No matter the size of your business, no matter the industry you are in, no matter your location and the market you’re trying to conquer, there is one thing that you will have in common with all the other businesses around the world. I am talking about the task of managing your cash flow. Of course, matching your incoming payments to those outstanding invoices is one of the crucial things you will have to do for successful cash flow management. Ultimately, that will result in improving your company’s liquidity, and support its growth.
Here’s more on managing cash flow: https://www.business.com/articles/increase-cash-flow/
While you may be aware of that need already, you probably also know that matching the invoices and the payments, and generally maintaining a good cash flow, is a complicated, as well as a time-consuming task. If you’ve been having to pull resources from other departments to do this, or from other important tasks in the accounting department for that matter, you certainly get that it isn’t very effective, and that you need to look for a different way of doing things. Ever heard of cash application software?
If you’ve heard about it, then you must have become curious about what it is. And, once you understand that, you are bound to want to get the perfect solution for your business. So, we are going to answer two important questions for you below. First, you’ll learn what cash application software really is. And then, you will learn how to choose the best one for the accounts receivables (AR) and for your business in general.
What Is Cash Application Software?
Let us begin with the basics. Cash application software is a useful tool for businesses of all sizes, designed to automate the process of matching received payments to the right invoices. By automating this process, you reduce the need for manual intervention, which frees up your resources, and allows people to focus on other important tasks. Since payments can come from various sources, including credit cards, checks, electronic transfers and similar, there is no doubt that managing your AR is a time-consuming task that could benefit from automation.
Luckily, the solution is right there. When you find a great Cash Application Software solution, it will seamlessly integrate with your accounting, invoicing, as well as banking systems, aiming at streamlining the entire process and, of course, improve accuracy. So, as you can see, this is a rather useful solution that can reduce the time necessary for applying payments, and thus improve the overall cash flow.
How to Choose the Perfect Solution for Your Business
The above should have given you a clear idea on what cash application software is. And, if you’ve taken the time to think about it, and thus decided that you absolutely need one of these solutions, then you now have another important question on your mind, as mentioned above. In short, you’re wondering how to choose the perfect option for you. So, let me share some tips that will help with that.
First things first, you have to identify your business needs. Do an analysis of the current cash application process, aiming at identifying any areas in which you may be struggling, any pain points you may have, and anything that may need improvement. Then, remember to also determine the volume of your transaction processes, as well as the complexity of the transactions, and any special needs, including multi-currency support, as that will help you understand what it is that you should be looking for when choosing the software.
Of course, you will also have to set your budget – that is, decide how much you are ready to spend on this solution. After all, they come at different price points, and they use different criteria to set those prices. So, some can, for example, be subscription based, while others may price their services in accordance with the amount of transactions being processed. Check out your financial resources and decide on a budget that will work for your business. This could help you assess your company’s financial health before making any decisions.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll have to start researching different solutions in details. Check out what it is that different software programs have to offer. Compare the features to see what aligns with your specific needs. But also, remember to research the providers as well, reading customer reviews, and checking their reputation, as well as the quality of the solutions they are offering.
One last thing to remember here is that you should take scalability into account. After all, you are planning on growing your business, and you want to choose a software solution that will be able to support you along the way, so that you don’t have to switch to other providers as you keep growing. So, take the time to check this, and compare all the other factors we’ve mentioned, and then make your final choice.
