Document and Compliance Management

Non-Governmental Organization Speeds Operations and Compliance

A non-profit organization that assists workers around the world who are building democratic and independent trade unions. They work with unions and community groups worldwide to achieve equitable, sustainable, democratic development and to help men and women everywhere stand up for their rights and improve their living and working standards.

The Challenge

The central office is located in Washington, DC. Their field offices are located in 24 countries around the world.

In order to maintain fiscal control and meet compliance requirements, money is distributed on a monthly basis to the field offices. Each month, the office completes a Wire Transfer Request. With multiple projects and needs, the monthly request amount can vary, hence the need for the request. The form was completed in MS Word by the country office field accountant. The completed form and the required supporting documents were then emailed to the central office where they were printed and routed manually for approval and signature. Once the request left the country office, they had no idea where it was in the process. The only way to find out was to call around and see who had the document. Sometimes it would take days for the document to physically move around the office.

As an NGO, there is increased scrutiny when operating internationally, especially when using grant funding so it is also critical to maintain proper records documenting each financial transaction.

The Solution

The Director of Operations knew that something needed to change. They needed a solution that would allow them to easily access and share documents securely between multiple locations and people without adding more applications and servers for their IT staff to maintain. The application also needed to allow for a rules-based workflow to route and track documents as the approvals progressed.

As a member of InsideNGO, they heard about DocuVantage OnDemand® from other members that had faced similar challenges.

As a result of DocuVantage's non-profit workflow analysis and compliance management solution, Solidarity Center is now able to:

• Reduce the time and number of steps required to process wire transfer requests.
• Reduce frustration by allowing staff to instantly know the status of the requests.

Additionally, they will soon roll out DocuVantage OnDemand to automate their Procurement and Payment procedures and eventually other processes that require approval at multiple levels within the organization. DocuVantage OnDemand is a great solution to compliance management related to grant requirements.

For more information on how we can improve operations in your nonprofit or NGO, please watch an informative webinar recording or reach out to us at 866.367.3467 extension 1.


"If I were asked to pick one phrase that describes why we picked Document Advantage Corporation and their product, DocuVantage OnDemand, for our wire transfer automation, it would be that they understand the unique needs of an international non-profit organization.

Even with all the improvements in technology, I was still frustrated by the time it took to get paperwork from 24 offices around the world to DC for approval and back to the field. I heard positive things about DocuVantage from a colleague and talked to DocuVantage. From the beginning it was clear that their non-profit manager understood the document management requirements of grant funded organizations and the workflow challenges that come from having offices around the world. While our organizations share many requirements and challenges, DocuVantage did not assume that we would want our system to be exactly like what they'd done before. They worked with us to customize a solution that would meet our particular needs. That process went smoothly because their non-profit manager understands how our organizations work. We completed a pilot and are now in the process of rolling it out to the other offices. Both the initial set-up costs and the ongoing costs are reasonable. We look forward to saving staff time and making jobs more rewarding by streamlining the processes that take them away from the work that is our mission. I know there several companies can provide services similar to what DocuVantage offers. However, if you work for an international non-profit organization, you'll want to talk to Document Advantage today!"