Optimizing your business is an ongoing challenge. There are always new things to adopt, new ways to automate your processes, and new customer personas that create their own pain points and opportunities. Many companies are held back by legacy systems that, while they have worked before, need some fine-tuning to keep up with demand. The good news is that there are ways to rework these outdated practices into modern B2B solutions that will elevate your alcohol business.
How Legacy Systems Hurt Your Workflows
One of the most common types of legacy systems seen in alcohol businesses is the use of paper checks for invoice payments. Relying on checks slows down transactions and limits cash flow that can be funneled into other areas of the business. Paper checks are also easy to lose, leading to issues with P&L statements and potentially delaying future deliveries from your distributors.
Another legacy challenge centers on manual data entry. Fintech recently hosted a webinar in which attendees pointed out that they spend over 2 hours a week on average inputting line-item invoice data into their back-office or accounting system. Compound that over a month-to-month basis, and you are looking at a lot of time spent on an outdated process. Our webinar poll also found that managers often input this data, taking away from their time on the floor dealing with customers, or even their personal time!
Third-party involvement is another legacy hurdle clogging up efficiency. Think about it – you have a delivery driver coming in, causing you to stop what you are doing and cut a paper check. From there, that driver has to transport that check back to their headquarters, at which point they turn it over to accounting. Accounting submits it, and then you are waiting on the banks to facilitate the payment, and so on. This process takes up too much time and is vulnerable to mishaps that further delay payments.
Want to learn more about upgrading to automated B2B solutions for your alcohol business?
Create a Legacy of Efficiency With Automation, Data-Driven Decisions, and Technology
Implementing new solutions is the fastest way to reverse the negative effects of these legacy challenges. Alcohol businesses that embrace automation, purchase data insights, and new technologies are ahead of the competition.
For example, automated electronic funds transfer (EFT) alcohol invoice payments completely eliminate all the problems with paper checks. This creates efficiencies for all parties involved – delivery drivers can be in and out faster, and managers can trust that all payments are made on time electronically and in compliance with local alcohol regulations. Payments are automatically submitted per the invoice terms, providing better visibility into cash flow and ensuring prompt payment upon delivery. It also cuts out third-party access to the payment process.
Data entry can be streamlined, too! Alcohol businesses can implement invoice data integration into their back-office or accounting system. Fintech’s PaymentSource® integrates with over 200 back-office systems, including QuickBooks Online, Restaurant365, Sculpture Hospitality, BevSpot, Yellow Dog, and many more. This process saves hours of time and ensures accuracy with line-item invoice data entry. No more keying in the wrong figures or missing an invoice field.
In addition to saving time, invoice data integration facilitates faster access to real-time data, allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions to protect margins and quickly identify cost variances across product catalogs.
Embrace Modern B2B Solutions to Drive Success
Technology helps alcohol businesses thrive with solutions tailored to the industry. Through these solutions, businesses can speed up delayed legacy processes like payments and data entry while limiting unnecessary third parties that cause further delays. Check out Fintech’s PaymentSource to learn more about how it can help businesses redefine how they manage their alcohol.
