B2B Collections Technology in a Post-Pandemic Economy
Cash is King – now so more than ever! Yet, extraordinarily, managing B2B collections is an often-overlooked process within a business and usually one of the last aspects to be updated with technology. Why, when this is such an essential area of business activity? “We’ve always done it this way and it works ok”; “I haven’t had any time to look at a different system”; “it will take ages to implement” or “that is going to cost me” are the typical reasons cited for lack of change. As a result, financial institutions and Small and Midsize Businesses’ (SMBs) back offices have not taken advantage of the recent developments in financial technology.
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way businesses work now and in the future. Today, there is a pressing need to digitize more processes as businesses adapt to new working regimes which require flexibility, transparency and accessibility. In a recent Gallup poll, 62% of workers have been worked at home since the crisis, and 3 in 5 workers would like to continue working from home even as restrictions are being lifted.
FGI S.M.A.R.T.℠ Plus offers a unique combination of technology and expertise in sales ledger management and credit control. In most cases, SMBs still have tedious and time-consuming collections processes that are typically not centrally run. Now is the time for a user-friendly B2B collections platform. FGI has poured 20+ years of domestic and international receivables experience into developing their S.M.A.R.T.℠ Plus collections platform, which is used in-house and within other financial institutions. With S.M.A.R.T.℠, you will be able to minimize risk, decrease outstanding invoices, and boost cashflow without expanding overhead. S.M.A.R.T.’s online platform can be accessed remotely by multiple teams from any location. Once the sales ledger is uploaded, the system can quickly send out customized statements along with a step by step audit trail of the collections process. This dramatically reduces time spent by a credit team preparing past due statements and reinvest their time back into credit and customer management. Protecting your accounts receivables is one of best ways to manage risk and navigate an uncertain economy.
In the coming months, we also expect to see an uptick in workouts with lenders as companies can begin to assess the full impact of the economic shut down. Euler Hermes noted a 14% increase in bankruptcies for the global economy in Q1 as “non-payment risk explodes”. In a May 7th Bloomberg article, “debt classified as distressed in the U.S. surged 161% in just the last two months… and so far in 2020, the pace of corporate bankruptcy filings in the U.S. has already surpassed every year since 2009…Even the bankruptcy process has been complicated by the virus, with social distancing making it impossible for companies to conduct asset sales that may keep them in operation and save jobs.” The S.M.A.R.T.℠ collections technology allows you to collect remotely with FGI’s experienced team and save on one of the most valuable assets: time, providing a faster ROI. FGI recently fully collected out a $9mm international ledger within 7.5 weeks.
As the country begins to reopen, lenders and SMBs will require a variety of working capital solutions to fulfill their cash flow needs. Unlocking receivables collections can be one of the safest and easiest ways to do this. Whether for an ongoing business or workout situation, S.M.A.R.T.℠ can leverage your credit and collections teams to create a more seamless collections process and greater management oversight.