Digital Invoice Archive for the Finance Department of KIA Slovakia

“The IXTENT team was always available and consistently found a way to resolve the issue. It didn’t matter whether it was a standard query or something more complex – the response was immediate, and the solution followed promptly. It’s hard to find a partner like that.” Jana Frátriková, Head of Accounting Department, KIA Slovakia s.r.o.

Initial Situation – state before implementation

The Finance Department of KIA Slovakia processed approximately 30,000 invoices per year – the total annual volume of invoicing documentation exceeded 200,000 files. The vast majority of invoices (99%) consisted of electronic invoices delivered via email in PDF format, while the remaining 1% were paper invoices from new suppliers.

Invoice documents were fragmented across three disparate systems: FileServer X as the main repository, SAP Content Server for selected delivery notes stored by warehouse workers, and the global AutoWay application for purchase approval requests (RFAs). SAP de facto served only as a signpost with links to various repositories – it did not offer unified search or consistent permission management.

Key issues that necessitated change:

• Invoices were physically printed and filed in binders after payment. At the beginning of each year, they were transferred to a central paper archive located in another building – accessing these documents required coordination with the General Affairs Department and was not instantaneous.
• The documents did not have a type stored in the systems, which made it impossible to automatically check the completeness of the invoicing documentation. Approximately 70% of invoices were posted automatically, the remaining 30% required manual linking to a receipt note or purchase order.
• There was no centralized repository guaranteeing data integrity, document immutability after invoice payment, and configurable retention rules.
• Risk of loss of paper documents, unauthorized access, or erroneous deletion of digital files distributed across multiple systems.

The result was a time-consuming process: locating a specific document required accessing multiple systems or physically retrieving it from the archive in another building.

The Solution

The project was launched in December 2024; the platform implementation took place in three environments (DEV, TEST, PROD). The system was deployed into production in September 2025, and the migration of historical documentation was completed in February 2026.

Platform and business invoice workspace

OpenText Extended ECM X2 for SAP was deployed as the central document platform, including Content Server (DMS functionality), Archive Center (repository with encryption and time stamps), Directory Services (user management connected to KIA Active Directory), System Center and Intelligent Viewer for viewing documents directly in the xECM environment.

For each invoice, a business workspace (WS) is automatically created in xECM – a structured workspace directly linked to the invoice object in the SAP FI module. The workspace has a precisely defined folder structure with separate subfolders for 16 document types: invoices (INV), delivery notes (DNO), purchase orders (PRO), approval requests (RFA), customs documents (SAD), acceptance certificates (FAC, SIC), and others. Workspace metadata is continuously synchronized from SAP – it includes invoice type, variable symbol, order numbers, supplier information, amounts, and payment status.

Each workspace contains three tabs: Overview (invoice metadata and folder structure), Documents (file management with navigation tree) and Completeness Check (status of mandatory documentation). Access is controlled using AD groups with a precisely defined permission matrix. After archiving, the workspace transitions to read-only mode.

Integration with existing systems

A key requirement was to maintain existing user processes while ensuring automatic storage of all documents in xECM. The integration covered four systems:

• SAP FI: Installation of the SAP Add-On package OpenText xECM for SAP, configuration of ArchiveLink and Generic Object Services (GOS) for storing documents directly to invoice objects. Single Sign-On via OpenText Directory Services connected to KIA Active Directory. The business invoice workspace is accessible from the SAP GUI by clicking through FB03 transaction and the GOS → Business content menu.
• KMS (approval application over SAP): KMS has been extended so that documents uploaded during invoice approval are stored in parallel in xECM via SAP ArchiveLink. The user workflow in KMS remained unchanged.
• OCR (ABBYY FlexiCapture): Incoming invoices from e-mail are processed by OCR – the system extracts header data, creates an invoice object in SAP and automatically saves the invoice, attachments and the e-mail itself to the appropriate workspace in xECM.
• AutoWay (KIA’s global approval system based on MS SharePoint): RFA documents are retrieved from AutoWay and stored in xECM via KMS and SAP ArchiveLink.

Automated completeness check

One of the key functionalities of the new solution is the automated check of invoicing documentation completeness. The conditions for each invoice type are configured via the Invoice_CompletenessCheck register – the system distinguishes 21 invoice types and defines a set of mandatory documents for each. Requirements may vary not only by invoice type, but also by purchase order number (PRO number) or vendor code (Vendor code), with the Priority attribute determining the order in which conditions are evaluated.

For each mandatory document type, the system evaluates one of three rules:

• Exactly one document required – the invoice must contain exactly one document of the given type.
• At least one document required – at least one document of the given type is sufficient.
• Document count must match other group – the number of documents of a given type must match the number of documents of another type (typically the number of FAC or SIC acceptance certificates must match the number of PRO orders).

The completeness check status is visible directly in the invoice workspace in the Completeness Check tab. Before paying the invoice, KMS calls the completeness check report in xECM via the REST API. If all mandatory documents are present, the invoice is paid and the workspace is automatically archived. If documents are missing, KMS will forward the invoice to the user for resolution. Every Monday, the system automatically sends a report on paid incomplete invoices to defined email addresses.

Archiving, timestamps, and retention

The workspace is archived automatically when the invoice is paid and passes the completeness check. OpenText Archive Center ensures encryption of all document content and the application of a qualified timestamp to each document. When attempting to save duplicate files, Archive Center ensures that the file is physically stored in the repository only once – all links from both xECM and SAP point to this single file.

Invoices are archived for a period of 10 years from the year they are received. After the retention period has expired, they are marked for shredding, which must be approved by the responsible records manager through the shredding report in the Records Management module.

Migration of historical invoices

The project included the migration of historical invoicing documentation from FileServer to xECM. The migration was conducted in two phases and necessitated one change request. It clarified the scope of migration for already archived SAP objects, whose exact specification was not included in the original assignment.

A customer SAP report was used to create a business workspace for historical invoices, executed in bulk in the background via transaction SA38. The same report also migrated documents stored in the SAP Content Server via ArchiveLink – ensuring that documents and metadata were uploaded to the correct workspaces in xECM. All migrated documents are accessible from SAP by opening the workspace directly from the invoice object through GOS.

Summary

KIA Slovakia had a clear objective: to cease printing invoices, eliminate fragmented repositories, and ensure that all documents are instantly accessible from SAP. This was successfully achieved. The system has been operational since September 2025 and handles all new invoicing documentation – reception via OCR, approval through KMS, storage via SAP, with everything automatically consolidated in one location in xECM. Completeness check monitors mandatory attachments without manual intervention, archiving and retention processes run automatically. The migration of historical invoices from FileServer was completed in February 2026. Historical invoicing documentation is now available with one click directly from SAP, in the new xECM. KIA introduced a rule that all invoices must pass through the new xECM system, thereby significantly contributing to the successful and swift transition to the new system.

“Previously, we had documents fragmented across several systems, and locating a specific document required both time and effort. Now we have everything in one place – invoices, delivery notes, orders, approvals. What used to take a long time can now be solved with one click.” Jana Frátriková, Head of Accounting Department, KIA Slovakia s.r.o.