Managing credit requires the ability to organize payment, share data, track orders, and schedule tasks. If you have the capacity to complete these actions, you can nearly guarantee long-term growth and success. However, the type of software used to manage these processes can dramatically alter the way in which accountants and businesses perform various functions. Unfortunately, both individuals and managing companies often work with a standard software, even if it means sacrificing convenience and efficiency. The most commonly (mis)used software? Excel spreadsheets.
Adopting the “we’ve been using it forever” approach places credit managers at a severe disadvantage. Though Excel spreadsheets are an excellent method of presenting data, credit managers must collect and organize information in methods often beyond standard Excel capacity. It’s not the Microsoft Excel is bad in any way; it provides an excellent spreadsheet program for manipulating and presenting data. The primary issue concerns the idea that Excel, though good at what it does, was not designed for credit management. Spreadsheet software is created for fast number-crunching—not storing significant customer data, contact details, sales records, and payment histories.
Looking Ahead to the Future
You might be thinking—I’ve been using Excel for a while, but I haven’t encountered any difficulties. In most cases, if your business or client load is small, Excel can be an adequate option. However, it does not take long for the spreadsheet to become weighed down and muddled by the complexity of credit data and calculations. This can slow functions and allow errors to creep into the data. The industry as a whole is making the transition in incremental strides. Zion Market Research expects the industry to reach $2.5 billion a year by 2025.
Whether your business is expanding or you want to get ahead of the issue, investing in a credit management-specific software early is an excellent strategy. In implementing a new software, accountants and CFOs can easily examine trends, track growth, and monitor progress from very early in a client’s history. Everyday tasks, such as data entry and payment processing, are easily automated, saving you time and bandwidth. You can browse the top names in credit management software here.