Remember that high-school term paper with a due date just hours away and a page count so high that not even tricks like expanding the margins could possibly rescue you?
For many people, manually creating data reports has been an unwelcome task akin to a looming term paper. Enter the latest technology tools; exit that feeling of dread.
Collection teams now can instantaneously create reports on actuals, aging balances, and team performance in a variety of formats, from Microsoft Excel to CSV, TSV, HTML, SQL and XML. With the latest tech arrivals, these teams can also upload dynamic reports to their own business intelligence tools for in-depth insights that are viewable through a data dashboard.
Leverage new data-reporting technology for AR collections reports
As of now, Billtrust Collections offers more than 60 preconfigured templates, as well as the ability to design countless other reports through a drag-and-drop building feature.
“Before our customers started using our tool, they were working from spreadsheets. We’re really giving our customers a quick and easy view of what’s happening,” says Katie Ryder, Billtrust Commercial Product Owner. “Collections teams no longer have to go to the spreadsheet to say, ‘Here are our five most problematic accounts.’ They can just start working them right away.”
Old-fashioned data reports were too static to tame growing workloads. Dynamic reports that can populate dashboards are a leap forward, says Ryder. Making information readily available eliminates the need to hunt for the perfect nugget hidden within a large and unwieldy spreadsheet.
Save time in data collection processes
Research shows that the potential time savings from keeping information in a single, easy-to-find location can be significant. According to a 2021 academic study of workers in the U.S. and U.K., 69% of participants said that finding the information necessary to do their jobs was time consuming. Workers in the study spent an average of 59 minutes a day looking for information trapped within various tools and applications.
Happily, new dynamic reports and dashboards are designed to deliver whatever information the user requires.
“A collections tool is all about collecting,” says Ryder. “In order to maintain and improve your cashflow, you’ve got to get payments. Having a quick view on who are your most problematic customers is important, because then you make those customers a priority.”
Work smarter with Billtrust’s data insights for collections
Ryder explains that a dashboard generated with Billtrust’s technology can slice and dice information in different ways and according to whatever factors are influencing cashflow.
Other features of automated data reporting can double as productivity tools. For instance, users can generate reports that measure in real time every individual employee’s workload, letting managers shift tasks to speed up results, says Ryder.
Read our latest whitepaper on productivity. “The Productivity Imperative: Why apex performance matters most in 2024”
According to Ryder, Billtrust Collections reports allow users to preschedule the creation and distribution of a specific report for a given time each day, week or month. “In the morning, the report is right there in your inbox,” she says.
One way that Ryder knows that Billtrust Collections reports are scratching the right itch is through customers themselves, who regularly request an opportunity to report on new and different metrics. The enthusiasm of customers, she concludes, “tells me they’re using these tools, and they like them a lot.”
FAQ
New technology allows collection teams to create dynamic reports on actuals, aging balances, and team performance in various formats. These tools enable instant report generation and integration with business intelligence tools for in-depth insights.
Preconfigured templates simplify the reporting process by providing ready-made formats that can be easily customized. This saves time and ensures consistency in data presentation, allowing collection teams to focus on analyzing and acting on the data.
Dynamic reports populate dashboards with real-time data, eliminating the need to manually search through spreadsheets. This immediate access to critical information helps collection teams prioritize tasks and address issues promptly, improving overall efficiency.
Research indicates that workers spend an average of 59 minutes a day searching for information. New data reporting tools centralize information in a single location, significantly reducing the time spent on data retrieval and allowing teams to focus on more strategic activities.
Automated data reporting tools can generate real-time reports on individual employee workloads, enabling managers to redistribute tasks and optimize team performance. Scheduled report generation ensures that critical data is always available when needed, enhancing productivity.