Sunrise Technologies streamlines finance operations with AI automation
Sunrise Technologies, a consulting firm specializing in Microsoft business applications, automated its internal accounting and finance timesheet processes using Microsoft Copilot. Over two hundred consultants submit timesheets and expenses biweekly. Previously, the firm's accounting team managed these tasks manually, consuming up to eight hours per period with repetitive checks, reminders, and cross-system lookups. Leadership launched a Copilot project, applying Microsoft Copilot Studio to develop a conversational AI with 14 custom skills integrated into Teams. The new Copilot pulls real-time data from Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, CRM, and Power BI, enabling staff to review and approve time entries, email consultants, and check key billing or customer details—all within Teams. Results include a dramatic reduction in processing time (from eight hours to ninety minutes), improved process transparency, and high adoption by business users. The pilot's success paved the way for process expansion and wider AI use.
- Organization
- Sunrise Technologies
- Industry
- Professional Services
- Location
- United States
- Published
- October 2025
Reported outcomes
90 minutes
timeTime & speed
Strategic outcomes
Primary read
Use case focus
Showing 2 of 2
- 1Automated Timesheet and Expense Processing in Finance
- 2Conversational AI for Timesheet Approval and Invoicing
- Manual, time-consuming timesheet and expense reviews for over 200 consultants.
- Accounting staff spent up to eight hours biweekly on repetitive tasks.
- Frequent reminders, manual cross-checking across Power BI, CRM, email, and Teams.
- Limited experience and skepticism about practical AI benefits within the finance team.
- Designed and implemented a Microsoft Copilot solution within Teams using Copilot Studio.
- Developed 14 custom AI prompts fetching data from Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, Dynamics CRM, and Power BI.
- Automated lookups, approvals, and communication for timesheet processing.
- Phase 2 adds customer finance queries and invoice tracking—all in Teams.
- Reduced timesheet processing per billing cycle from 8 hours to 90 minutes.
- Centralized approval and communication within Teams for streamlined workflow.
- Empowered accountants to access cross-system data without switching applications.
- Broader acceptance and interest in expanding Copilot's use for more finance tasks.
Architecture
Microsoft Copilot Studio was used to build a conversational AI with 14 custom skills. The Copilot prompts integrate with Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, CRM, and Power BI to pull and process timesheet, expense, and invoicing data. All actions and approvals are executed from within Microsoft Teams, facilitating seamless cross-system workflow and communication.
Sources & evidence1
AI-generated summary. Verify important details with the linked sources before relying on this case.
Explore related AI use cases
Was this useful?