Successful Value-Added Services

Introduction:

In today's highly competitive marketplace, finding, successfully signing up, and maintaining good client relationships can be challenging. In the working capital finance arena, the marketplace in the last several years has become increasingly competitive—usually centered on price. For this reason, banks are constantly looking for new ways to enrich and otherwise preserve the client/bank relationship.

One of the unique capabilities of the eRevenue® web-based software platform is that it is invoice and transaction-specific. Because of this uniqueness, the system can be fashioned in a way to provide value-added services for the client. Additionally, the eRevWorks Processing Center provides full back-office support for the banks offering these innovative products. To illustrate, please see the following example:

(For privacy purposes, the name of the bank has been changed).

Real-life Application:

Chartered Savings Bank was able to successfully use the configuration of the validation and verification rules set up in the eRevenue® system to provide additional value-added services to their clients, such as providing proof of delivery and customer follow-up. As the eRevWorks Processing Center personnel would contact the client's customers for standard validation information, the customers provided valuable feedback to eRevWorks which was then passed on to Chartered's clients via the eRevenue® online system. The clients were able to beef up their customer service follow up because of the rapid turn around of information, particularly regarding disputes, goods that may have been damaged in shipping, or order errors.

Additional Applications:

A new and very popular value-added service being provided to clients is invoice outsourcing or accounts receivable outsourcing. In this model, the bank is able to use the eRevWorks Processing Center to provide an outsourced accounts receivable service for the client. The client uploads their invoice information directly from their accounting system to the eRevenue® system. These invoices are then submitted to the client's customer in their usual format, whether it be electronic or a mailed hard copy. Normal verification and validation rules are applied and all payments from the customers are directed to the bank's lockbox. When payments are received at the lockbox, an electronic feed is immediately uploaded to eRevenue®, and the checks are promptly and accurately posted into the system. The client benefits because their invoices are quickly resolved, and immediately, in real time, the client is able to access the payment information via online reports from their own computer.

The eRevenue® web-based software platform enables banks to successfully use this receivables outsourcing program either with or without the funding component. Many otherwise debt adverse clients have safely used a funding component tied to an accounts receivable outsourcing program to eliminate peaks and valleys in their cash flow throughout the year, particularly those with seasonal business cycles.

Other value-added services for the client can center on collection services with regards to the accounts receivable that have been submitted to the eRevWorks Processing Center, as well as providing standard lockbox services for the client. All these pieces can be tied to a funding component or can be independent from a funding component.

Win - Win:

No matter which value-added service you choose to provide, the client benefits by having 24/7 online visibility into their invoices. The Bank, partnering with Unalisys, has the ability to provide value-added services which strengthen client relationships to the bank that are mutually profitable and beneficial.