Accounts Receivable (A/R) and Accounts Payable (A/P)

By Premier |

Collections Methodology

• The Accounts Receivable Department of Premier BPO, Inc. has a thorough knowledge of and experience in SAP R/3 software, providing an overall system for planning, controlling and monitoring.
• Premier vigilantly and aggressively monitors the printing, mailing and electronic delivery of Accounts Receivable documents.
• Premier's experience in invoice design, formatting, composition and printing provides mass customization of the invoice document according to the dictates of the client who, to the extent that they choose to be, is always involved in every stage of the process.
• Invoices are custom formatted, according to pre-defined business rules and client's requirements, resulting in a document unique to each customer.
• Product marketing and administrative information can be included on the invoice or inserted into the envelope, customized for each customer, based upon products purchased and/or external business rules.

Key Roles

• Premier's collection agents ensure receipt of payments within the time limit set by the terms specified at the time of clients contract with the customers. We manage collection of accounts receivable; current or aged pursuant to client policies, carefully analyzing accounts receivable and identifying uncollectible accounts (bad debt).
• Premier maintains accounts receivable process cash receipts and adjustments.
• The Premier philosophy is that one of the key roles of Collections Department is to recover all outstanding receivables. Collectors have to ensure receipt of payments within the time limit set by collections policies which consist of various collections documents and desk instructions and may vary from time to time.
• Premier recognizes that there will be customers who pay late. Some customers are in a habit of paying late. If it is one of the larger customers, the problem treated accordingly.
• Premier takes great strides to ensure meaningful, enlightening communications with both the client management and clients' customers.
• Where there are valid reasons for delay in payment (delivery issues, wrong product shipped to the customer, missing parts, wrong price charged, invoice lost in transit, etc.) the collector is instructed to resolve the problem within 30 days of problem identification. Premier's collection agents understand the importance of early problem identification and early resolution.
• The collector's prime objective is to accomplish payment of all invoices as early as possible and that all invoices be satisfied within such time period agreed to by Premier and the client.

Premier's Mandate for Superior Collection Capability

• Premier is committed to a high level of Quality Control. Metrics which are established with the client initially and mandated throughout the collections process. At the initiation of a new program, literally 100% of all transactions are internally audited for accuracy. As metrics are met, this is gradually ramped down to 50 %, then 25 % and level off to a normal industry standard of random monitoring calibrated by weekly client QA checks with the Premier QA team to ensure Premier QA team metric compliance.
• Tools for mentoring and role playing are utilized in order to maintain maximum quality standards in all areas of agent transaction processing. Moreover, Premier maintains a system of program-specific quality assurance forms with the scores of the agents assigned according to performance. (see chart that follows)

Premier's Change Management and Communications Capabilities

• Premier Relationship Managers are not merely project managers. They are consultative subject matter experts. They not only assist our clients in outsourcing the process, but they actually improve all outsourced processes. Their profiles speak volumes for them.
• Premier defines Relationship Management" as much more than account management. Relationship Management is a proactive consultant relationship that sets a clear customer strategy, delivering the optimum client solution and communicating not only in a timely fashion but partnering with the client to develop the most efficient solution process.
• Premier's model is to provide clients with a seamless implementation, transition, and ongoing program through US based Account Management and direct hands-on US based Project Management of Offshore Operational Leadership.

Premier's Required Collection Benchmarks

• Invoice Payment & Status Retrieval (average payment time not to exceed 40 days)
• Timely Response to Customer Inquiries (within 24 hours and, usually, less)
• Payment Status Documentation (All activity is duly documented in ERP software on an ongoing basis) Account Maintenance (Most issues are to be resolved within a minimum of 7 days with the remaining inquiries to be duly escalated in a timely fashion)
• Reports and Summary Billings are kept on an ongoing fashion (99% of reports shall be submitted on time and error free)
• Maintaining Proof of Deliveries on Invoices Over 90 Days Past Due

Focus on Customer Care

• Premier provides special, ongoing, extremely effective training to its highly experienced and well-educated employees in order to develop their required skills.
• Communication effectiveness, call control, rapport, phone etiquette, conflict resolution, and like skills are some of the traits that each collector must exhibit.
• To ensure the best customer service, each collector is required to have a solid understanding of the entire process and maintain up-to-date detailed documentation of all contacts, issues, problems, resolutions and payment information for each account.

Premier Efficiency and Effectiveness

Premier's Accounts Receivable Outsourcing Services Provide Centralized Control Over Receivables and Other Best Practices.

Premier's substantial experience, resources and proven practices in financial management offer our clients a comprehensive set of Accounts Receivable management services.

Premier maintains a strict system of internal accounting controls and procedures that ensure transactions are authorized, recorded and reported properly to include, but not limited to, the following:

• Periodic Audits
• Written Policies/Guidelines
• Careful Selection and Training of Qualified Personnel
• Detailed Review Procedures.
• Time-tested Goals to Ensure Optimum Integrity.

