New benchmark data provides the clearest picture yet of digital approval performance in Canadian field services. The numbers suggest a widening gap between contractors using digital workflows and those relying on manual processes.
Aimsio published an analysis of 120,000 tickets processed through its platform, representing over $1 billion in total value. The dataset, primarily from Canadian operations, reveals approval speeds and success rates that manual processes struggle to match.
Speed Benchmarks
The headline finding: 59% of digital approvals completed within 24 hours, with 81% approved within five days. Only 8% of tickets took longer than 10 days.
For context, industry estimates put manual approval cycles at 14-21 days on average, with significant variance based on ticket quality and operator requirements.
Success Rates
Digital submissions achieved a 99% approval success rate, with 91% approved on first submission and 8% approved after a second attempt. This compares to estimated 20-30% rejection rates for paper-based or poorly structured submissions.
The gap matters because each rejection triggers a rework cycle — typically 2-4 hours per ticket plus additional approval delays.
Major Operator Adoption
The data includes significant volume from major operators:
- Suncor Energy: 11,700 approval requests processed, 241 active approvers
- Canadian Natural Resources (CNRL): 9,700 approvals, 355 approvers
These numbers indicate that digital approval infrastructure is well-established on the operator side. The bottleneck, where it exists, is increasingly on the subcontractor side.
Financial Impact
The analysis includes a financial model showing how approval speed affects working capital.
For a contractor processing $10 million in annual ticket value, reducing approval time from 20 days to 5 days saves approximately $29,000 annually in financing costs at 7% cost of capital. At $50 million in annual volume, that figure rises to $145,000.
Ticket Value Distribution
The data shows digital approvals spanning the full value range:
- 25% of tickets under $1,000
- 62% between $1,000 and $10,000
- 13% exceeding $10,000
This distribution suggests digital workflows are trusted for high-value approvals, not just small transactions.
The full benchmark report is available on the Aimsio blog.
