by Linda van Kampen. VP Sales at Order2Cash.

2017 was the year the market said to CEOs – go big or go home.

Everything exploded: Stock growth, M&A deal values, Bitcoin, and digital transformation investments, among others.

Companies that heeded the call of digital transformation have reaped the rewards. Platform companies like Amazon, Google, and PayPal have outpaced the market.  Enterprises that streamlined both front and back-end processes are achieving an average 55% growth in gross margins over a three-year period. And who knows what 2018 will bring?

Companies are connecting things with sensors to gain new insights into performance, using edge computing to process vast torrents of real-time data, and leveraging analytics and machine learning to make sense of it all. And AI is of rising importance, automating processes and enhancing customer service.

Today, AR functions are staffed by hard-working, talented people. However, the function has more in common with the 1950s than 2018, with paper-based invoicing processes and snail mail delivery, low transparency into customer risk and payment, and phone-based collection procedures.

And here’s a head scratcher: The U.S. lags Europe and South America when it comes to online invoicing and payments

It doesn’t have to be that way. Companies that adopt e-Invoicing now can support the C-Suite’s ambition to drive digital transformation forward. Get our POV to learn why you should automate AR in 2018.

All this would be laughable, except that slow, manual AR processes have the potential to slow or even crush your digital progress.

Here’s why:

• Customer risk: Companies are growing business and taking on new customers at scale. Do you know which customers are good bets and which are excessively risky? In 2018, we’ll see more company failures, so it’s time to take risk management into real-time.
• New markets: It takes time to stand up AR operations in new markets and take a many-to-many approach to invoicing and payments. Do you have 1 solution for all your regions and businesses? In 2018, the speed of globalization will increase, and AR will need to help bring transparency and control to business growth.
• Manual processes: Doubling down on manual processes wars with digital’s drive for speed and introduces errors into processes. Do you know how many exceptions you’re processing? Can you measure what they’re costing you? In 2018, slower cashflow will hobble companies right at the moment of digital commitment.
• Customer experience: Customers want to transact business online, and scanning contracts, approving purchase orders, reviewing and correcting invoicing, cutting checks and mailing payments, is anything but. Can you give your customers 1 solution that provides a seamless, integrated flow of order to cash processes? In 2018, manual AR processes will cost some companies their customers’ business.
• Digital transformation: Your customers are embracing automation of AP, which is why they are launching portals of their own. It’s not uncommon for AR staff to enter invoice data into more than a dozen portals, and your company is paying for the privilege. Are you prepared for how manual processes and rising costs will slow down billing and harm your profitability?

Don’t let old-fashioned AR processes bog down your digital transformation efforts. Automate invoicing – and reap cost savings you can put to work.

Get our POV – and learn how to get paid online today.

This article was originally posted on LinkedIn