Symptoms of a Billing and Payment Problem

Symptoms of a Billing and Payment Problem

Cost-drivers and Benefit-opportunities of Cost-drivers and Benefit-opportunities of Strategic Billing and Payments.Strategic Billing and Payments.

Transaction data holds opportunity to: • Generate business, product, and customer insight, • Deliver corporate cost-savings, and • Powerful business analysis tools.

Billing and payment processes effect your ability to optimize opportunity.

This presentation identifies the warning signs of a billing and payment problem and clarifies the cost drivers that suggest the need for a new billing and payment solution.

Symptoms of a Billing and Payments Symptoms of a Billing and Payments Problem.Problem.

Symptom #1: Your Average Interchange Fees are 2.5% or Higher.

Symptom #2: You Cannot Identify or Quantify Your Best Customers.

Symptom #3: Your Most Important Accounts are not Centrally-Managed.

Symptom #4: You Have Little to No Control Over your Customers’ Sales Experience.

The fee charged to a merchant for each transaction processed varies based upon factors like:

• Type of card used,• Type of merchant at which the card is used, and• Volume of transactions that merchant generates.

P-Card users drive up your average cost of transaction with little additional benefit to your business. In fact, merchants often cite Interchange fees and merchant service fees as reasons for non-acceptance of P-Cards and other commercial payment cards.

Symptom #1: Your Average Interchange Symptom #1: Your Average Interchange Fees are 2.5% or Higher. Fees are 2.5% or Higher.

Among the most expensive type of charge card to process is the P-Card, a payment method popular among commercial customers because of its purchasing controls and reporting options.

not filtered to a central database, your company could be missing out on significant incremental sales opportunities.

Symptom #2: You Cannot Identify or Symptom #2: You Cannot Identify or Quantify Your Best Customers. Quantify Your Best Customers.

Transaction data provides foundational information used to optimize the lifetime value of existing customers and to target new customers.

At any given time, a company should have the ability to:

• Pin-point its top five commercial customers, • Identify trends in purchasing behaviors at the

product level, and • Map transaction growth over time.

If individual stores or independent sales distributors are not Level III data capable, or if transaction data is

Commercial customers demand more than high-quality products, and they represent the buying power to negotiate specialized pricing based upon:

• Annual spend with your company,• Specific product quantities,• Geographic needs, and/or• Seasonal purchasing requirements.

Symptom #3: Your Most Important Symptom #3: Your Most Important Accounts are not Centrally-Managed.Accounts are not Centrally-Managed.

have to rely on your customer’s accounting records rather than your own to determine an appropriate pricing-model or benefits package for a valued customer. Multiply this scenario by tens, hundreds, or thousands and tracking of overall customer value becomes cumbersome and inefficient.

Without centralized customer transaction data, you may

Individual merchants may have varied levels of opportunity to develop relationships with white-glove commercial accounts with benefits including:

• Specialized product pricing or rewards, • Consolidated billings, and/or• Monthly purchasing reports.

Symptom #4: You Have Little to No Control Symptom #4: You Have Little to No Control Over Your Customers’ Sales Experience.Over Your Customers’ Sales Experience.

pricing, rewards system or billing benefits may not always be honored. Individual relationships between sales locations and the company may minimize the customers’ actual value to your business.

VIP treatment received from one merchant often cannot be replicated throughout the sales network. Despite your customers’ continued loyalty, their

The Cost Benefit of a Billing and Payment The Cost Benefit of a Billing and Payment Solution.Solution.

The process of billing and payments has long been considered a cost-center - a tedious administrative process necessary to collect monies owed.

A properly implemented billing and payment solution, however, can help your business:

• Decrease transaction fees, • Standardize sales processes, • Personalize the customer experience, and • Drive incremental revenue.

In today’s data-driven business environment, classifying billing and payments as a cost-center could cost your company significant dollars in the long-run.

Multi Service. Innovation Where it Matters.Multi Service. Innovation Where it Matters.

Multi Service invoicing specializes in the design, implementation, and management of custom billing and payment solutions. The company collaborates with clients to isolate specific commercial credit and payment issues, identify measurable portfolio growth goals, and design a tailored private label payment solution to optimize customer loyalty. The company’s expertise in business-to-business sales processes assists clients in maximizing the lifetime value of individual commercial accounts and optimizing their overall commercial portfolio.

Thank you for your interest in this free presentation. We welcome your comments,feedback, and suggestions. Please consider sending us a note about how this presentation has helped you. Check out the Multi Service Commercial Payments blog at multiservice.com. If would like to contact a private label business development analyst directly, you can call +1-913-451-2400 or email [email protected].