Are you running out of cash before your subscriptions take off?
Getting started with a subscription business that is based on product innovations such as software and its surrounding services takes a large investment. Once you launch a subscription model for your target customers, you will need to plan significant sales and marketing investment to bring that subscription offering to market. Developing new subscription offerings or revitalising existing ones requires serious cash up front.
Once your business starts booking in its first subscriptions, clients will be looking for great customer service and continual new offerings or innovations for the services or goods they have subscribed to. Now you must foot the bill to run a customer service team, next to the sales and marketing team, R&D, and innovation teams, and of course we cannot forget the finance department and operations.
Launching subscription models is a cash intensive operation.
Five enablers to improve your cash flow:
#1 — Capture all your subscription ARR and expenses
Running a strong cash flow starts with collecting data from both billing input as well as expenses. In a subscription model inputs are based on recurring transactions on both revenue and expenses. Cashflow forecasting needs to be based on contract values made billable and paid to suppliers. It is critical to facilitate easy data capture of subscription billing data and expense data for the third party subscriptions you acquire and sync it with your cash flow forecasting. This business capability provides strong data analytical insights in cash flow.
#2 — Use AI models to run better cash flow predictions
Using the Microsoft Azure platform and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance together with bluefort’s LISA you can improve and finetune your cash flow. Intelligent cash flow is a tool within Finance insights that allows you to create accurate and editable cash flow forecasts in Dynamics 365 Finance. By using the cash flow forecast capability, you can compare forecasted cash flows with actual cash flows to improve forecasting over time. Read more here.
#3 — Improve subscription sales using upselling and cross selling tactics
Use sharply defined up- and cross selling techniques, such as collecting all customers using subscription product A and upselling surrounding products and services, possibly using offerings including cash back or discounts. Extend renewals to longer periods of time.
#4 — Manage direct debits and online payments
Just like credit cards, an online payment option—and an ecommerce shop in general—makes shopping and subscribing more convenient for your customers. It can also help you move services more efficiently. Connect your online sales portal or sites with a payment gateway, so you run efficiently, and get cash more promptly.
#5 — Improve your speed-to-bill
One tactic that speeds up cash in is pre-invoicing. Rather than billing on the renewal dates, setup routines to bill 30 or more days before. This will drive an earlier cash arrival improving cash flow.
