Five ways ERP solutions can help your cashflow

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Effective cashflow is crucial to the success of a business. However, as businesses grow, manual and outdated systems can slow down daily operations, including processes that directly affect cashflow.

By using an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, businesses can streamline processes, increase visibility, and create a more dependable cashflow. Whether it’s invoicing or inventory, ERP systems can help consolidate data and create faster cashflow to support the expenses businesses need to pay.

There are five ways ERP solutions can help improve cashflow for organisations:

1. Automate invoicing
With an automated solution, businesses don’t need to wait until the next billing cycle to send an invoice. Moving from a monthly billing cycle to one that is on-demand lets businesses bill as soon as the work is completed. By billing invoices faster, businesses can get paid sooner.

2. Take control of overdue invoices
An integrated ERP system makes it easier to see which invoices are outstanding by putting all receivables and collection information in one location. Businesses can use dashboards to see what’s due and the frequency of payments, along with all information about collection efforts in process.

3. Make inventory control easy
When it comes to inventory, visibility is key. ERP systems provide real-time inventory updates, enabling more controlled purchasing. With efficient inventory planning, organisations can gain more control over spend, only stocking what they need, without accidentally creating a surplus.

4. Get the right data with the right reports
Having real-time data is imperative for controlling cashflow. An ERP provides the reports businesses need to obtain data on specific transactions and monetary patterns, and understand overall cashflow fluctuations. This information lets businesses take the right action for faster results.

5. Automate workflows
An ERP system does more than integrate data or increase visibility; it can also help automate an business’s workflow, reducing manual tasks and saving businesses and employees valuable time. This leads to more cost savings and happier employees.

Knowing and understanding cashflow is just as important for a small business as it is for a large multi-national company. Installing an ERP system can help all businesses ensure cash is flowing to take advantage of the right opportunities.

Fabian Calle, General Manager – SMB and Nationals, SAP Concur ANZ