A Cfo’s Path To An Efficient Order To Cash Solution
E Invoicing Solution
The Order to Cash (OTC) process is critical part of business operations. In addition to managing the process of creating and sending invoices, the OTC process also covers the receipt and processing of the corresponding payments. As such, the OTC process is crucial component of making sure that business cash flows are maintained. As the Chief Financial Officer, identifying an effective and efficient Order to Cash Solution is indispensable to maintaining sufficient cash flow and keeping overhead low.
Considering the importance of the OTC process, it is imperative to select the right solution. While each companies requirements are unique, there is comprehensive step-by-step approach which can be employed when looking for an invoicing solution tailored to the business needs.
1. Promote collaboration within the team. The OTC process is cross-functional effort. As the CFO, it is incumbent upon you to ensure that all stakeholders in the process are part of the selection process. From invoice creation to the reception of payments, ensure that the team consults with its members from accounting, finance, sales, marketing, and IT to consolidate everyone?s needs and ensure that the OTC solution addresses all of them. Uncover each departments requirements and share them across the team in order to gather holistic view of the ideal solution.
2. Focus on invoicing capabilities. Of the various features that OTC should be able to do, one of the topmost priorities should be the ability to send and receive invoices quickly and accurately. The OTC solution should be able to automate the process of creating invoices and, if needed, send them via email. Moreover, the solution should have features that allow the team to easily track invoices and manage invoice statuses.
3. Find solution with mobile capabilities. Most business require their teams to be out of the office for long periods, whether it is sales team conducting business on the field or an employee attending to client complaint. As such, it is essential that the OTC solution allows its users to access it and comport with it from anywhere in the world. The solution should have mobile capabilities or an app that enables users to receive, enter, and process payments and manage related documents for OTC, all within the app.
4. Confirm client and vendor payment tracking. Maintaining accurate records on both client and vendor payments is vital part of the OTC process and, as the CFO, it is essential to make sure that the solution has this feature. The solution should be able to offer comprehensive view of all payment statuses and facilitate payments tracking, whether in batches and individual payments.
5. Make sure the solution is secure. One of the main issues associated with selecting an OTC software is the security of the underlying system. With the massive amounts of sensitive data, such as customer and financial information, being transmitted and stored, it is necessary to choose solution that features secure encryption and fast, reliable cloud storage.
With these five steps, every CFO can be confident that the OTC solution is able to meet the expectations of their team as well as keep their critical financial data secure in the cloud. Following this strategy to select an effective invoicing solution tailored to the business needs is the fastest and surest way to select the ideal Order to Cash solution.
