Reporting and Monitoring is crucial in credit management
Monitoring payments and invoices and reporting on them is crucial in credit management. Yet, as we deal with growing volumes of data this can be tricky. Manually downloading, analysing, reporting on and monitoring financial data can be time-consuming, challenging and, on occasion, prone to human error. Not only can manually monitoring and reporting on financial data be a time-intensive task, but it can also take some time before all the information is up to date. For instance, a payment for an invoice received today, may not show up as being paid for several days. In this case, reports will be slightly behind the actual state of affairs.
Fortunately, credit management tools, such as CreditManager, have made it possible to automate monitoring and reporting and overcome all of these challenges. For credit managers, this means less time spent carrying out manual tasks, and a greater overview of their business’ finances.
We’ve explored some of the key benefits and features of using credit management tools for monitoring and reporting:
Report generation
Previously, generating reports manually would mean downloading data from a set period and then formatting and reviewing to turn it into a shareable, insightful report. With reporting tools, it is possible to simply click on the report name and automatically generate the report. This bypasses the time-intensive methods of obtaining a report that so many of us are used to. It is also possible to schedule to send reports to colleagues or departments.
Once the report is generated, users benefit from data being broken down into categories to give them different levels of insight. For example, our CreditManager tool breaks reports down into different categories, such as ‘Management category’. Users can then find reports that provide top-level information about a single administration, a combination of administrations or all administrations.
Automatically generated reports are more reliable than manual reports for finance teams as they remove the issue of human error. Additionally, if there is ever a desire to verify data, users are able to request the report description and calculations through the tool.
A real-time view
The automation of monitoring and reporting gives credit managers a more accurate, real-time view of their organisation’s finances. With CreditManager, all dashboards, reports, KPIs and performance overviews automatically update as soon as new information is available. This means that the latest information is available when you open a report. As a result, the user is fully informed of developments, such as new payments, as they occur.
Increased capabilities
With CreditManager, it is possible to import the current master data of debtors and outstanding invoices to gain an overview of daily and administrative tasks and credit management processes. The system will then automatically generate a daily, up-to-date overview of scheduled actions, dashboards about outstanding invoices and disputes or a graphical view of the days sales outstanding. Credit management tools can also provide information about the current situation regarding the completion of the scheduled actions. It also provides key figures that measure the effectiveness of the current credit management policy.
Seamless importation
On a daily basis, CreditManager imports the current master data of debtors and outstanding invoices. This then automatically feeds into dashboard calculations, (re)creation of actions and also calculations of various key figures. It is also possible for additional information to be uploaded to the system, such as Dun & Bradstreet or Graydon information, risk information or even non-financial information. This allows users to deep-dive into particular clients or accounts. It also allows them to gain a better understanding of the current situation. This information can further inform wider business decisions.
Automated actions
The tasks of reporting and monitoring with CreditManager don’t require any human input. However, it is possible to customise various aspects by creating filters in the dashboard and reports. This enables users to filter down a list of customers to only see complaints with outstanding actions. For the account management team, for instance, this would give the team a clear indication of what is required. This functionality also allows credit managers to compare the figures or KPIs of selected administrations.
Credit management tools are undeniably faster at reporting and monitoring than manual methods. They also lead to a more efficient credit management strategy and improved customer relationships. Additionally, the higher-level analytics and reporting capabilities will improve an organisation’s visibility of their operations as well as their customers.
