Unit4 Financials by Coda
Author: Mourad Sadok April 14, 2026 4 min read

Driving order adoption and accuracy through guided buying and marketplaces

Business professionals collaborating at a meeting table, with one person shaking hands while others observe, laptops and tablets visible in a modern office setting.

Helping organizations simplify purchasing while maintaining control is a challenge I hear about often from Unit4 Financials by Coda customers. That’s why I was pleased to host a recent session focused on guided purchasing and to invite Charlotte Carter, VP of Product at Proactis, to share how the Proactis Marketplace addresses many of the pain points organizations face today.

From my perspective, the conversation clearly highlighted how improving the purchasing experience at the very start of the process can have a significant impact on efficiency, compliance, and downstream financial operations, all without changing existing finance workflows.

Keep reading:

The challenge: control without complexity

Many organizations already have solid financial controls in place. However, purchasing at the front end often remains manual and inaccurate. Users struggle to find approved suppliers, rely on free‑text requisitions, and lack easy access to accurate pricing and product information. Over time, this leads to poor‑quality purchase orders, delays in invoice matching, and unnecessary manual effort for finance teams.

What stood out to me in Charlotte’s presentation was how clearly these challenges connect back to the user experience. When buying is difficult or unclear, people naturally look for workarounds, and that’s where risk and inefficiency creep in.

Guided buying: putting users on the right path

Proactis Marketplace is designed to sit in front of the purchasing process, guiding users toward approved suppliers through integrated catalogs and punch‑out stores. Instead of typing free‑text requests, users shop in a consumer‑style experience that feels familiar, intuitive, and easy to use.

Charlotte showed how users can browse catalogs, access supplier punch‑outs, compare items, and build a shopping basket using up‑to‑date supplier content and negotiated pricing. Behind the scenes, structured line‑item data flows directly into Unit4 Financials by Coda, ensuring purchase orders are accurate from the start.

This is where the real value becomes clear: better data in at the beginning means fewer issues later in the process.

 

Guided purchasing via supplier catalogs and punchouts in the Proactis Marketplace

Watch the on‑demand webinar

Accurate purchase orders, faster invoice matching

One of the most compelling parts of the discussion was how guided purchasing directly improves downstream efficiency. When purchase orders are created using structured supplier data, including correct pricing, classifications, and coding, invoices are far more likely to match automatically.

This reduces the need for manual intervention, speeds up invoice processing, and lowers operational risk. Finance teams spend less time fixing errors, while users benefit from a smoother, more consistent buying experience.

Just as importantly, guided purchasing helps organizations maintain compliance by steering users toward preferred suppliers and reducing maverick spend.

Enhancing what already works

A key point Charlotte emphasized, and one I strongly agree with, is that Proactis Marketplace doesn’t replace existing finance processes in Unit4 Financials by Coda. Instead, it complements them.

Organizations can continue using the controls and approval workflows they already trust, while elevating the buying experience at the front end. Implementation is straightforward, and the result is a more connected, end‑to‑end purchasing process that works better for everyone involved.

A strong partnership delivering real outcomes

The session also reinforced the strength of the long‑standing partnership between Unit4 and Proactis. By combining Unit4 Financials by Coda with Proactis Marketplace, organizations can gain greater visibility, stronger compliance, and a purchasing experience that users actually want to follow.

As someone who regularly speaks with customers about their purchasing challenges, I see guided buying as a practical, high‑impact way to improve efficiency without adding complexity. When users are guided to do the right thing, and the system makes it easy, better outcomes naturally follow. Watch the full webinar recording Guided purchasing via supplier catalogs and punchouts in the Proactis Marketplace today, and reach out to your Account Manager to take next steps.

Sign up to see more like this

Popular blogs

Subscribe to our blog

Don't miss the latest Unit4 blogs

Sign up for industry insights & exclusive content