We have seen a very rapid improvement in our DSO (a few months), with a gain of around twenty days.
The Ayming Group has decided to invest in the automation of its debt collection processes with CashOnTime software, in order to increase efficiency in the race for cash and develop a proactive debt collection culture. During FORUMDIMO 2023, Sébastien Chaize (Coordinator Sales Administration Group) explained why he chose the DIMO Software solution. A workshop led by Fanny RONDET (CashOnTime Sales Manager).
View Ayming’s experience feedback
The search for a solution to simplify the management of 38,000 annual invoices
Ayming (600 experts in France, €165 million in Group sales by 2022, 95% customer loyalty rate) has been a pioneer in operational performance consulting for over 35 years, supporting companies of all sizes and in all business sectors, in France and abroad. The group’s main areas of expertise are reducing work-related accident rates (WRA) and the Research Tax Credit (RTC). With around 38,000 invoices issued annually, AYMING chose to use software to efficiently process and track this quantity of invoices. “We haven’t outsourced our debt collection, as the majority of our invoices concern customers such as Urssaf or the French tax authorities, and may be subject to certain one-off disputes,” explains Sébastien Chaize.
Why invest in debt collection software adapted to the volume of customer invoices?
Before CashOnTime, AYMING used an internal ERP companion to process this volume of invoices, which was not really a debt collection tool. This solution was not adapted to handle invoices ranging from 100 euros to almost a million euros. “We had the same guideline for each invoice and each customer, which was not at all appropriate. We therefore wanted to improve our handling processes with the help of a dedicated management tool: CashOnTime software met our needs perfectly, and then some”.
AYMING has over 4,000 open customers on the CashOnTime platform, with just over 2,000 active customers. This represents just over 7,000 invoices in balance. “We have different invoicing periods. In terms of CIR, the deadline for submitting files is April 15. The processing of a very large volume of invoices will be spread out over the month of June, with equally large amounts requiring a great deal of attention. In June, we process 10 to 11,000 invoices. This is specifically linked to our business, as we have few invoices at the beginning of the year, and many more in the second quarter. The tool adapts to our invoice cycles, which is very important for us,” explains Sébastien CHAIZE.
A connector with a risk supplier in France to secure payment of your customer invoices
Anticipation is very important to AYMING, and a change of note is very significant. Contacting the customer to point out payment problems should not be misunderstood. This is customer support, and customer relations are at the very heart of AYMING’s business. According to Sébastien CHAIZE: “If we can’t change the contract, we can propose another payment process or a payment schedule. The aim is to support our customers, who may be in difficulty, because it’s very rare for them to declare themselves. Or they may be unable to pay most of the time. It’s important for us to be able to support this customer at the right time, by proposing appropriate solutions. That’s real added value. This is where we make use of the Risk Connector, which tells us in real time which companies to keep an eye on, based on ratings that have dropped. We don’t get alerted at the first indication, but regular indicators lead us to propose solutions to our customers in difficulty, so that we can secure payment of our invoices“.
The IT Department wasn’t really involved at the start of the project. However, it did provide support for connections to the accounting tool, when extractions had to be made for injection into the CashOnTime software. Once everything is set up, the IT side of things remains very light, even when it comes to international deployment, which is very much appreciated. Fanny RONDET explains that we have to decide upstream what information we need to retrieve in order to have the right KPIs, the right data and to send the right reminders to our customers.
Various data types
Change of score, change of status, monitoring of outstanding amounts, placing under supervision, judicial liquidation or receivership are just a few examples of vital information. “We have a deadline for declaring our claims in the event of receivership. Debt recovery is not automatic, but you have to be able to declare it as quickly as possible. As for companies under court supervision, we try to offer them a solution. If we have invoices to issue, if we have stock on our invoices, we can contact the customer to see if it would be possible to adapt our invoicing. This allows us to better anticipate the customer’s future, depending on their financial health.” In short, the process is as follows: automatic cross-checking of information, analysis by the CashOnTime software, generation of automatic notifications to alert the collection manager.
A tool with all Customer information
From the CashOnTime customer file, you can click on a button to open the supplier’s Risks page, which will allow you to go into greater detail and retrieve other information that may not be available in the APIs provided by the supplier. This takes you to the page presenting the customer’s financial analysis, with all its five-year history, including changes in status which may result in a change of SIREN, merger files, etc. All the important data can be consulted in real time, and is updated on an almost daily basis.
Three years of hindsight and solid experience in collections recovery
AYMING has been using CashOnTime software for three years now: “Together with the DIMO Software teams, we started to build the tool according to our needs. This is important to us, because not every company has the same needs in terms of debt collection. Today, the scenarios are fully customizable. These are the red threads that will enable us to design automated dunning processes adapted to each invoice. The CashOnTime tool ensures a minimum of fortnightly or three-weekly reminders, even when a member of staff is absent. This is particularly valuable during slack periods, as it enables collections to be made even during periods of vacation or absence due to illness, for example.
Originally, AYMING only deployed the product in France. 11 employees work with the CashOnTime software on a daily basis, particularly in Paris and Lyon. Production went live in a month and a half (May 2020). The tool is easy to use and very intuitive. According to Sébastien CHAIZE: “We haven’t encountered any major problems. We are now rolling out the CashOnTime tool to all our subsidiaries worldwide (USA, Canada, Belgium, Spain, etc.), i.e. eleven entities in all. In just one week, we’ll be able to test our entire aged trial balance on the interface for Spain. These processes are relatively light and easy to implement.”
Information sharing is appreciated for a more efficient customer follow-up process.
Sébastien CHAIZE explains: “If someone in Belgium is absent, thanks to the CashOnTime historical record, the collection department in France has all the information it needs to help the subsidiary. If there are absentees in France, perhaps Spain will be able to help us, and so on. All customer reminder templates are available in all languages. The debt collector can therefore intervene without knowing the customer specifically, anywhere from his PC. This is very important for us, as we have subsidiaries where there is only one person. So we can take over remotely if the need arises.
What are the benefits of automating your debt collection?
“First and foremost, we noticed a very rapid improvement in our DSO (a few months), since we saved around twenty days. This means that we were able to collect our invoices more quickly, and so experience an acceleration in our cash flow (WCR). We can also talk about the landing function: we can have forecasts, and know where we’re going with great precision. It’s crucial for a CFO or credit manager to be able to rely on reliable data. After three years, DSO is still falling!” enthuses Sébastien CHAIZE.
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