ABM + ezyCollect: Ajendico’s 3-step plan for accounts receivable efficiency

Di Peters is the Managing Director at Ajendico Pty Ltd, Australia’s leading Advanced Business Manager (ABM) Software Channel Partner. Di has been helping small & medium business owners for the past 27 years. As an ERP advisor, she specialises in optimising and systemising increasingly complex business processes. “Even successful businesses encounter problems. With the right technology, you can transform a problem area into a long-term asset,” says Di. Cash flow generating functions should be optimised, making accounts receivable efficiency a prime target.

Key points

• The right technology can create lasting improvements to your business processes.
• Cash recovery is a common pain point across many industries.
• Ajendico integrated ezyCollect with ABM to extend their accounts receivable efficiency and capabilities.
• An automated and organised accounts receivable process saves time and speeds up the cash recovery rate.

Trial ezyCollect + ABM free for 14 days

Di uses a simple 3-step process to help business owners identify areas for business improvement:

Step one: Uncover the pain points

First, identify the processes that are not working for your business. Look for areas where you are putting in the time and effort but not getting results. Which pieces of information are you missing but really need in order to make good decisions? Where are you wasting resources and raw materials? The pain points in your business can cause headaches for you and your team. Even worse, they could also be affecting your customers.

Step two: Assess your current capabilities

Deep dive into your current systems to make sure you are utilising them to their full capacity. Identify where your current systems do not meet your evolving needs. Consider your people and the job they need to get done. This will help you to create the scope for the solution that will extend your team’s capabilities.

Step three: Find the best technology 

The key to sustainable improvements is to implement the best technology available. Assess a technology solution for the following:

• the feature set
• usability and user interface
• cost and return on investment
• customer support provided
• ease of integration with your existing systems

Read user reviews. Ask your ERP advisor to recommend applications that are best of breed.

Pain point: Cash recovery 

“The biggest roadblock in growing any successful business is cashflow. If our  clients can’t get dollars back in their bank account it impacts their working capital and growth,” advises Di. And Ajendico’s clients, including manufacturers, e-commerce businesses and importers, want to be market leaders. “Our team can add value to these ambitious businesses by helping them to get paid first.”

Current accounts receivable capability: Advanced Business Manager

At its core, ABM is logical and easy to use. The ABM Core Accounting System is designed to fulfil the needs of modern businesses, and once implemented, quickly simplifies business processes. Di’s clients use the automated credit control functionality in the core ABM system to keep control of customer credit limits. It’s easy to see outstanding debts by invoice due date as well as send an email reminder to overdue customers after the due date has passed. Whilst the day-to-day processes work well, Di identifies an opportunity for time-poor businesses that end up with too many overdue invoices each month. “These businesses need a cost-effective plan in place to follow up customers who don’t respond to existing internal processes.”

Four key accounts receivable improvements with ezyCollect

  The integration of ABM and ezyCollect takes a previously manual process to “another level”, says Di.

1. Get paid early with a due soon reminder

Once the invoice is entered in ABM and the due date is known, you can start automating a schedule of reminders starting before the payment due date. “This first improvement means less work chasing overdue accounts as your new system improves the percentage of invoices paid on or before the due date,” says Di.

2. Save time with an automated and escalating workflow 

If your customer has not paid the invoice, instead of sending just one overdue invoice email from ABM, ezyCollect provides you with a schedule of scripted collection tasks that include emails and phone calls. Your workflow can also include the final step of handing the debt over to a collection agency, a step that always remains in your control.

3. Be easy to pay online

Di also recommends the online payment capability of ezyCollect to her clients. “Your reminder and invoice can include a Pay Now button, making it simpler for your client to pay you with their credit card as soon as the email is received. And your business now looks far more professional to your customers,” advises Di.

4. Generate more business with Pay Later

Going further, ezyCollect offers your customers an additional payment method: Pay Later. “Within their payment portal, your customers can take up a payment plan with a finance provider. It means you get paid today while your customer pays back the amount they owe in instalments.” The Pay Later function is good for your own cash flow, and it also helps your credit-worthy buyers to regulate their own cash flow.

Is ezyCollect right for your ABM-run business?

Di understands that users of ABM like how customisable it is. “Tailoring ABM to suit their internal business processes gives them a competitive advantage,” says Di. To see if ezyCollect could benefit your business, Di recommends this:

1. Run your Trade Debtors report and write down the Total Due
2. Now write down the Total of the Current column underneath
3. Deduct the Current column from the Total Due

This is the amount of money that could potentially be in your bank account right now. Are you missing out?

Di’s final word:

Every business can benefit from extra cash in the bank. Making your accounts receivable process more efficient has tangible benefits to your business  like time savings and working capital you can rely on. What’s more, you also give your customers a better payments experience which supports your relationships.

Next stepABM users can trial ezyCollect free for 14 daysGet started for free→