Bookkeeping Automation — Human vs Computer: Why Not Both?
By: Josh Parkinson — VP of Product
Getting invoices paid on time was a problem I felt viscerally when I ran my own business. We delivered what was agreed to on time and on budget, and then the client would dawdle with payment. The reasons varied. Some didn’t have time to pay at that exact moment. Others thought they already sent payment. Or they simply forgot altogether…
And, to be fair, the terms of the contract were NET 30, so any customer who waited a month was well within their rights.
While I waited for these payments, I was left asking myself, “How can I nudge a customer for payment without irritating them?”
Or, “How do I nudge someone without it taking time out of my already busy schedule?”
Having these first-hand experiences with delayed customer payment is what ultimately helped shape the product over here at FinanceFuel. What personally motivates me is helping business owners, CFOs, controllers, and finance teams alike avoid the types of experiences I went through with Accounts Receivable. I joined FinanceFuel to create the product I wish I had three years ago.
What we don’t do
The easiest solution would be to build an automated system that bothers customers until they pay the invoice. But that is a terrible customer experience. An unending string of emails that you can only opt-out of is something we’ve all experienced. Even if the email content is perceived as valuable, it’s so impersonal that you stop reading them. It’s another ‘reminder’ calendar appointment. Background noise.
The Solution: Accounts Receivable Automation With A Human Touch
When we launched FinanceFuel, we didn’t start with any software or automated system. Instead, we added two Accounts Receivable experts with decades of experience to our team. As they handled AR for our earliest customers, we would ask them questions like, “Hey, what would make your job easier?” or, “What could we build to help out?” From there, we focused our huge brains on building these tools so that our Accounts Receivable experts could work more quickly and efficiently.
It remains important to us that there is a human behind every interaction with your customers. That’s right; real people are doing the work! It’s our secret sauce. Friendly nudges to your customers become the beginning of a conversation, not the start of an email marketing campaign.
So here’s what we deliver:
- Sending better invoices: The right information the first time, right on time.
- Reminders that there’s an invoice awaiting action: Engaging with the customer so that they remember to either pay.
- Managing customer reminders and expectations until payment: Our AR experts manage any push-backs on the invoice or commitments to pay by a specific date. We make sure we’re caring for your customers while also holding them accountable to their commitments
- No extra tool for you to manage: We provide this as a service to take AR off of your plate. You’ll get updates on our activity and outcomes, but you can keep an eye on your books through the software you’re already using.
Other insights from FinanceFuel
Outsourcing Accounts Receivable frees up time for your accounting team
I’d love to hire someone full-time, but…
Does anyone enjoy parallel parking?
FinanceFuel accelerates a business’ cash flow by speeding up Accounts Receivables. We remove the remedial processing and collection tasks so employees can focus on high-value work driving the business forward. You can learn more about FinanceFuel on our website or, if you’re interested in speaking directly with a member of our customer success team, send us a note (sales@financefuel.co) and we’ll get back to you right away. Thanks for reading our blog!
