The financial industry is central to a functioning global economy, so it’s a given that companies that belong to the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector typically transact with individuals and organizations from all walks of life and all types of industries. Having a long list of customers is a sign of stability for most businesses, but managing the finances and accounts of a wide variety of clients presents many challenges in and of itself. In an age when financial establishments are expected to offer highly customized and modular packages to their clientele, ensuring that every customer is billed accurately and on time can be a costly task.
Some companies in the BFSI sector have found a way around this issue by using a single platform to carry out their billing and reconciliation processes. Using consolidated revenue management solutions to compare financial records and make and send out invoices is a cost-effective option that compromises neither the timeliness of the billing process nor the accuracy of the figures in each account and transaction. How has this solution benefitted the companies in the BFSI sector? Here are some of the reasons why forward-looking companies chose to work with a single platform for managing billing and reconciliation, and why you should consider the same strategy for your financial organization as well.
You Want to Create a Single Business Continuity Plan Around One System
A business continuity plan is a document that outlines how your organization will continue providing its products and services in the event of an unplanned interruption. This plan is a vital element for BFSI companies, especially since people and organizations depend on the financial sector to provide them access to resources and financial products and services in the event of a disaster or a cyberattack.
It can be a challenge to choose an appropriate backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solution when your company uses multiple systems and databases to conduct the same functions, such as billing and reconciling the accounts of their clients. This is not only inefficient operations-wise; it also forces the company to use more expensive backup solutions. Plus, the company has to deal with backing up its redundant systems multiple times to ensure that its BDR solution has the latest version of its data and applications.
With a consolidated platform, however, a financial institution will only need to backup one system and database to ascertain that the company can resume its services if something unexpected happens. The company will be able to cut the cost of its BDR solution as well as improve the efficiency of its internal processes.
You Value Flexibility and You Want to Maximize Your Company’s Resources
Many traditional BFSI companies operate in multiple locations. There’s always a possibility that one of these locations becomes inundated with assignments and requests, while another will have almost nothing to do. Assigning the task of billing and reconciliation or even tracking delinquency to anyone who’s not too busy at the moment can be risky, as the employee might not be familiar with the details of the accounts in question. However, since it’s possible for the said employee to check all the details of each account and transaction on a single platform using a standardized process, then the risk of making errors is reduced.
It’s also an option to automate the billing and reconciliation process altogether. All you need to do is input the rules that the platform should follow when defining and enforcing fee structures for different accounts. With the system taking care of this task all on its own, you can delegate more of your employees to work on tasks that require human judgment and intuition.
You Want to Use a Single Platform for Generating Internal and External Reports
Using separate platforms for generating internal and external reports is the norm for many financial organizations, but this doesn’t always have to be the case. If all your accounting functions such as billing and reconciliation are done in a single system, then it’s possible to use the database within that system to gather information and prepare reports for internal and external audiences. There’s no need for your employees to conduct different investigations for internal and external reporting. All you have to do is pull up the information to complete these reports from the consolidated system and select the dataset that you have to report on.
Investing in a well-rounded and highly customizable revenue management solution is key to reducing the cost of your billing and reconciliation processes, among other accounting functions, from here on out. Aside from this, upgrading the platform that you use to manage your revenue today is a key step in ensuring that your company can adapt to the changes that are being brought about by the ongoing digital revolution. Aided by data, analytics, artificial intelligence, and other emerging digital innovations, your organization will be in the perfect position to meet the expectations of a generation of tech-savvy customers.
