Optimizing Order To Cash Processes With Invoice And Purchase Order Software
INVOICE AND PURCHASE ORDER SOFTWARE
In todays heavily regulated and oversaturated business landscape, it is more important than ever for finance teams to quickly and accurately optimize their Order to Cash (?OTC?) processes. Whether the challenge is reconciling invoices with the appropriate purchase order, triggering payments to suppliers, or pursuing collections, an ecosystem of solutions for invoice and purchase order software can help to streamline and automate the OTC process.
This guide will outline why an executive in the finance department should consider this type of software, and will provide step-by-step guide on how to implement and use solutions for invoice and purchase order software to optimize the OTC process.
Understanding the Nature of OTC
The order-to-cash process encompasses each step of the financial transaction between buyer and seller. Generally, the process follows several steps: order generating, order processing, customer billing and payment, service delivery, customer communication, and collection management.
Each of these steps requires extensive time, labor, and money for companies to complete. Moreover, the process is highly susceptible to billing, payment, and reconciliation delays. As such, an inefficient or obsolete OTC process can result in poorer outlook for customer service, longer accounts receivable cycles, and greater spending costs.
Benefits of Solutions for Invoice and Purchase Order Software
Thankfully, solutions for invoice and purchase order software offer numerous financial and operational benefits. The software speeds up the entire processing system and reduces cycle-times by bridging order capture and authorization to payment processing, along with customer and supplier communications.
Moreover, the software reduces labor costs and paper-based transactions associated with invoice processing, purchase orders, and collection management. In addition, departments and teams can access vital customer and supplier data in real-time. From purchasing teams with the ability to view ordering histories to customer service with the ability to track the status of customer payments and invoices, real-time data plays crucial role in the acceleration of the customer journey and the realization of present opportunities.
Using Solutions for Invoice and Purchase Order Software
To use solution for invoice and purchase order software, executives in the finance department need to consider the following steps:
1. Determine which software products will be necessary. This will depend on the number of users, companiesize, existing OTC technologies, and functionalities required.
2. Complete cost-benefit analysis to ensure that the chosen software fits within the organizations budget and provides the necessary features and benefits.
3. Compare various software options that match the criteria set in step one and two.
4. Identify and evaluate the team within the organization responsible for the adoption of the software and improvement of the OTC process.
5. Outline the OTC process and ensure that the software can be implemented easily within any existing compliance and/or regulatory practices.
6. Draft user guide summarizing each step of the OTC process, ensuring that employees are fully trained in the software before its deployment.
7. Fully deploy the software, ensuring that the OTC process meets the standards for compliance, accuracy and practicality in the organizations workflow.
8. Monitor the performance of the software and its effects on the OTC process, tweaking or replacing the technology as needed.
Optimizing the OTC process with solutions for invoice and purchase order software is essential for any executive looking to improve customer service and fulfill orders in timely manner. By following the steps outlined above, executives in the finance department can get the maximum return on investment from their chosen software and accelerate the OTC process.