Proven Benefits to Our Clients

• Improved Cash Flow: Identify, monitor and reduce delinquencies and minimize bad debt through extensive experience. Fewer accounts being sent to third party collections reduces the percentage of past due balances vs. total amount due
• Reduced Costs: Reduced costs per dollar collected by leveraging global labor pools rather than expensive in-house employees and their associate costs (rising salaries, insurance, taxes, benefits, unemployment, etc.)
• Reduced Expenses through capital avoidance associated with the development, deployment, and maintenance of collections systems and infrastructure.
• Improved Customer Loyalty: Apply training and quality assurance processes and a problem solving approach to sustain customer loyalty. Both corporate-specific and client-specific quality teams help support this process.
• Improved Speed and Flexibility: Premier has developed a time-tested and time-proven comprehensive process to combine user enrollment, receipt of print files, tagging print files with e-mail addresses, print and mail, print suppression, electronic invoice delivery and auditing of the entire process that includes reporting of all functions as well as a process for e-delivery, print and mail and transitioned print suppression that results in an end-to-end solution to electronic invoice presentment.
• SAP R/3 Functionality: Thorough knowledge of A/R Dept. of Premier in SAP R/3 software which allows them an overall system for planning, controlling and monitoring.

Technology and Systems Support

• Premier implements its key business applications using comprehensive and complex Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. ERP software facilitates the flow of information among all the processes of an organization's supply chain, from purchases to sales, including accounting and human resources.
• ERP software also eliminates the common problem of multiple incompatible software systems and databases in use in the departments or functional areas of many corporations.
• With one integrated comprehensive system (which can be distributed internationally) with one database, processes run more smoothly with up to date information availability throughout the corporation.

SAP R/3 Functionality

• R/3 software allows the integration of all of a company's business operations in an overall system for planning, controlling and monitoring. Over 1000 ready-made business processes are available, that include best business practices that reflect the experiences, suggestions and requirements of leading companies in a host of industries. New features are continuously being added to releases of R/3.
• SAP R/3 System provides an integrated suite of business applications that covers a full range of processes used in almost any business. The main application groupings are:
  • Logistics
  • Financial/Management Accounting and Reporting
  • Human Resources
  • Cross-Application Functions

Methods of Payment Offered

Premier offers a variety of modes of payment, including:
• Check Payments
• Electronic Payments
• Credit Card

Transaction Management

CHECK PAYMENTS:

All payments made in the form of checks will be delivered directly to the client's Lock Box address and retrieved by courier service which then delivers the payment to the bank's processing center where they are scanned and uploaded to the bank's website in order for Premier to download the payment and, simultaneously, forward the remittance for posting.

ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS:

Premier also has the capacity to receive electronic payment of invoices in ACH and WIRE formats. Premier can establish an e-mail address to which remittance information can be sent and suggests that this method be used in providing payment detail for electronic funds transfers. Delivery of the remittance information to this address will ensure that EFT and ACH payments for your accounts are credited immediately. The client will send the invoice details for credit to the proper invoice.

CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS:

If a customer submits payment by credit card, their account is setup accordingly and, as soon as the invoice is generated, the system directly charges the customer's credit card through Payment Tech (service used by the client to settle credit card transactions). Payments on all credit card transactions are received within 48-72 hours.

Performance Measurements (SLA)

Premier's primary strength is the quality of service that we provide to our valued customers. Premier ensures that we:

• fully grasp the nature of the project work;
• completely understand the expectations of our clients and their customers; and
• establish and deliver the most effective solution for fulfilling these expectations

In order to ensure that we deliver the maximum solutions for effective delivery, client expectations are documented and defined in Service Level Agreements (SLA's). The Service Level Agreement sets out the terms and conditions which govern the Accounts Receivable program including services to be delivered, service levels acceptable to the client, staff duties, tracking and evaluation methods to ensure all service levels are being met, reporting details and troubleshooting limits.

Service Level Agreements Encompass The Following:

• Invoice Payment & Status Retrieval- average payment time does not exceed 40 days
• Payment Status Documentation- all activity is duly documented in ERP software
• Account Maintenance- most issues are resolved with in a week, while those remaining are duly escalated)
• Reports and Summary Billings- 99% of reports are sent on time and are error free
• Other Client Directed Terms- Tailoring the Agreement to our clients needs

Project Management Process

Premier's Experienced Management Team:

• Has implemented literally hundreds of new client programs offshore
• Understands the importance of governance in the outsource relationship
• Has successfully assisted and served dozens of clients whose functions were previously performed internally and improved upon their processes substantially in each such situation
• Possesses literally over 125 years combined experience in leadership within the BPO and Outsourced Service industry

Premier's Business Model:to provide our clients with an integrated implementation, transition and on-going program through this unique and very effective process:

• US Based Account Management and
• US Based Project Management
• With that US Based Project Management team directing Premier's offshore Operational Leadership.

www.premierbpo.com

Premier BPO Inc.
102 Country Lane, Suite B
Clarksville, TN 37043
(931) 551-8888 (Trunk Line)

N. Reese Bagwell
Director — Sales
(310) 337-5200 (ext. 4779) (office)
(931) 241-1234 (mobile)
(931) 551-8121 (fax)
rbagwell@premierbpo.com

Shiraz Chaudhry
Director — Business Development
(310) 337-5200 ext # 4283 (office)
cshiraz@premierbpo.com