Cash APplication Processes: The Inadequacies Of Manual Processing

Automated Cash Application Processing Software


Cash application processes are integral for organizations in successful management of their order to cash cycles. These processes involve the tracking, capturing, and allocating of remittance advice and information, to ensure that cash is applied appropriately against orders and invoices. Carried out manually, they demand time and resources; often prone to errors and delays.

However, with the advent of automated cash application software, organizations have an opportunity to streamline the process and sustain successful cash flow management. Manual processing, without such technological assistance, risks burning through staff time and resources, compromising the accuracy of payments received, leading to customer dissatisfaction.

Organizations, operating sans an automated cash application solution, run the risk of introducing billing or bank errors, or even tax-related ones, leading to discrepancies in accounts receivable. Additionally, even with regular reconciliations, the manual approach may not provide the accurate, up-to-date perspective essential for timely decision-making and strategic planning. Complex activities, such as bank transfers and supplier or customer reconciliations, that necessitate cross-referencing of data across multiple documents, can be erroneously done by manual processing, hindering timely payments.

Conversely, automated solutions enable swift and accurate data integration; eliminating manual errors, reducing financial inaccuracies, and optimizing the cash application processes. Such solutions enable organizations to accumulate the necessary data by automated file extractions; store it isecurely; and eventually make use of the high-volume extracted data to drive business decisions and deliver services expeditiously and cost-effectively to customers.

Organizations can set up prompt rules-based matching to identify and assign appropriate payments, ensuring accuracy in applying cash against customer accounts. Such solutions can also utilize Intelligent Character Recognition and voice recognition features to effortlessly process transactions. Additionally, they help centralize the entire payment process and automate the task of manual adjustments, thus freeing up time and resources. Reports that provide detailed cash flow information, produced from automated cash application solutions, further provide Finance Executives with an accurate and up-to-date cash flow position.

Without incorporating or implementing automated cash application solutions in order to cash process, organizations compromise their efficiency and effectiveness; not just for cash application processes but for other ancillary processes as well. Without such advanced solutions, organizations miss the opportunity to fine-tune their monthly closing activities; thereby, increasing their processing time. Automated solutions ensure rampant economies of scale in operations while enabling organizations to manage reporting and billing processes efficiently.

In conclusion, the risk of not using automated cash application solutions far outweighs their costs. Organizations must hence strive to incorporate automated solutions as an integral part of their operational framework in order to sustain healthy order to cash cycle and strengthen their current stance in the market.