Past-due delinquency is a perennial problem in the IT staffing industry. Customers hold back some percentage of the invoice value without a valid reason or sometimes even a few bills to make the best use of the credit line you extend them without you knowing that you are responsible for this sorry state of affairs. The consequence of a mounting past-due portfolio is a disturbed cash flow in your company. When the cash flow gets affected, you will find it difficult to pay your vendors, consultants and subcontractors on time.
The first casualty will be your reputation, and if this continues, talents will start to shun your business or ask for a higher pay rate to compensate for the risk factor involved. The foremost reason why there is a past-due problem at all is the making of the staffing companies themselves; working without automating A/R processes they tend to slip on getting the company’s money on time.
Automating the invoicing process is a critical function that can reverberate across the entire thread of events leading to getting paid. It is important to remember that sending a delayed invoice is often the root cause of past-due buildup. If your accountant or the A/R team is vigilant and is able to keep a close watch on accounts of delinquent customers, 75% of past-due accumulation can be avoided easily. But, how can you achieve this?
Bring Automation into Invoicing and A/R
Invoicing is a grueling process if done manually. It can cause strain in your accountants and result not only in delays but also reflect in invoices that are full of errors. Most of the problems associated with delays are because of doing repetitive work – doing the same work again and again makes the invoice preparers lethargic which ends in the form of invoices with major errors. The solution to stop errors in invoices is automating those processes that are repetitive. The advantage of automation is that it never tires and is always consistent from the first to the last invoice.
The next ripe candidate for automation is A/R. Is it not true that your staff don’t keep pushing customers for payment? Allowing your customers too much credit period and then failing to press for payment are the two big mistakes your accounts department could be making. Why not replace it with automation too? Automation in the form of regular reminders and automatic invoice dispatch is guaranteed to bring down delinquency enormously. The advantage is you get paid faster and cash flow is streamlined.
How Does CONSULT Invoicing Automation Tool Work
CONSULT is a cloud-based SaaS invoicing automation tool that is integrated with QuickBooks for the IT staffing companies that struggle with generating and dispatching (email) PDF format invoices to customers immediately at the end of the project completion. It tackles three core areas: timesheet submission automation, categorization of invoices for taxation purposes and getting paid on time (A/R) with minimum human intervention.
In CONSULT style automation, the application does not wait for long periods to get the data; it is captured instantly using appropriate technologies and kept in store. When it is time for generating invoices and dispatching, all that your accountant needs to do is order the software to start the process and relax – this is what automation really means.
