Business Invoice Payment
Monitor – Colecta
Who are we?
As the etiquette suggests, let’s start by getting acquainted – what is Colecta? Every company knows it – the more invoices you issue, the more resources you need to collect them. Someone needs to keep track of the invoices on a regular basis to ensure that the company’s cash flow does not suffer. This process, in turn, wastes the company’s time and potentially money.
But now there is a new service available to businesses that will save them both – invoice payment management. “Colecta will help you improve your customers’ payment culture and allow you to focus on your core business instead of herding debtors. If your company also writes a lot of post-paid invoices to customers – read on, it will be useful!
How did this service come about?
As part of the receivables managment company group, we came up with the idea of invoice management after analyzing the cases we receive for debt collection every day. There were two main findings. The first is that in the Latvian business environment and business culture, abusive non-payment of invoices is not very common. If the debtor is regularly and timely communicated with, reminded of his obligations and constructively negotiated with, the reality is that less than five percent (depending on the sector) of all overdue invoices reach the debt collection process.
The second finding. Often, cases where payment has not been made due to lack of internal resources (time/people) or administrative process deficiencies. The conclusion is simple. Until a certain critical mass of invoices is reached, this function is usually performed by an existing resource (accountant, sales manager or the managers themselves).
Not everyone can afford expensive systems or a dedicated person to ensure that all invoices are paid. However, our experience shows that simple things are genius: regular and timely emails and/or text messages ensure that at least two-thirds of the invoices are already paid, and the combination with a phone call ensures optimal results. But the question is: who is doing the communicating? Your company’s accountant, sales person, CFO, maybe the CEO himself? Or it could be Colecta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Any new service, especially in the financial area, raises both interest and questions. Companies are reluctant to let third parties into their financial kitchen and want to maintain confidentiality on any issues related to the company’s cash flow. Understandably so. That’s why, when we developed the Colecta service, we realized right from the start that we wanted to create a sense of security for the customer when using it. How do we achieve this?
We do not need any information about the payments made to the client (access to accounts, regular reports on payments received or cash collection to our account) for the purpose of our cooperation. There is also no need to physically receive customer invoices or delivery notes. All that Colecta needs to ensure the management process is a list of unpaid invoices, which we receive within a certain period of time (1x or 2x per month).
Another aspect that potential clients pay attention to is the image of the company. Will the third party speaking on our behalf communicate with the client in a way that is acceptable to the company’s corporate culture? This concern quickly turns into a benefit for the client, as Colecta takes the pressure off the company’s image in terms of negative communication. In terms of style, the content of each communication – text messages, emails or phone calls – is discussed and agreed with the client in advance. And their frequency is tailored to each client.
Your benefits
Finally, your benefits. There are many, but the most important seems to be the time and money you will save. A practical example. If a salesperson is responsible for cash flow in your company, using Colecta will free up to 30% of his time. In fact, productivity increases by a third because the salesperson is doing his/her direct job instead of dealing with accounting bureaucracy.
“Colecta’s service improves a company’s overall cash flow, while timely preventive measures minimize losses. Predictable and stabilized revenues will of course feed back into the company’s development process. By creating a transparent and clear customer policy, Colecta also helps to build closer relationships with customers, creating trust and fostering long-term cooperation.
Many clients also appreciate the audit of their company’s financial system when they start working with Colecta to understand its health and identify weaknesses. If a company has obvious homework to do to fix the system, we will not hesitate to discuss the problems and desired improvements openly. Optimized process management creates a basis for investment, contributes to financial stability and ensures the sustainability of the company.
Reduce the cost of invoice management, take advantage of Colecta’s services and improve your company’s financial performance. Book a personalized consultation by clicking here!
