Spend Control for Public Services

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Proactis has been working with Public Sector organisations for over 20 years
and serves more than 400 Public Sector customers globally:

Overcoming your challenges with smarter Spend Control
Inconsistent processes leading to limited control
Many public services organisations operate with decentralised procurement structures, using different systems or manual processes, making it difficult to gain a clear picture of organisation-wide spend.

Gain full visibility and control
With Proactis, public services institutions can standardise and digitise procurement and finance processes across all departments. This gives you clear oversight of spend, improves governance, and supports strategic decision-making.

Read how Warwickshire County Council uses Invoice Capture to enhance its spend control processes
Financial pressures amid rising demands
Institutions face increasing pressure to deliver high-quality education and services while reducing operational costs. Financial sustainability requires smarter ways of working without compromising academic goals.

Enable step-by-step transformation
Our solutions are flexible and scalable - start small and grow at your own pace. Whether you’re targeting a specific challenge or full Source-to-Pay transformation, Proactis supports your journey without unnecessary disruption.
Tight budgets vs tougher regulations
With legislation like the UK Procurement Act 2023, public sector organisations are under growing pressure to meet stricter compliance standards while demand for services continues to climb. At the same time, citizens expect more accessible, digital-first experiences, all while operational budgets remain tight.

Digitally transform procurement to meet new demands
Proactis empowers public sector teams to modernise procurement processes, reduce friction and ensure compliance with evolving legislation. Our platform enables simplified sourcing, faster approvals and fully auditable workflows that meet public sector standards.

Visit our Procurement Act Hu
Inefficient, manual invoicing slows progress
Procurement and finance teams frequently rely on outdated, paper-based or semi-automated processes. This leads to delays, duplication of effort, errors and rising administrative burdens. This creates unnecessary delays, duplication of effort and compliance risk, making it harder to meet payment targets and control spend.

Go fully digital with Proactis Invoice Capture
Our automation tools remove manual effort from purchasing, invoicing and approvals. Staff save time, errors are reduced and administrative efficiency is significantly improved. Proactis enables 100% digital invoice receipt and processing. Our platform automatically captures, validates and routes invoices, dramatically reducing effort and improving accuracy. Staff focus on value-added tasks instead of chasing approvals.
 
Read how Bedford Borough Council reduced invoice processing time by over 60% using Proactis Invoice Capture
Limited resources for transformation
Public sector bodies often face transformation fatigue or a lack of capacity to deliver major overhauls. Yet, small improvements in procurement or AP can yield significant value.

Start small, scale smart with modular tools
Proactis offers a modular platform that grows with your needs. Whether you’re targeting a single process or full Source-to-Pay transformation, our tools adapt to your pace and priorities, without disrupting core operations.
 
Read how Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust used Proactis to redefine their invoice payment process, step by step, achieving measurable efficiency and improved compliance
Rigid procurement frameworks limit agility
Traditional procurement frameworks often lack the flexibility required for frequent purchasing or collaborative procurement initiatives.

Harness the agility of Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS)
The Proactis Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is an excellent way of getting better value for money, by ensuring you get the best value provider in the market at any given point in time. Extending beyond the limits of static framework contracts and rigid sourcing processes, suppliers can join at any time with subsequently accepted providers able to quickly and efficiently respond to the business needs of your buying organisation.
 
Read how City of Cardiff Council achieves annualised sourcing savings following procurement transformation - over 60 local providers had successfully registered on the DPS within weeks
Inconsistent ESG engagement and compliance
Sustainability and social value are rising priorities, but many public sector bodies struggle to consistently engage suppliers on ESG and track compliance in a scalable way.
 
Solution: Embed ESG controls into your supply chain
With Proactis Supplier Relationship Management, you can issue ESG policy communications, collect self-certifications and manage supporting documentation – all in one place. Create a consistent, auditable process for ESG engagement and ensure alignment across your supply chain.

