Order To Cash Solutions: Evaluating From The C-Suite Perspective
CASH APPLICATION AND COLLECTION SOFTWARE
The Order to Cash (OTC) process is considered the most vital part of any finance team’s operations. It is the complex process that manages the end-to-end cycle of orders, receipt of payments, collections and remittance processing. Companies are becoming increasingly dependent on modern cash application and collection software to streamline this process and achieve higher rate of success. Therefore, as an executive in finance, it is important to evaluate modern OTC solutions for their capability of managing the complexities of this process.
This guide outlines the process of evaluating OTC solutions from C-Suite perspective. It will explore the main components of cash application and collection software, discuss the need for implementing such system, and first-hand steps for evaluating solution for the best fit for your business.
Understanding the Need for Cash Application and Collection Solutions
C-Suite executives must first understand the importance of investing in an automated OTC system. There is myriad of potential benefits of having such system, including greater accuracy and efficiency, improved customer service, and working capital optimization.
Accuracy and Efficiency: Automation of cash application and collection software leads to unparalleled accuracy in invoicing, payments and relevant data collection. This minimizes the number of manual errors and errant payments, resulting in greater efficiency.
Customer Service: Communication between customers and finance departments is vastly improved due to automatic notifications or their invoice status and payment received confirmations. This helps foster greater customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.
Working Capital Optimization: Automating OTC processes helps finance teams to send accurate invoices on time and eliminate transactional missteps. This leads to more structured and predictable cash flow, allowing businesses to better utilize their working capital and optimize cash utilization.
Evaluating an OTC Solution: Key Steps
Once the need for an automated OTC system is understood, C-Suite executives can take the following steps in evaluating the right solution for their operations.
Step 1: Gather Requirements
The first step is to work with finance teams to identify the current condition of their OTC operations. Understanding the current pain points and specific requirements can help to direct the decision making process. These include researching the current volume of orders and payments, the number of invoices sent and cash collected, invoice aperture times, and analytical needs, among others.
Step 2: Conduct Vendor Evaluation
After the requirements are identified and the budget is allocated, C-Suite executives can begin the vendor evaluation process. Start by assessing the compliance, scalability, and security aspects of the system. These are essential for ensuring the safety and reliability of the system. Then move onto deeper considerations such as the overall user experience, integration with existing systems, and customer references.
Step 3: Buyer/User Demo
The third step is to involve buyers and users in assessing the flow of the system. This helps to identify areas of improvement, ease of accessing data, and the system’s ability to provide transparent insights. Ideally, live demos are the best way to explore this. However, if there is not enough time for demos then demos via webinars with the supplier’s demo team can still provide useful information.
Step 4: Pilot Projects and Go Live
Finally, upon successful demonstrations, identify pilot projects and define the scope involved. This can help with evaluation of the real user experience of the solution. After assessing the system further, the finance team can plan for going live with the changes accordingly.
Conclusion
The OTC process is critical aspect of the finance system and cash application and collection software solution can provide great value to the business and help optimize working capital. To ensure that the right decision is made from the C-Suite perspective, systematic approach to evaluating details and selecting the best solution is necessary. With this guide, C-Suite executives can have better understanding of the evaluation process and successfully select the perfect fit for their organization.
