2022: Key trends in accounts receivable and collections

With the difficulties that 2020 and 2021 brought business, it’s clear that implementing smart technology will be a key priority for finance leaders across 2022. In this post, CreditorWatch Collect looks at five key trends we’re predicting in accounts collections this coming year.

1. 1. Increasing automation

      In a recent survey PWC found that 68% of CFOs were planning to increase their investment in digital transformation in the next 12 months. This is unsurprising given the payoffs that modern finance technology can deliver. Implementing accounts receivable collections tools (such as CreditorWatch Collect) that automate processes has many advantages. Businesses that use such tools report a reduction in human error, increases in time staff have to focus on more complex work, a clearer process for staff and customers to follow, and importantly faster payment of accounts by customers. It can also reduce risk for a business through proper recording of process and customer interactions. If staff exit the business they then don’t take the only record of key customer history with them.

   2. Keeping staff happy

      The employment market is tight and much has been written about The Great Resignation. These days retaining good staff is crucial for company efficiency and team effectiveness. In addition to actively introducing incentives and focusing on employee experience, many businesses and finance teams are using the introduction of digital tools and automation software to reduce repetitive and mundane tasks for staff in order to increase productivity and job satisfaction. Thus hopefully avoiding the brutal recruitment market we could see in 2022.

   3. Making it easy for the customer

      Each year customer expectations increase in regard to ease of doing business. A smooth, streamlined experience is the minimum requirement for a business to attain, engage and retain good customers these days. In the accounts receivable/collections space, for customers this means a clear, easy process to receive and understand an invoice, automated statements or reminders ahead of the due date. They also need a clear process for complaints or disputes. Making it easy to pay is also crucial to ensure customers pay on time, every time. CreditorWatch Collect will be introducing a new payment portal as part of our product suite in 2022. This will make it even easier for our clients to receive payments from their customers – if you’re interested in early access to this new tool click here to let us know.

   4. Cash is king

      If a business is struggling to maintain strong cash flow this is often the beginning of a slippery slope downhill. The increased focus on good cash flow ties in with increasing levels of automation in the accounts receivable collections space. For businesses and finance leaders, the benefits of introducing automated collections tools on their cash flow are twofold. Not only are they reducing cost through automation, a clear benefit of an automated collections process is faster payment times.

   5. Greater visibility of accounts data

      For finance leaders and business owners, having clarity over the status of accounts and the collections process is extremely important. With greater visibility comes the opportunity to forecast with more certainty and assess risk more robustly. Ultimately, better oversight delivers a more holistic view of the performance of both finance teams and the overall business finances.

If you’re wanting to learn more about an automated collections process or think your business could benefit from implementing accounts receivable automation software, have a chat with us at CreditorWatch Collect. We’ve helped hundreds of businesses across the globe stay ahead of the game, reap the benefits of a smart collections process and generally do business better.

About CreditorWatch Collect: Over 150,000 calls and $2 billion paid faster

For the past nine years, CreditorWatch Collect has been solving debtors for businesses around the world. We were the first debt management solution to launch automated invoice reminders for Xero and four years ago created a world-first where phone calls (made by real people) could be automated in a debt management workflow, just like email reminders.