Reimagining The Order To Cash Process: An Executive Overview
BEST AR ACCOUNTING
The Order To Cash process (OTC) is the lifeblood of any company garnering income from their sales. Traditionally, the order to cash process includes activities such as gathering customer requests, creating quotes, processing orders, invoicing and taking payments. Utilizing automation technologies and software solutions, the order to cash process chain can be streamlined and modernized, removing redundant steps, streamlining invoicing processes, and improving supplier and customer relations which can have deep impact on the organizations bottom line.
The advantages of implementing comprehensive, best-in-class order to cash solution include better organizational visibility, room to breathe within the Accounts Receivable department and improved customer relations. Better visibility helps to improve scalability and decision-making, while streamlining accounts receivable activities and providing more efficient customer relations management.
The components that comprise an automated order to cash solution involve wide variety of essential elements, namely requiring software to cater to the organizations varying business needs. These components include document management, quoting and order processing, inventory tracking, payment processing, debtor management, and invoicing/claiming. When implemented correctly, these tools help to minimize time-consuming manual processes and help enhance customer service, reduce costs and improve the collections process.
As such, the process of implementing comprehensive OTC solution is complex, requiring the elements to communicate effectively with one another in order to ensure maximum business efficiency. This often requires thorough evaluation and research of software options to ensure the chosen software will best accommodate the varying needs of the organization.
The first step in the process is to establish with which vendors the organization currently has relationships, as well as any special requirements for enterprise-wide software implementation. Establishing list of vendors also helps to assess the array of vendors that the organization may want to include in the ordering process in the future. These vendors should provide appropriate feedback on their services and provide the necessary tools to ensure that their services are compatible with the organizations own OTC software.
Second, it is essential to choose the best Order To Cash software. The choice of software must be based off the organizations specific needs. Therefore, it is important to look for specific features such as electronic invoicing, online payment processing, accounting and CRM integration, and reporting capabilities. Other considerations include scalability and not being locked into contracts. Evaluation should be based upon vendor feedback and ROI (Return On Investment).
Third, it is critical to establish clear system to store, view, and access the relevant documents necessary for OTC automation. Proper implementation of an automated OTC process requires all documents to be registered, tracked, and stored within the system. Fully integrating an automated OTC solution with existing internal systems makes for an organized, coordinated, and streamlined process that includes tracking of orders, receiving, invoicing and payment processing.
Fourth, it is important to ensure that Cloud Computing is part of the solution. This helps to automate financial processes and tasks, and enables employees of the organization to access information from anywhere in the world. comprehensive OTC solution should also include financial planning and inventory management capabilities, while making it easy to generate reports.
Finally, the organizational staff should be trained in the OTC software process. This can be achieved through series of online, in-person, or blended training courses. These courses should provide staff with the necessary knowledge to be able to share information and collaborate between various departments, customers, and vendors. Training should cover all topics from ordering, invoicing, and payments, through to financial planning and inventory management.
In conclusion, the automated OTC process is crucial to the success of any business. While the complete process is complex and involves multiple layers of elements, comprehensive OTC solution can be designed to streamline and automate series of tasks and processes, freeing up valuable company resources which can be allocated elsewhere in order to achieve future successes.
