More and more organizations are looking to implement an end-to-end quote-to-cash process. With Revenue Lifecycle Management (RLM), Salesforce offers excellent tooling for the first part of this process. To complete it from A to Z on one platform, though, an additional solution is required. If you want to tackle cash collection, too, you need a payments on Salesforce solution like FinDock (which also includes support for European payment methods and banks, among other things).
To be fully up to date, I recently attended a three-day RLM partner enablement training. Armed with new knowledge, I’ll use this blog post to dive into the possibilities of an end-to-end quote-to-cash process in your trusted number one AI CRM: Salesforce.
The power of a Salesforce native solution
To optimize success and provide an excellent customer experience, account executives need a 360-degree customer view. There’s one question they should be able to answer at all times: ‘Where are we in the process?’ This means customer data, such as shipping and billing addresses, should always be up to date. If you work with separate ERP and CRM systems, you’ll constantly need to synchronize data or copy it manually. Not only is this a time-consuming endeavor, but it also complicates the flow of your process.
Ideally, an account executive can seamlessly manage the workflow — all the way from lead engagement and quotes to order placement and payments. With RLM, which fits into the larger environment of the Salesforce Revenue Cloud, it’s easier than ever to complete the quoting process: you determine the right price for all the relevant components and create an order. But if you subsequently want to generate an invoice and collect the amount due, you need a third-party solution.
Enter FinDock. The power of this Payments on Salesforce solution is that it’s Salesforce native: you won’t be able to pinpoint where RLM ends and FinDock starts. As the two systems work together seamlessly, end users will feel that they’re using one end-to-end solution. This makes for a much smoother process. You can complete it faster while maintaining an overview from start to finish.
Improve the customer experience and reduce manual work
Let’s have a closer look at the benefits of managing the quote-to-cash process on one platform. First, the account executive can check when and how an order was paid. This helps them determine the right customer engagement strategy. If, for example, a customer always pays fast, this will probably impact the way you’ll interact with them in the future.
The Finance Department will be unburdened in several ways. Managing the quote-to-cash process on one platform will make it easy to maintain an overview. They will also benefit from FinDock’s guided matching functionality, which is used to match transactions to the right customer or order(s) in an automated way. This eliminates a lot of manual work.
Those who work in Fulfillment can see the order, including all communications between the account executive and the customer. This means there is no such thing as a standalone order. Every order is now part of the bigger ‘customer engagement picture’.
When it comes to cash collection, PayLinks allow for very rapid payment journeys. If, for example, a customer can’t purchase on credit, you simply send them a PayLink, which they can use to make the payment right away. You can then start the order fulfillment process, significantly shortening lead times. And if changes need to be made during the ordering process, PayLinks considerably simplify things, too. Suppose customers have accidentally transferred the wrong amount by switching two digits. Or, they want to add something to their order after they’ve paid for it. In that case, you can send them a PayLink so they can quickly transfer the additional amount.
Finally, it’s important to consider each customer’s payment preferences — especially if you operate in the B2C space. If you combine Salesforce and FinDock, you can improve the customer experience. First, it’s possible to offer several trusted payment options, ranging from payment through credit card to local payment methods. Once they’ve picked one, you can optimize the customer experience by personalizing it: the next time they place an order, their preferred payment method should be preselected. This will show customers that you care and help build long-term relationships. It’s a bit like making coffee for someone you know: you won’t ask them how they drink it every time. You know they prefer a drop of milk and two spoons of sugar, because you care enough about them to remember that.
A practical example: monthly subscriptions and memberships
What to expect from using RLM and FinDock to complete the entire quote-to-cash process on one platform? Suppose you offer a monthly subscription or membership, and students or the elderly get a special discount. Since you have stored all data in one system, you can include this discount in the pricing procedure so it will automatically be added where relevant — every single month.
This eliminates a lot of manual work and avoids human errors (copying and pasting discount codes is an error-prone task). All you need to do is create a quote for a customer and set up a recurring payment. After that, the right fee will be collected on a monthly basis — without you having to interfere!
Want to explore the options for your or your customer’s organization? Feel free to contact us.