Billing Contracts

Introduction

Traditional manual billing processes are inefficient, time-consuming, and detrimental to cash flow. Cloud-accounting solutions can help automate and streamline the end-to-end process by reducing manual invoice creation and distribution (including subscription models) with powerful reporting capabilities.

Typical Problems

Labour-intense tasks such as creating and distributing sales invoices can be frustrating and time-consuming as they are admin-heavy and manual, often requiring re-keying, in-depth interrogation of multiple spreadsheets and data points across multiple systems, to complete even the most basic of tasks.

Additionally, any number of internal factors must be considered to ensure accurate and timely billing, from the tracking of active contracts, renewal, and expiry dates, differing billing cycles and payment terms, add-ons, change orders and any cancellations, therefore and understandably the risk of human error is high and can impact cash flow.

Data is also not easily reportable as it sits on separate platforms in different formats resulting in a lack of key metrics such as ARR/MRR etc.

Solutions

A true cloud-based solution will result in the seamless integration of CRM, billing, and accounting systems across the organisation, ensuring a smooth data flow and automation throughout each stage.

Billing processes can be automated from opportunities won, with creation, posting to ledgers and the issuing of invoices to customers set to required parameters and timelines. Cloud billing contract software can manage the administration of accounts from renewal of contracts, additions, replacements, cancellations and much more.

Additionally, powerful analytical reporting tools offer advanced reporting capabilities to track the key metrics that are important to the effective management of the business, including ARR/MRR, Churn, Renewals etc.

Benefits/ROI

Integrated billing solutions will vastly improve the time from opportunity won to invoice processing through automation and approval processes, ensuring improved business cash flow.

Administration time and errors will be vastly reduced as complex contractual arrangements of any contract lifecycle can be pre-factored and automated throughout the entire billing and renewal process, reducing errors and delays from data re-keying, and manual invoice creation and issuing.

Powerful reporting tools and dashboards will give greater insight, immediately, to all stakeholders across the business through both standardised and customised reporting options.

References

Example integrations include

• Salesforce > Billing Central > FinancialForce Accounting
• Salesforce > Sage Intacct (Contracts module)