Last post we started on the billing outsourcing for a client.
https://faoblog.com/processes-ar-billing/
One thing you clearly need to understand is that almost all clients are very critical and reserved about this process and are usually hesitant outsourcing this. Why is that?
When we think of an AP process and vendors, they are entities from whom your client’s are buying stuff, whereas in case of billing, it relates to your client’s customers, who are key to the business of the client. This is the bunch of people who your client will really treasure and keep under wraps as far as possible. The information about them is critical and confidential, information like their contact details, the amount of purchases made by them and so on.
It will surely need a lot of convincing for you to get your client to outsource this function.
As I had mentioned earlier, the nature of the business also plays a big role in this. For large retailers like Walmart etc., most of the sales is over the counters, so the billing process suitable to a back office function will be limited, but for an equipment and engineering or a construction company, this will be critical, as they would have limited customers, buying high value products.
You may subscribe to the blog from the subscription box on the opening page of the blog. We hav e enabled a button on the top of the first page, which will enable you share your posts. If you wish to write about any of the current streams, you can do it at https://faoblog.com/guest-post/. We will review your post and release it within 48 hours of your posting.
This is probably due to the fact that the customer records are highly confidential, and the fact that most companies that have large/complex billing processes are often regulated (either by a telecoms regulator, or utilities regulator). In a lot of countries, you also need to understand that there are data protection laws governing customer information.
If you can prove that you are compliant from regulatory and data protection standpoints, and currently handle sensitive, transactional data (e.g. from a bank), and are willing to sign a Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA), then you will be able to demonstrate that you can handle billing outsourcing.