800 EUR (excl. VAT) fully loaded/month, i.e. 9,500 EUR/month. After automation (a 26,000 EUR Standard-tier project), 80% of capture disappears: she redeploys 1.8 FTE to control and analysis, saving ~6,800 EUR/month. The investment pays back in under 4 months, before even counting lower late-payment penalties thanks to faster matching.
FAQ
How long until it's live? Plan 2 to 4 months: 2-3 weeks of scoping and ERP connection, then a 3-6 week parallel run to push extraction above 90% before cutover.
Does the AI get amounts wrong? On key fields (total, VAT, IBAN), confidence thresholds trigger human review below a score. In practice we target under 3% of invoices in manual review after 2 months of calibration.
Is it compatible with my ERP (SAP, Sage, NetSuite)? Yes, via API or connectors. A Sage or NetSuite connector typically runs 3,000 to 6,000 EUR depending on depth (purchasing, analytics, matching).
What about paper invoices? Batch scanning with automatic document separation feeds the same flow; plan a production scanner and a daily digitisation step.
What error reduction, concretely? Automatic PO/invoice matching removes re-keying errors and duplicates: our rollouts show -50 to -60% of discrepancies at close.
Let's scope your project. Send us your monthly invoice volume, your ERP and your 3 most complex suppliers: we'll price the right tier (15,000 to 35,000 EUR excl. VAT) and the expected FTE savings. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.