Monthly Archives: January 2013

PayStream Releases Shared Services Report

The term shared services has evolved over the past two decades and today goes well beyond simply centralization and standardization. Progressive companies have evolved from centralized operations into true shared service models, to reap the benefits of cost savings, efficiencies and overall better service, that shared service models have heralded.

By definition, shared services are the consolidation of business operations that are used or “shared” by multiple parts of the same organization. Shared services are cost-efficient because they work to centralize back-office operations that are used by multiple divisions of the same company and eliminate redundancy. The most common uses for a shared services model is finance, human resource management and information technology.

The economic downturn and subsequent economic recovery has created a number of strategic imperatives for finance managers. Key among these initiatives is a drive for permanent cost reduction in transactional finance areas. While many Fortune 100 companies have adopted shared service centers (SSC), many Fortune 1000 companies have not. PayStream’s Finance Operations Survey reveals SSC penetration of only 32 percent for companies over $1 billion in revenues. This combination has combined to create one of the most exciting business environments for transformation, including outsourcing non-value-add processes solutions in many years. Finance executives are actively seeking to identify opportunities to improve performance and create added value.

This report examines new service strategies around automating core finance functions for billing, collections, procurement, accounts payable and disbursement and should serve as a guide for finance managers considering a SSC.

Report highlights include:

One third of survey respondents do not have a centralized AP department.
Lower processing costs (66 percent) ranked as the top benefit of a SSC. Increased employee productivity (45 percent) and fewer lost invoices (23 percent) ranked second and third. Nearly a quarter of survey respondents report they are planning to have a SSC in the future.
The belief that current processes work (61 percent) ranks as the primary reason 26 percent of survey respondents have no plans to implement a SSC.
Standardized service (37 percent) ranks as the number one goal of establishing a SSC.
Integrating cultures and processes from many units into a cohesive, effective team (55 percent) ranks as the top challenge faced in the SSC process. Creating more efficient processes with the limitations of existing policies and systems (52 percent) ranked a close second.

Many companies continue to explore ways to decrease costs while increasing quality, efficiency and visibility. A proven method to accomplish this goal is through the implementation of a SSC. Many finance processes such as payables and receivables management, expense reporting and payroll are natural candidates for SSC implementation.

The Road to Financial Shared Services report is available for free on the PayStream Advisors website. Download your complimentary copy today to learn more about SSC implantation.

Don’t miss up to the minute financial automation news from the PayStream gurus. Get our blog posts instantly by subscribing to our blog or following us on Twitter. Find the best reviews and comparisons of automation software for your accounts payable (AP) and purchase to pay (P2P) operations. Explore top automation software technologies including data capture, electronic invoicing, ePayments, P-Cards, travel and expense management, supply chain, and imaging and workflow; brought to you by the finance process gurus at PayStream Advisors.

Transcepta Celebrates a Year of Exceptional Achievement

Out to revolutionize the procure-to-pay industry since 2005, Transcepta has expanded like no other business network to exceed customer and supplier expectations. The past year was no exception in this regard. As a result, 2012 yielded exceptional results for the company. Transcepta recently announced:

Membership in the Transcepta network doubled,
Transaction volume over the Transcepta Network increased by 200 percent year-over-year, and
Transcepta revenue grew by over 30 percent year-over-year

In 2012, Transcepta procure-to-pay technology and cutting edge on-boarding programs motivated new customers to choose Transcepta when initiating or upgrading Accounts Payable and Procurement automation projects. Some of these customers who had previously used competing networks decided to take their existing operations to the next level by moving to Transcepta.

Among these converts to Transcepta were global Fortune 500 retail, technology, financial services, and manufacturing companies seeking to enable a variety of business solutions, including e-invoicing, spend management, VAT compliance, supplier information management, and electronic PO delivery.

