Creating Internal Efficiencies
As technology advances, most industries have made dramatic shifts towards digitizing their processes to respond to a variety of business needs and become more efficient in their operations. This holds true in the area of accounts receivable and payment processing. Flywire has found that while many timeshare companies currently utilize paper-based invoicing and processes, most are looking to increasingly digitize these processes, not only to appeal to a changing owner-base and save money on the cost of paper billing, but also to reduce the time spent by administrative, accounting and IT staff dealing with manual or outdated operations.
Switching from paper to online billing results in cost savings of 60-80%, according to one report.
Streamlined invoicing & communications
When companies have yet to undergo a digital transformation of the owner experience, communication with owners can be difficult and sporadic. This is particularly true when it comes to notifying owners about annual or monthly HOA fee billing and payment options. Whether it is the implementation of an online owner portal, an A/R or accounting platform that automates billing processes, or a separate digital invoicing and payment platform, vacation ownership companies in conjunction with property management and HOA boards, should evaluate whether the adoption of new billing or payment systems are right for their business.
Benefits of utilizing digital invoicing and payment methods:
- Automation and ease of communication with owners
- Simplification and communication between a variety of systems, eliminating manual data entry
- Simplified reconciliation, tracking and matching tools, reducing back office work
- Easy and secure access and visibility of data and reporting across the organization
- Confidence in accuracy and reporting of data
Selecting the right digital provider
In order to reap the full benefits of a digital invoicing and payments platform, timeshare companies should carefully evaluate potential vendors on key capabilities and features that drive the greatest impact.
A good digital processor will provide:
- Integration capabilities and flexibilities (particularly given the homegrown and disparate nature of technology in the timeshare industry)
- The ability to automate communications with owners and handle owner feedback and questions
- Type and amount of data collected
- Filtering, visualization, and reporting capabilities