October 1, 2025

Case Study

How Chesmar Homes Saves $10K+/Month by Automating Invoice Coding

From Overwhelmed to Automated:

Chesmar Homes was spending too much time—and money—on something as routine as utility invoices. With four busy divisions and around 1,000 invoices per team each month, the Accounts Payable staff was stuck in a loop: manually re-keying data, uploading spreadsheets, and chasing billing errors.

Worse, vendors were still invoicing properties that had closed months ago—and no one had time to catch them.

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The Challenge

Chesmar’s AP process was built on spreadsheets and elbow grease. Each invoice took about 1.5 minutes to enter manually. That’s over 100 hours of labor every month across four divisions.

Meanwhile, hidden issues were piling up:

  • Utility vendors billing closed properties

  • Late fees and overpayments slipping through

  • Teams stretched too thin to fix the process

It wasn’t just inefficient—it was expensive.

The Solution: Actify Automations

Chesmar partnered with Actify to implement a custom-built automation system that didn’t just speed things up—it made the entire process smarter.

Here’s how it works:

Layer

What It Does

Why It Matters

AI-powered OCR

Reads PDF/image invoices instantly

No need for custom vendor templates

Smart Rules Engine

Flags invoices for closed properties, missing data, etc.

Catches costly errors automatically

Auto-Enrichment

Adds full invoice coding data

Saves time and reduces back-and-forth

Web-Based Interface

Drag-and-drop uploads with live status

Zero learning curve for staff

Excel + API Output

Prepped for upload or direct system push

No manual re-entry into JD Edwards

The Impact: 30 Days Later

In just the first month, the system processed 2,563 invoices and delivered major time and cost wins:

  • From 100 hrs → 1.04 hrs of manual work

  • $2,900+ in labor value reallocated

  • 410 invoices flagged for closed properties

  • $21,000 in unnecessary charges prevented

  • Avg. Monthly Value Unlocked: 205 invoices caught, saving $10,500+

But here’s the bigger story:

Before automation, if a closed home’s water or power wasn’t deactivated, it kept billing. AP teams—already swamped—rarely caught the mistake in time. Now, every closed-lot invoice is flagged instantly, giving teams the chance to disconnect utilities and permanently stop the drain on margins.

Why It Worked

What set this solution apart was speed and flexibility. The AI didn’t need retraining every time a new invoice format appeared. And AP staff didn’t need to learn a new system—they just dropped in invoices and got results.

Most importantly, it didn’t just reduce manual work—it prevented waste before it could even happen.

What’s Next?

With a solid automation foundation in place, Chesmar’s teams are finally free to focus on higher-value tasks—while their invoice process quietly protects thousands in builder margin every month.