Key to Transcepta’s success is its ability to maximize supplier adoption. Rather than require suppliers to pay fees, use time-consuming manual portals, and participate in data-mapping projects that require IT resources, Transcepta makes supplier membership fast, free, and easy. In 2012:

Transcepta was the first business network to move to the free-supplier model, thereby eliminating the most significant cause of friction during the on-boarding process and facilitating supplier enrollment.
Technological advancements made it possible for suppliers to use their existing systems and invoice layouts without modification when transmitting data to their buyers over the Transcepta Network—unlike competing networks that still require suppliers to key their information into web portals.

Click here to view the entire Transcepta press release.

Stay tuned to PayStream’s upcoming research to learn more about Transcepta’s Procure-to-Pay technology. The company will be featured in PayStream’s Q1 Electronic Invoice Benchmark report.

Don’t miss up to the minute financial automation news from the PayStream gurus. Get our blog posts instantly by subscribing to our blog or following us on Twitter. Find the best reviews and comparisons of automation software for your accounts payable (AP) and purchase to pay (P2P) operations. Explore top automation software technologies including data capture, electronic invoicing, ePayments, P-Cards, travel and expense management, supply chain, and imaging and workflow; brought to you by the finance process gurus at PayStream Advisors.

Three More Global Top 50 Firms Select Chrome River to Automate AP Workflow

Chrome River Technologies, a leading provider of expense management and automated invoice processing software, recently announced a strong close to 2012 in the legal market with a customer base that includes half of the AmLaw 100 and nearly 50% of the Global Top 50.

Launched in mid-2008, Chrome River showed strong growth by being ranked number 258 on Inc. magazine’s 2012 500|5000 list, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies and number 24 across the entire nation’s leading companies in the Software category. Their growth momentum was further validated by being ranked number 23 on LA Business Journal’s THE LIST for 2012; a ranking of Los Angeles County based fastest-growing private companies.

Through continuous fast-paced growth, Chrome River established itself as the leader in Expense and Invoice Management automation in the legal vertical. They ended the year with notable momentum in the legal market by adding three more Global Top 50 law firms to their customer base. All three firms subscribed to utilize Chrome River’s full accounts payable workflow platform. There is a clear trend with leading law firms around the globe to automate and improve their expense and invoice workflow operations, which is a major factor in controlling costs and improving profits.

Click here to view the entire Chrome River press release.

Stay tuned for PayStream’s 2013 Travel and Expense report which will feature a detailed profile and case study on Chrome River’s expense management solution. In the meantime, download PayStream’s 2012 version of the report to learn more about Chrome River.

Several Colleges and Universities Converting to Hyland Software’s OnBase

Requiring a more robust and flexible enterprise content management (ECM) solution, numerous colleges and universities have made the decision to convert to OnBase from Singularity, an ECM solution acquired by Hyland Software in 2010. Providing more powerful workflows and real-time integrations with student information systems, OnBase also allows schools to scale their solutions across the campus and higher education systems. These expansion efforts are supported by additional solutions for areas such as graduate admissions, accounts payable and athletics that are not available with Singularity. In addition, these new OnBase users will now have mobile access to their content and processes from Android, Blackberry, iPhone, and iPad devices.

When the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) converted to OnBase, it needed an ECM solution powerful enough to integrate with its student information system, Banner by Ellucian, but flexible enough to be used across the campus. By converting to OnBase, UCO integrated with Banner across five departments and seamlessly transitioned over one million Enrollment Management, Purchasing, Payroll and Employment Services documents without any disruptions. “I don’t think we really had any downtime at all,” said Cari Roberts, applications administrator at the UCO. “We turned off Singularity on Friday afternoon and on Monday we were using OnBase.”

Successfully converting more than 400 organizations over the past ten years, Hyland’s expert conversion team utilizes a proven conversion methodology, performing a complete test-run conversion to eliminate surprises during the production conversion. The conversion team also provides detailed reconciliation reports that account for 100% of the historical data. Hyland’s conversion team moved 6.5 million documents from Singularity to OnBase in 2012 and will convert another 8.5 million documents in the next few months.

