Technology is everywhere, both in business and in everyday life. It’s a pretty safe bet that if something can be made more efficient, or just easier, by employing technology it has either already happened, or there is someone working developing a solution. This is especially true for business practices. Business has been transformed by technology throughout the history of business in general. Technological innovations in business practices and processes have charted the course of entire industries. It’s easy to see technological progress in some areas: handwriting to printing press, printing press to individual typewriters, typewriters to computer word processors/printers, computer word processors/printers to internet-based self publishing. But, in other industries and for other business practices, like accounting or receivables management, the technological chain and the advantages provided by adoption of new technology may be a bit murkier. Just because they may be a bit harder to see from some perspectives, though, doesn’t mean that this area cannot be helped and improved by the use of new tech platforms. In fact, for these business practices, the technological assistance and automation provided through cloud-based software platforms can dramatically transform the efficacy of the particular department.
Specifically, software platforms now enable parties to manage projects, secure extensions of credit, track deadlines, manage relationships/customer contact, and monitor and manage receivables and payment with little effort. This should be a welcome change from the days of hand-written ledgers and Excel spreadsheets, but the use of technological tools in the construction industry lags far behind their use in other industries.
Now Is the Time for Technology in This Industry
Not only does the use of available technology assist with the construction financial management process as a whole, it also provides valuable assistance in managing receivables and creating and implementing a thorough payment funnel. On the flip side, however, the failure to adopt new technology when available can have dramatic consequences. Companies that put off implementing new technological advances available to their industry run the risk of falling behind competitors with the respect to the tools used, and the subsequent efficiency gains. In an industry with thin margins and a history of payment problems, losing the efficiency battle can quickly lead to problems competing in the marketplace.
Spotlight on Receivables Management Technology – ZenCash
Receivables management has multiple parts, from being able to monitor, track, and execute security rights, to inducing payment after invoice, to collections. While all of these functions can be done in-house to some extent, that results in a piece-meal, and, frankly, non-optimized approach. By using specially designed technology, companies can get specialized knowledge, efficiency, and better results. Technology that is specialized and expertly tailored to particular issues in receivables management can be a huge benefit. And, when these specialized technology platforms can communicate with each other, and your own system, a whole “ecosystem” of receivables management can be created – leaving your company more efficient, and with more cash as a result.
One particularly interesting platform for receivables management is ZenCash. This company works like an outsourced A/R department, working to get invoices paid. It’s not a collection agency, or an accounting platform – it serves as a bridge between the two, communicating with customers and facilitating the payment of invoices. Getting cash more quickly is a huge benefit to companies in the construction industry, and any specialized platform that provides that result, along with providing efficiency by freeing up your company’s employees is worth a look.
Another great platform for receivables management is Funding Gates. Providing organized access to receivables information can provide insights into the receivables management process that may otherwise be overlooked, or that could have gone unnoticed. Using your specific information to create a specialized workflow allows your company to efficiently manage the receivables management process, and to have that process fit with your own receivables management philosophy.
To really provide clear and tangible benefits, any receivables management technology for the construction industry must perform several functions. It should 1) provide good access to your information; 2) be able to store and intelligently display your data; and 3) be able to communicate with other software applications. Specialized platforms that are able to do all of these can drastically improve the receivables management process.
Another Step Down the Road – TrueAccord
Many of the the same things I like about the ZenCash platform are also true about TrueAccord. It’s a specialized platform that focuses on and improves a particular aspect of the receivables management process, and the associated problems. While ZenCash is similar to an outsourced A/R department, TrueAccord is collection solution.
Collections agencies have a fairly bad reputation, as a whole, and it’s not entirely undeserved. The collection agency as “bad cop” sent to badger a non-paying account until they give up and pay is not beneficial to either party. Reinventing the collection process, and making it less adversarial is a worthwhile goal that could pay huge dividends for future business relations. And, using technology to do this enables companies to have more control over collection efforts, and to have access to more, and better, information.
Conclusion
The technological revolution in receivables management, and particularly construction receivables management is happening, and it’s happening in cloud-based technology platforms. The benefits to cloud-based technology are real, and they line up neatly with the requirements of a thorough construction receivables monitoring solution outlined above. Cloud-based solutions are agile, communicative, clear, attractive, and powerful.
With cloud-based solutions, a company can connect products through APIs, and with products that talk to one another, the financial manager can do away with double data entry for good. What’s more, cloud based solutions are formulated specifically to provide easy access to all of your information from wherever you are. If you have an internet connection, you should have access to all of your data – and if you don’t something is wrong. Finally, cloud-based solutions are powerful as well as pretty. Ugly applications can be functional, but when your important information is presented a clear, attractive, and thoughtful manner, it’s easier to make sense of it, and get paid. Two companies that seem to have the right idea here are ZenCash and TrueAccord.
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