Case Study: Customer Contract Handling Process

Background and challenges:

The company’s core business is fulfilling contracts signed with clients, covering various contract types under which it commits to specific services. Each contract type has its own service price list, and services are billed on a monthly cycle. But the contract handling process carried several challenges:

• Manual processes: Entering data on completed services and billing them was time-consuming and error-prone.
• Incorrect invoicing: Missing or misassigned services against the price list often led to incorrect invoices, affecting customer satisfaction.
• Difficulty tracking contract budgets: Manually tallying a contract’s budget status at month-end added extra workload and risk of discrepancies.
• Low efficiency: The whole invoice document workflow was extremely slow, delaying payments and straining client relationships.

Project goal:

Automate the handling of existing contracts to increase efficiency, improve billing accuracy, and shorten document turnaround, freeing the company to focus on other areas of the business.

Solution:

1. Automatically pulling completed services from billing systems:

• Implemented an integrated system that automatically pulls data on completed services from billing systems.
• The software tracks service delivery continuously, removing the need for manual data entry.

2. Matching services to the correct price list:

• The system automatically assigns prices to completed services based on the price list in force for each contract type.
• This reduces the risk of invoicing errors and speeds up the whole pricing process.

3. Tracking the current budget status:

• Automatically tallying the contract budget in real time enables spending control and better financial management.
• Managers get access to current information, supporting better planning and faster response to any budget overruns.

4. Automatically issuing and sending invoices to the client:

• At month-end, the system automatically generates invoices based on completed services.
• Invoices are then sent directly to clients, shortening the wait for payment and improving the company’s cash flow.

5. Exports to the ERP system for accounting:

• After invoices are issued, the system automatically generates exports to the ERP system, easing accounting and minimizing the risk of manual entry errors.
• This process ensures a consistent data set for financial analysis and reporting.

Results and benefits:

• Increased efficiency: Automation significantly sped up contract fulfillment and invoicing, freeing staff to focus on more strategic work.
• Better accuracy: Fewer errors from manual data entry improved customer service quality.
• Better budget management: Constant access to current contract budget data enables more effective financial planning.
• Shorter payment cycle: Automatic invoicing and faster client communication sped up payment and improved the company’s cash flow.

• Higher customer satisfaction: Faster, more accurate invoicing and a transparent billing process increased client trust, improving satisfaction with the service.
• Data integration and simpler processes: Easier access to data and automatic updates simplified operational processes, increasing the accuracy of reporting and financial analysis.
• Fewer manual errors: Automation significantly reduced the risk of mistakes from manual data entry, saving staff time and resources.

Summary:

Automatically pulling completed services, matching prices, and issuing invoices shortened document turnaround and reduced the invoicing errors that used to come from manual data entry.