A key to conversion success is Hyland’s approach to project management. “Hyland offers a dedicated conversion project manager to ensure that the conversion is completed on-time, on-budget and without mistakes,” said Alisa Buck, director of enterprise information systems at Columbia College. “One of the main reasons Columbia College experienced a seamless transition was because of Hyland’s project manager, who drove the project by giving us plans, statements, action items and updates during our weekly calls.”

Now that Columbia College has a more flexible ECM solution, numerous departments on campus are scheduled to implement OnBase to help streamline their processes. “OnBase is truly a collaborative tool and we expect to see more and more benefits every year,” said Buck. “We have a waiting list of departments that want to utilize OnBase, it’s been amazing and everyone wants to use it.”

Click here to view the entire Hyland Software press release.

Download a complimentary copy of PayStream’s 2012 Receivables Document Management: Moving Toward a Paperless AR Organization report to learn more about Hyland’s OnBase solution.

Don’t miss up to the minute financial automation news from the PayStream gurus. Get our blog posts instantly by subscribing to ourBlog or following us on Twitter. Find the best reviews and comparisons of automation software for your accounts payable (AP) and purchase to pay (P2P) operations. Explore top automation software technologies including data capture, electronic invoicing, ePayments, P-Cards, travel and expense management, supply chain, and imaging and workflow; brought to you by the finance process gurus at PayStream Advisors.

PayStream Advisors Publishes Global eInvoicing Whitepaper

In 2012, PayStream Advisors and Purchasing Insight launched a global electronic invoice survey to AP, finance and treasury personnel in a wide range of industries. The survey received over 200 responses, which were analyzed for the creation of the Global eInvoice report.

The survey found that half of survey respondents are looking to implement eInvoicing in the coming year, and well over half of those (31 percent) are looking to achieve at least 75 percent electronic. Other report findings include:

• 28 percent of companies report they are currently evaluating some advanced automation technology but have not yet adopted.
• There is an extraordinary contrast in the adoption of P2P technologies when we compare the U.S. market with the global view. Electronic banking and eInvoicing has not sparked as much adoption in the U.S. versus other regions of the world.
• Purchasing cards have had more success in the U.S. than other regions of the world.
• Integration with suppliers (56 percent) ranks as the top global eInvoice challenge.
• Reduced overall processing costs (56 percent) ranks as the top global eInvoice benefit.

Download a complimentary copy of the report HERE to learn more about global electronic invoicing and features software reviews for:
• Ariba
• GXS
• Taulia
• Tradeshift

Don’t miss up to the minute financial automation news from the PayStream gurus. Get our blog posts instantly by subscribing to our Blog or following us on Twitter. Find the best reviews and comparisons of automation software for your accounts payable (AP) and purchase to pay (P2P) operations. Explore top automation software technologies including data capture, electronic invoicing, ePayments, P-Cards, travel and expense management, supply chain, and imaging and workflow; brought to you by the finance process gurus at PayStream Advisors.

Automated Dispute Resolution Workflow

I have visited numerous credit and collections departments over the years and managing disputes still remains a time consuming challenge for many of them. There are several reasons for this, but all are related to the complexity of commercial trading relationships which typically involve multiple points of interaction between trading partners pointing toward an increased need for networking or collaboration solutions.

On the buyer side of the equation you typically have the requisitioner, purchasing agent, receiving, quality assurance, and accounts payable. Meanwhile sales, order processing, customer service, shipping, operations, billing, cash applications, credit and collections all play a role for the vendor. With that many cooks stirring the pot, any deviation from a clean transaction is sure to launch ripples across the supply chain, impacting the cash settlement process. Here are a few reasons why disputeresolution still remains a challenge:

Vendor Compliance:
Increased inventory management sophistication has prompted buyers to demand more from their vendors. The outgrowth of this is the vendor compliance manual that specifies virtually everything from packaging to labeling to delivery times in minute detail. Failure to comply results in specified penalties the buyer will take as a payment deduction. Likewise, buyers have increased the number of specifications included in their purchase orders. From the vendor perspective, this has created an increasingly complex compliance environment. Instead of being able to treat every customer order the same more and more customer orders require special handling, the exceptions being the rule.