Wigan Council achieves 66% AP process efficiency savings

"We were upgrading our Unit4 ERP system and centralising our Accounts Payable function with the aim of automating our Purchase-to-Pay process, which was drawn out and dominated by paper and inefficient manual methods. Proactis integrated well with Unit4 Business World to deliver efficiency savings of over 66%."

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Wigan Council achieves 66% AP process efficiency savings
 

Driving service improvement and controlling spend amid regulatory pressure and rising expectations

Public sector organisations today are navigating a perfect storm of regulatory change, growing demand and increased public scrutiny. Achieving spending targets while maintaining the quality and availability of frontline services has never been more complex, or more critical.

Legislative reforms, such as the UK Procurement Act 2023, mark a significant evolution in the public procurement landscape. Designed to make procurement "quicker, simpler, more transparent and better able to meet the UK’s needs," the Act introduces new obligations and opportunities for Finance and Procurement teams across the sector. Adapting to these changes requires both agility and strategic foresight.

Simultaneously, demand for services continues to rise. Growing populations, aging demographics and 24/7 digital expectations mean citizens increasingly assume services should be accessible, responsive and efficient - on their terms.

Against this backdrop, public sector Finance and Procurement functions are under more scrutiny than ever before. Yet many organisations still lack a clear and practical pathway to modernise spend management and transform service delivery at scale.
 
Electronic invoicing across UK businesses and the public sector

Electronic invoicing 
across UK businesses 
and the public 
sector



P2P: Get a handle on how your organisation really buys goods & services

Get a handle 
on how your 
organisation really 
buys goods & services



Supporting local business through smarter procurement

Supporting local 
business through 
smarter 
procurement



Drive efficiency and deliver better services

Public sector organisations face increasing pressure to meet spending targets while improving service quality. With Proactis, you can digitally transform procurement and finance operations to achieve both.
  • Automate manual tasks across procurement and AP.
  • Ensure streamlined operations, reduced costs and more time to focus on delivering frontline services.
  • Improve visibility and control over spend.
  • Engage departments and suppliers more effectively.
  • Enable self-service.
  • Capture supplier ESG credentials and certifications
  • Ensure stronger governance, improved community impact and enhanced supplier partnerships, all built into your process.
  • Promote sustainability and local supplier engagement.

Caerphilly County Borough Council achieves end-to-end procurement with Proactis

"We had a long-standing vision to develop end-to-end procurement processes and workflow to manage all spending across the Council. Proactis provides complete visibility and control of spend and, twinned with Proactis’ collaborative procurement portal, will help support our procurement programme for years to come."

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Caerphilly County Borough Council achieves end-to-end procurement with Proactis

The UK government is actively consulting on the adoption of eInvoicing. Standardising digital invoicing could transform the way public sector organisations operate.

Proactis is ready to help you get ahead:
  • Receive invoices 100% digitally.
  • Cut paperwork, errors and admin time.
  • Improve processing speed and traceability.
You can achieve faster, leaner, more compliant invoicing processes that scale with your needs.
 

Warwickshire County Council achieves straight-through invoice processing and full visibility with Proactis and Unit4

“Overall, Proactis has given us more visibility of our invoices, and provided the automation we wanted. The administration time required to process invoices and associated paper trail has been vastly reduced.”

Learn more

Warwickshire County Council uses Invoice Capture to enhance its spend control processes
 

UK Procurement Act 2023

Proactis has supported the practice of strategic procurement for over 25 years, and our solutions have enabled customer processes to efficiently comply with Public Sector requirements throughout this time, and continues to do so. As the first choice for contracting authorities in the UK, Proactis encompasses many features and functions that are already in line with the requirements of The Procurement Act 2023.

Visit our Procurement Act Hub
 

Enabling greater value in public services

Proactis helps education institutions optimise spend so more budget can be focused where it matters most – delivering exceptional frontline services.

From sourcing to payment, our solutions streamline procurement and finance processes at scale.

The result? Smarter operations, stronger compliance and long-term value for staff, citizens and stakeholders alike.