7 Questions To Ask Before You Outsource Your Billing
Our smallest client sends out about 400 bills a month; our largest, 150,000. Some, like utilities and doctor’s offices, mail bills to customers and clients; others, like manufacturers, mail invoices to other companies that buy their products or services. We find that most of our clients have questions when they consider hiring us to handle their billing. Here are the questions they ask and how we answer them.
1. Will this be expensive?
Our system is affordable, even for small companies. You don’t have to hire or contract with IT professionals to develop online billing options. Our system is ready to go and can be customized for different clients with different needs. You get a system that we can easily brand to you and your company. And, by working with a mailing and fulfillment company like ours, customers can save money in other ways. (See No. 6.)
2. Will it be difficult to make this change?
No, quite the opposite. After we sit down with a client and discuss their needs, it takes us about a month to set up their billing system using our online transactional system. All you will do is reap the benefits!
3. Are my bills going to have to wait in line to be printed and mailed, behind all your other clients?
Absolutely not. One of the main reasons companies turn to us is to ensure their billings are timely. With our technology, we process statements at any volume. We typically print and mail bills within 24 hours of receiving a company’s computerized bill file.
4. How will I know what is going on with my bills?
Our system allows our clients to monitor the progress of their job online. You will be able to get online and see when your bills are printed, processed and mailed.
5. Is our information safe?
The information in our system is 128 bit encrypted. It is no different than accessing your records from your bank’s website. We can process your billing and statements using the latest technology to print, verify and route high volume delivery of your billing, statements and invoices. We manage your database to do selective insertion and camera verification to ensure accuracy. You can rest assured that each of your customers will securely receive the right statement every time.
6. Will my company save money?
Yes, it should. For one, we will evaluate your billings and likely find ways to reduce the cost of your mailings. Perhaps your company hasn’t been taking advantage of automation discounts, which can reduce postage as much as 8 cents per piece. And, we always print bills with an intelligent mail barcode (IMB), which makes the mail move faster through the mail stream.
We can also help reduce paper use, in two ways. We always advise our clients to market paperless billing — doing so can eliminate as much as 20 percent of mailed bills. And, we print on demand. In other words, we don’t pre-print the forms for your bills. Instead, the form and bill are printed simultaneously. Doing so prevents waste. You never have to throw out forms because a message is outdated or a logo has been redesigned.
7. How will this change my customers’ experience?
We can consult with you and find ways to make your bill more readable and understandable. We will help you use white space on the bill for your marketing or other messages. Your customers who opt for paperless billing will have access to all of their account records. Your company’s customer service reps will also have access to those records and because the customer and the customer service rep will see identical information, they will be better able to discuss and resolve billing issues. If a customer loses a bill, your customer service staff will be able to print another to mail to the client or send one by email. All in all, your customers will have a better experience than ever before.
Save Time, Money and Paper
Our process can help speed up your incoming cash flow, save money, reduce paper usage and keep your customers happy. We also stay on top of all of the latest trends and make sure that you are benefiting from whatever opportunities are presenting themselves. It’s a win, win situation!
If you have decided this is something you might be interested in, give our Bluegrass Accounts Receivable experts a call.
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