Post Audit Claims:
Understandably, this increasingly complex vendor compliance environment has resulted in rising dispute volumes. In turn, high dispute volumes provide an opportunity for Post Audit Claims, in which a third party working on behalf of the buyer audits the transaction history, often going back several years, between their client and its vendors in order to identify overlooked compliance issues that are then presented in the form of a claim. These are extremely time consuming to defend even if you have good records, and so impose a huge burden on the limited resources of most vendors. And of course, there also remain a variety of common dispute and claim issues involving things like returned merchandise, sales tax and freight that are part and parcel of every buyer/seller relationship and which are often evidence of internal system weaknesses. Companies that embrace a true automated deduction workflow solution will be ahead of the game due to better tracking and reporting.

The Need for Distinct Processes for Different Exception Scenarios:
Because each different type of exception will require a different set of responses, selling organizations face a huge challenge in formulating all the necessary standardized resolution processes. There are different routing, approval levels, and notifications that need to take place for each and every exception scenario. In the absence of a hard-wired process, exception handling will tend towards inconsistency, which ultimately just adds to the confusion. Standardization ensures consistency in the process no matter who is handling the dispute, payment deduction, warranty claim, customer inquiry or whatever else might have come up. The key is to enlist technology that can help associate an exception type with each issue that arises, and to then have a preset protocol for handling every exception and dispute type.

The Variable Components of the Exception Resolution Process:
Not only will there be a host of dispute resolution scenarios, but each resolution process has its own variables. The following list itemizes key components that are found in most dispute resolution processes.

Reason Codes
Activity Owner or Actor>Authorizing Authority
Levels of authorization
Cycle Time Parameters and Service Level Agreements
Exceptions at the Item Detail Level
Supporting Documentation
Documents
Images
Contracts
Bill-of-Lading
Final Dispensation
Credit
Charge-off
Collect

Additional variables arise as these components interact with each other and the sequence in which they come into play. Some resolution processes will be relatively simple and straightforward while other situations will require a complex solution. Moreover, as changes occur within your business (e.g. a reorganization of the Sales function or a new accounting system), these components will be affected. The challenge is to stay on top of the interrelationships of all these components and the complexity of your resolution processes.

Stay tuned for Part II of my automated dispute resolution workflow blog series in which I will discuss how Business Process Management can apply to dispute resolution workflow and help companies overcome dispute resolution challenges.

Are you finding that dispute management remains a challenge for your organization? I’d like to hear from you.

PayStream Releases Revenue Cycle Management Report

The new report Revenue Cycle Management: Increasing Control Over the Order-to-Cash Process published by PayStream Advisors reveals that Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) solutions offer considerably more functionality within an expanded universe than they did five years ago and are working to significantly increase cash flow. RCM software dramatically improves receivables performance. The report reveals that through the use of collection automation, companies have witnessed reductions of:

10 to 20 percent in Days Sales Outstanding;
25 percent in past due receivables; and
15 to 25 percent in bad debt reserves.

The report also reveals that there are a number of growing concerns in the credit profession related to credit quality, dispute management, new account processing and international sales; all of which can be addressed by AR automation. The report also reveals a number challenges currently facing credit and collections including too little collection activity and erratic collection efforts, to name a few.

