This leading French group with an international presence is positioned in the packaging sector for all types of products. In 2020, the head office accounting department decided to optimize its lettering process. The accounting project manager and the accounting customer manager share their experience of integrating the CashOnTime Allocation solution.
The desire to optimize the lettering automation process
Initially, the department used SAP ECC6, with automatic reconciliation. However, automatic lettering was no longer sufficient to cope with the company’s fast-growing business. We had to find a tool that was better suited to our needs and more competent, especially as the activity of accounting for customer payments was monopolizing several resources, for many hours at a time. The aim was to reduce the number of resources and assign them to higher value-added tasks. The IT department was involved in the thinking process, but the project was managed from start to finish by the accounting project manager.
DIMO Software had already been identified and recommended, but various companies were nevertheless consulted. The choice was made fairly quickly, as DIMO Software had a good knowledge of SAP and its interaction with SAP Hana. The project went “live” in June 2020, following IT and accounting tests.
Simplicity and knowledge of the technical environment are the main selection criteria
“Knowledge of SAP and the proximity offered by a French publisher were real differentiating factors. DIMO Software’s customer references supported the final choice, as did the solution’s clear demonstrations and ease of use”, explains the Accounts Manager. This was important, as it represented a change of operation and tool. “We had automatic reconciliation in SAP to read bank statements. We had to deactivate this process to switch over to the new one, trying not to forget any of the steps involved,” explains the accounting project manager.
Less work, more efficiency
According to the Accounts Receivable Manager, “CashOnTime has taken a lot of work off our plate. With SAP, we were at around 30-35% automatic reconciliations. With CashOnTime, we’ve gone up to almost 75%. Progress has been incremental, as we’ve manipulated the solution and understood our customers’ payment habits. However, growth was soon quite spectacular compared with the previous situation.
In terms of volume, with automatic data entry, the department processes just over 20,000 movements a year (1,500 to 2,000 monthly on average). Over the first 6 months of 2020, the rate peaked at around 42%. With automatic lettering, the figures jumped to 64%, then 73% after a few adjustments. A peak was even reached at 88%.
Project specifics
In addition to the customer’s open item file, the accounting department asked for files containing orders, offers, proformas, etc. to be added. According to the Accounts Receivable Manager: “This information sometimes appears in the text of our customers’ payments. This allows us to find the information more easily, without having to go through our ERP. Every morning, we generate these files, which CashOnTime is able to read”.
Time savings and efficiency were two major expectations. “Before implementing CashOnTime, we used to spend a whole morning on lettering. Some big days required an extra 2 hours in the afternoon. Now, there are only a few searches to be carried out when payments are not lettered, to avoid our department having to follow up with customers. The whole process now takes about 2 hours. By mid-morning, everything is lettered. We were very well supported by the DIMO Software experts, whose responsiveness was much appreciated at the start of the project. They know the business and the issues involved.
The “Large Payers” feature
“Some international customers made up of different subsidiaries have their payments made by a single entity. This feature enables us to link different customers from different countries under the same banner, so that we can distribute payments more easily. We have a dozen major customers set up in the tool for which we can load ads. It’s also a significant time-saver on these specific typologies,” explains the Accounts Receivable Manager.
The key to success: meeting a specific need
The tool memorizes all types of customer payment and generates a large number of correct proposals. It self-learns as it goes along, which helps to increase the lettering rate, as the department is aiming for 80%. The head office accounting department has opted for automation via dedicated software, as it has to manage a large number of spare parts and a huge volume of payments. Although each of the group’s subsidiaries is independent, the project was designed so that it could be rolled out to other entities should the need arise. In the end, the two interviewees found the tool easy to use, with smooth implementation. In addition, the project manager appreciated her participation in the first remote CashOnTime user club, a great opportunity to share experiences.
