Automation success for Prevention Point Philadelphia

Prevention Point Philadelphia(opens in a new tab) (PPP) is a nonprofit public health organization providing harm reduction services to Philadelphia and the surrounding area. PPP seeks to promote health, empowerment, and safety for communities affected by drug use and poverty. The resources and services provided by the organization include AIDS care groups, syringe services, HIV primary care, overdose prevention services, and housing services.

The challenge

Before implementing workflow automation, Prevention Point Philadelphia struggled with fragmented approval processes. The organization needed a better way to submit receipts, work with bills, handle internal resource requests, and manage staff changes and approvals. These use cases stretched across multiple departments, including Finance and HR, and impacted clients externally.

According to Accountant Todd Couchman, the organization needed a solution that would automate:

• Approval processes
• HR submissions
• Resource request forms
• A centralized system to house all requests in one place

After searching for a solution that could address all of these pain points, the team found Nutrient Workflow.

Why Nutrient Workflow?

Prevention Point Philadelphia assessed all options and chose Nutrient Workflow as the ideal solution after demos and discussions. “Nutrient Workflow seemed to offer exactly what we needed,” Couchman said. A key benefit is that the platform can be designed visually to simulate or improve existing processes — no need to reinvent the wheel. Once-manual tasks can be replicated into digital forms, automated processes, emails, and approvals.

Implementation

Couchman worked with the Nutrient Workflow services team to get the organization’s processes built and running. A key requirement was having PDF attachments for all approved submissions. This is done with Nutrient Workflow’s PDF Generator task and a PDF merge, both popular features on the platform. The team can insert captured data from a digital form into a PDF document that can be shared via download — all done seamlessly with automation.

“Nutrient Workflow has made users much more comfortable submitting expenses since they have a transaction ID as proof of submission,” Couchman said.

An open and transparent process for managing requests and workflows creates a sense of comfort and ease for the team, enabling staff to clearly understand what is expected and how their work fits into the larger picture. “It’s been a game changer for the organization,” Couchman added.

What it’s built

So far, the organization has built the following workflows:

• Credit card receipts
• Vendor bill submissions
• Staff setup and changes to the payroll system
• Resource requests for clients

End users include client-facing staff and accounting staff. Approximately 30 users have access to submit requests, with around 12 new requests per day going through the Nutrient Workflow system.

Results

Before Nutrient Workflow, the team used PDF forms that were manually filled out and emailed — a time-heavy process that has now been transformed. “The staff have embraced the system and love having the transaction ID as proof of submission,” Couchman said. While metrics weren’t captured before Nutrient Workflow, he noted that “accuracy has certainly improved.”

What’s next?

Future automation depends on the needs that arise. “We are always willing to add other processes to Nutrient Workflow,” Couchman said. The organization’s positive experience with the Nutrient Workflow services team gives Couchman confidence when discussing the platform’s future at Prevention Point Philadelphia. When challenges arise, the services team has helped the organization work through them.