Report highlights include:

Revenue Cycle Management value proposition – processing efficiency, lower costs, enhanced visibility and control
How RCM solutions streamline the order-to-cash process
New innovations in RCM solutions
Differing approaches to Revenue Cycle Management
Traditional versus automated collections
RCM Solution provider profiles and case studies

This report was created to help AR professionals:

Explore the different types of AR automation that span the order-to-cash process;
Understand the business case for implementing RCM technologies to improve receivables management; and
Take the next step towards the adoption of AR automation

Software Reviews on:

CashOnTime
e2b teknologies
HighRadius
SAP
TermSync

Find the best reviews and comparisons of automation software for your accounts payable (AP) and purchase to pay (P2P) operations for top automation software technologies like, data capture, electronic invoicing, epayments, p-cards, travel and expense management, supply chain, and imaging and workflow brought to you by the finance process gurus at PayStream Advisors.

Institute of Financial Operations Survey to Gauge Effects of Fiscal Cliff Debate on Accounts Receivable Profession

With all the talk about the "fiscal cliff," and businesses nervous about tax implications of any action Congress takes during ongoing discussions in the coming months, accounts receivable departments are sitting in the crosshairs of "pay/don’t pay" strategies organizations will use to manage their cash flow. Data currently being gathered by The Institute of Financial Operations in partnership with Esker is more important than ever.

The Institute of Financial Operations, in partnership with Esker, is conducting a survey of AR professionals about the current status of their organizations’ operations as well as their plans for automating any or all of the accounts receivable processes. The 2013 Accounts Receivable Automation Survey seeks to gather information about the biggest challenges AR professionals face today, methods used to send invoices, changes in the costs of producing invoices, benefits of electronic invoicing, top obstacles to corporate AR initiatives, and trends in outsourcing the invoice process.

“Businesses of all sizes are adapting to the changing scenario of accounts receivable operations, and we want to know what they’re doing and how,” says Jean-Michel Bérard, CEO at Esker, a global company that specializes in document process automation solutions. “More and more organizations are automating some of their financial operations processes to keep up with the other work their departments are expected to handle today. By leveraging technology, they can improve their efficiency and make their AR departments more effective. But are they taking advantage of these new tools?”

The survey offers a rare opportunity for AR professionals to make their viewpoints heard. Respondents, who remain anonymous, are entered into a drawing for a $100 gift card and receive a complimentary report on the results. Accounts receivable professionals can take the survey (click here) until January 31, 2013.

The Institute is reaching out to AR professionals in an effort to enhance its offerings in accounts receivable education and news. The membership association formerly focused on accounts payable and has expanded to include other financial operations professions, including those in information management and data capture.

“Our board of directors and our staff are committed to telling the story of the AR professional and helping shape the discussion around where accounts receivable advances are made in the future,” says Jo E. LaBorde, executive director of The Institute. “The people who keep the money coming in for organizations all over the world are an integral part of business, and we’re here to help them succeed in their careers and add even more value to their organizations. This latest survey will help us measure where they are and where they’re going.”

Results of the study will be available this spring in a report issued by The Institute at http://www.financialops.org.

Take the accounts receivable survey today and have your viewpoint heard.

InStream Joins AnyDoc’s Value-Added Reseller Program

AnyDoc Software, a leading provider of automated document, data capture, and classification solutions, announced today that InStream, LLC has joined the AnyDoc Software channel as a Value-Added Reseller.

InStream specializes in back-office processing and business process outsourcing (BPO), including document and data capture, document management, workflow, and integration of document imaging with line-of-business applications. The Nashville, TN-based company targets financial, health care, and government markets, as well as accounts payable and human resources departments.

In the health care space, InStream will expand its service offerings for claims processing automation with AnyDoc®CLAIM™. The software automates processing of CMS-1500s, UB04s, and other medical and dental claim forms by quickly and accurately capturing critical claim data including patient data, CPT codes, procedural charges, and more. Multiple input streams—paper, EDI 837, fax, and re-priced claims—are easily handled with this single platform while verified EDI 837 output supports the latest health care 5010 standard.

