Let's set the scene:
It is nearly the end of what was a very busy month. Partners have had their heads down for weeks. Just as they come up for air, they go back underwater to spend a few more days generating bills and collecting on outstanding payments from past-due clients. A large stack of copier paper was dropped off next to the printer ahead of the hundreds, if not thousands, of paper statements that will go out to their clients.
Accounting professionals will spend hours configuring paper statements for those that choose to receive them via email. Partners will spend time at the lower end of their license making collection calls.
This waste of firm time and resources only represents the firm's efforts to initiate collecting.
The client's experience is a whole different story:
If statements are being sent out on a monthly basis, they might not always reach the client at a time that is convenient for them to make a payment. When that happens, the busy client will prioritize other more critical due dates and tasks ahead of their payment to your firm. Likely, there won’t be another reminder until they see their next statement… next month.
Your clients don’t have a lot of time, so a tedious payment process involving online logins or writing out a check and finding a stamp will take longer than just the few minutes that they have.
The entire collections experience can be a waste of a firm's time and resources.
There must be a better way. How can you make the work-to-cash cycle easier and faster for both the firm and the client? If only statements were intuitive and "think" with a mind of their own.
Queue “Smart Statements.” The future of accounts receivable is now - introducing Aiwyn's new "smart statements."
Let's break down four ideals for the future: easier, faster, smarter, and more personalized.
First, we make statement-generation easier for the firm. Because Aiwyn's platform integrates with a CPA firm's legacy practice management system, we know the age and amount of all outstanding billing and collections. We construct an easy-to-read, comprehensive statement allowing clients to have full visibility into their account. For the client, the smart-statement comes equipped with one-click access to pay invoices in seconds. We reduce friction in many areas of this process to make collecting payments simple.
Second, we make the process faster for both the firm and the client. For the firm, even though we draft the statements for you, the billing team has as much control as they want in the process of determining who gets the statements and who does not. With a click of a button, statement generation and approval time changes from minutes per client to seconds per client. These digital statements also serve the fast-paced millennial generation who are becoming firm clients at an increasing rate.
Third, we create statements that are "smart." Aside from the client receiving the statement, we enable other reminder mediums like SMS-text messages or partner tasks to nudge them appropriately. With our machine-learning technology, we track payment rates based on the statements we send, then provide insight and changes to the sequence of reminders. This allows us to optimize your statement sequence using data from across the industry, while respecting the individual needs of your clients and client groups. In addition,
our statements are 100% digital, meaning they are "smarter" for the environment.
Fourth, the entire experience is “personalized” to each client. Because Aiwyn’s platform is integrated with your firm’s PM system, it can understand which client owes which bill for which service—and we use that information to create a tailored experience for clients. For more on the value of personalization in the accounts receivable workflow, check out our whitepaper here. Bottomline: personalizing the client billing experience dramatically speeds up cash flow!
OK… so what?
I’m guessing the above scenario likely resonates with you in some way. But you may still be wondering “So what? Why should I do these things, and why do I need Aiwyn Smart Statements?” The answer is clear in the real value it delivers for your firm.
On the tangible side…
- Time is a precious commodity and including Aiwyn in your billing and AR process will save you time.
- Over a month-long period we save firms days of labor hours, freeing up your teams to apply their time in other critical ways.
- Value is the increased realization of your cash flow. We make it easy for your clients to pay their bills, and you will see more cash in hand almost immediately.
On the intangible side...
- Reputation is king, especially in the accounting world. Why did that client choose your firm? What stops your client from churning to another firm? While there are a myriad of actors that determine how a client answers those two questions, how you make that client feel is near the top of that list.
- We create an experience for your clients that brings positive reinforcement, ease, and delight into the historically burdensome process of paying a bill.
- We give you the tools to treat your client as an individual.
- Being reminded to pay bills is not a “one-style-fits-all” process, and with Aiwyn, we give you the tools to configure how often each client is reminded to pay.
- Let’s not forget delight for the firm. Our world-class Customer Success team is intimately familiar with both the various billing/AR styles and processes and the mechanics of your practice management system. The integration and onboarding process with Aiwyn is one that you will literally write home about.
- We personalize our change-management guidance to ensure every workflow and scenario is tested and both the firm and the clients are made aware of Aiwyn at the perfect time.
Andy Warhol once said, “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” Take the first step to change things and join us for a demo. We look forward to showing you the future of accounts receivables to enable your firm’s process to be easier, faster, and smarter.
Contact us to learn more!