Improving Accounts Receivable by Improving Visibility

Corporate Payments And Payables

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Emily Rodenhuis

Oct 9, 2018

Improving accounts receivable is a topic that strategic finance professionals are perpetually struggling with, and it’s no wonder –the statistics surrounding lack of visibility into receivables are abundant. Here are two of the most discouraging:

  • 41% of senior finance executives identified a lack of visibility into receivables as their company's top challenge in better managing cash (IOFM)
  • Nearly 60% of businesses are dissatisfied with their receivables and cash application processes(Aite Group)

The issue of lack of visibility into receivables has gone well beyond simply being an annoyance at this point –it’s now a full-blown crisis that’s undercutting the success of organizations worldwide.

Could your business benefit from improving accounts receivable? Here are just a few ways lack of visibility could be undercutting your organization right now...

  1. Lack of visibility dams cash flow Every time an invoice doesn't get delivered, get opened or get actioned, your cash stops flowing. And because of the way exception reports are generated, you'd never know until it's too late.
     
  2. Lack of visibility increases late payments There are many reasons that payments can be late, and a number of them can be easily addressed by having greater visibility into the status of your receivables. For example, an invoice might not have gotten to the right person, or it could have gotten lost in someone's inbox.
     
  3. Lack of visibility increases unrecoverable debts The longer a late payment goes unaddressed or unresolved, the greater the chance that it will become an unrecoverable debt. Visibility into accounts receivable enables staff to connect with customers early in the process, even before a payment is late. 
     
  4. Lack of visibility impacts short-term investments and loans It can be beneficial to make short-term investments that add to your bottom line with the interest rates that are higher than you could earn in a savings account. But if your cash flow is being impacted by late payments or unrecoverable debt, you may not be able to use your funds strategically.

For six more ways a lack of visibility into receivables could be undercutting your business, plus a full analysis on solving the challenge and improving accounts receivable once and for all, check out the ebook “10 Ways a Lack of Visibility into Your Receivables is Undercutting Your Business.

 

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Emily Rodenhuis

Emily Rodenhuis is a creative marketing writer specializing in content creation. Her work has been featured by BankNews, InfoSecurity, AFP magazine and more.
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