For providers, InStream will offer AnyDoc®EOB™ to automatically capture and process Explanation of Benefits (EOB) forms received from insurers along with payment. AnyDocEOB captures data including line item details, validates the data, and balances procedural charges and claim totals to the EOB total to ensure accuracy. Accurate data and indexed images are delivered to patient accounting, financial management and other business systems. The solution also supports the health care 5010 standard with EDI 835 output.

“We see a high demand from our clients to process EDI claim data, and complex EOB forms,” said Mark Hinson, President and CEO of InStream, “and we are excited to begin offering AnyDoc solutions to satisfy their document processing needs. Overall, this partnership opens the door for us to provide our clients with cost savings, efficiency, high data accuracy, and compliant data output.”

The addition of AnyDocCLAIM also complements InStream’s business model for providing hybrid solutions with software and BPO services. InStream clients can benefit from AnyDocCLAIM’s automatic claims balancing for high data accuracy, while leveraging services such as remote verification and hosting from InStream to meet their business needs.

For more information on AnyDocCLAIM, visit www.anydocclaim.com.

To learn more about AnyDocEOB, visit www.anydoceob.com.

About InStream

InStream delivers enterprise content management (ECM) and business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions to banking, financial services, healthcare payer, and corporate clients throughout the Southeast. Our deep experience with document and data capture, document management and workflow allows us to quickly identify solutions that dramatically increase productivity and cost savings for any organization. Whether on-premise or in the cloud, our ECM solutions integrate with almost any business application, ERP system and Microsoft SharePoint. We further reduce ECM and Check 21 labor costs with document scanning and conversion, image lockbox, check scanner fulfillment, and data entry services. More info: www.instreamllc.com.

About AnyDoc Software
AnyDoc Software has been developing award-winning document, data capture, and classification solutions since 1989. More than 3,000 clients and 70,000 users worldwide in 45 countries rely on AnyDoc solutions to eliminate millions of hours of manual data entry while improving their productivity and data accuracy. Any paper form or document including invoices, remittances, and checks can be automatically processed with full data capture without the need for manual keying. Clients include: Fastenal Company, Sony Pictures Entertainment, BlueCross BlueShield, the U.S. Census, LeasePlan, Coop, and more.

For additional information, please visit www.AnyDocSoftware.com.

For more information contact:
Judy Mann, Marketing Communications Manager
AnyDoc Software, Inc.
(813) 222-0414
[email protected]

Corcentric Launches an Automation-centric Accounts Payable Blog

Corcentric, a leading provider of Accounts Payable automation and electronic invoicing solutions, recently launched a new blog site. This blog is designed as a knowledge center for accounts payable professionals to explore automation best practices.

Every week, Corcentric will focus on the ways companies can improve performance, optimize financial operations, and streamline invoice processes in their own finance departments, regardless of the industry sector (retail, manufacturing, healthcare, entertainment, transportation, construction, and others). There will be ongoing discussions on key concerns related to implementing AP automation. Accounts Payable professionals are welcome to leave comments and ask questions on Corcentric’s blog to exchange knowledge with the e-invoicing community.

Corcentric will also post the latest trends and news as they pertain to financial process automation and how these trends will affect the ways companies do business. The following topics will be discussed in the upcoming weeks:

The benefits of E-invoicing
How to optimize your accounts payable resources
The advantage of AP Cloud automation
The importance of being a tech-savvy CFO
How SaaS (software as a service) AP workflow can work for your company
And so much more

Join Corcentric’s community at http://blog.corcentric.com.

Click here to view entire Corcentric press release.

Corcentric was recently featured in PayStream’s 2012 Optimizing Accounts Payable: Improving Performance & Creating Added Value Through Outsourcing report. Download a complimentary copy of the report today to learn more about Corcentric. The report includes a detailed Corcentric profile and case study.

Are you finding that dispute management remains a challenge for your organization? I’d like to hear from you.

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