Businesses using cash management spreadsheets twice as likely to have overdue invoices

A new global survey has found that businesses using spreadsheets for cash management are twice as likely to have a high number of overdue invoices according to new research by Sidetrade.

The research revealed that 42% of finance teams still heavily reliant on spreadsheets reported a high ratio of late payments overall (15%). Conversely, this number was almost halved (22%) for finance teams that use cash and credit management software.

87% of finance teams said that they are still relying on spreadsheets to manage accounts receivables, either fully or partially with 72% claim to be dissatisfied with the process.

In contrast, 80% of teams that use a dedicated solution to manage this process are satisfied.

While 61% of finance departments are not taking full advantage of new technologies, this trend is expected to change in the coming years, as 79% of respondents say Artificial Intelligence and automation will be a strategic priority to generate cash faster and more efficiently.

Sidetrade says that the fallout from the pandemic, cash culture has been positioned higher on business leaders’ agendas, as companies look to secure and accelerate cash flow generation and establish a 360° vision on the whole Order-to-Cash cycle. This paradigm shift provides seamless collaboration among Finance, Sales and Support functions and ensures that Finance has the best technologies available.

Sidetrade’s CFO, Philippe Gangneux,said “It’s clear that spreadsheets have an increasing number of limits and complexities. Now intelligent technologies support changing methods of delivering enterprise business capabilities. CFOs have a vested interest in including these intelligent technologies in their new roles and new challenges, or risk missing opportunities to optimize value and drive growth. The modern CFO should now take advantage of AI technology to streamline financial processes, particularly in cash management, and receivables.”

“Beyond this, there are a whole host of other ways in which spreadsheets prevent finance leaders from reaching their potential; they limit an organization’s ability to instill a cash culture, they don’t provide any intelligent recommendations, and they cannot promote data centricity and visibility across the business. The crisis we have been through has revealed the importance of securing cash flows, and more and more financial leaders are recognizing the benefit of working with a dedicated technology for enhanced Order-to-Cash performance.”