As we discussed in our recent blog on dunning, it is important to have a complaint handling procedure in place to deal with disputed invoices. Organisations have a lot to gain from an effective complaint handling strategy to tackle overdue money typically tied up in invoices challenged by customers. Conversely, handling complaints ineffectively results in long lead times and makes it harder to reduce the number of overdue payments, thus leading to cash flow problems.
Fortunately, the complaints handling process can be integrated into CreditManager. This ensures businesses are tackling the issue effectively to speed up the process, reduce overdue payments and increase cash flow. After all, quick resolution of complaints leads to firms receiving their payments faster as well.
The complaints procedure
Integrating complaint handling into CreditManager has many benefits. Businesses will find that automation makes the process much smoother and faster. As soon as a complaint is registered, either from being entered manually or fed into the system directly, the invoices related to that complaint are frozen for collection activity. You can resolve the complaint before chasing for payment continues.
These invoices then enter a complaint workflow which generates specific actions. For example, sending an email to the member of staff best suited to resolve the complaint. If the complaint concerns undelivered goods, customer service will be sent an email so they can action a resolution. This may well mean the company has to redeliver the goods. You can also devise monitoring actions within workflows to ensure complaints not yet responded to don’t slip through the net. For example, after a set number of days, the credit collector responsible for a customer will receive a notification to check on the situation if a reply hasn’t been received.
“A quick handling and resolution of a complaint, leads to a happier the customer and thus, resulting in a faster paid invoice.”
All customer replies to emails concerning complaints will automatically be logged in CreditManager. The credit controller will receive a notification to act on the customer’s reply. This may mean closing resolved complaints or assigning it to another within the company who can resolve it.
Increase cash flow
Integrating complaints handling into CreditManager enables complaints to be dealt with more efficiently and increases cash flow due to the following:
- Lead times: CreditManager ensures that no elements of a complaint are forgotten or lost, as can be the case in spreadsheets. This makes it possible to reduce lead times and means payment can be obtained faster.
- Priorities: The transparency offered by CreditManager allows credit controllers to assign a priority level when they are first registered. This is based on factors such as the amount owed and the customer-level. This will allow them to swiftly deal with high priorities.
- Insights: As CreditManager saves everything, it is possible to see the history of the invoice as well as of the customer. Available at the click of a button, this will provide valuable insights and alert the user to customer behaviour patterns. These factors can then determine the handling of the customer.
In short, integrating complaints into CreditManager makes it possible to reduce the number of disputed invoices and lead times. This then reduces overdue payments and increases cash flow.
Want to know what benefits CreditManager can bring to your organization? Click the button below to request a demo today!
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