The challenge
FAAC BV, the Dutch branch of FAAC Group, is known for its expertise in the field of access automation. The company always has a suitable solution: modular automation solutions for pedestrian and vehicle access, automatic barriers, automatic pedestrian entrances, and screen and roller shutters for home automation, offices, hotels and businesses. FAAC BV is a full service organisation; besides delivery and assembly, they are also specialised in maintenance and repair.
At the beginning of each year, FAAC BV faces a major challenge: all maintenance invoices are sent and followed up in one go, which is quite a job. It is not only the invoicing department that has its hands full; the credit management department, too, has its work cut out. Colleagues in the finance department must then drop all their work and step in to ensure proper debtor follow-up.
Despite the employees’ efforts, debtor management was not optimal. The cumbersome processes and the large pile of invoices made it difficult to keep track of everything accurately and quickly created backlogs, especially during busy periods or when someone was on holiday. Ania Bartusch, Finance Employee at FAAC BV: “Preparing an overview of the debtors who need to be sent a reminder can easily take a day. Consequently one dreads this work. But because you are so used to it, you don’t know any better. After our Finance Manager, Nicolas, said that it should be better and faster, we started doing some research and got in touch with iController.”
iController’s approach
Optimisation of the accounts receivable follow-up was discussed at an initial meeting with FAAC BV. iController’s credit management tool could be configured on the basis of the in-depth analysis that followed.
The main conclusion was that FAAC BV needed simplification and efficiency. Working together, in the first instance an identical procedure was therefore introduced for all debtors, with the possibility of expanding to different procedures if the need arose.
After that, debtor management was phased, allowing for a small number of follow-ups each day. For example, all the workload was divided into small, manageable pieces.
By organising all information about debtor management in one place, it can be easily consulted or adjusted by all team members. This means that Ania and her colleagues can respond better to each other and that they always have the most up-to-date overview.
Ania Bartusch: “If you want to adjust something in iController, it goes very smoothly. The software is very user-friendly and you can easily set everything up yourself. If you still have a question, you can send an e-mail to support and have an answer within an hour.”
Success
The iController software enormously reduces the workload for Ania and her colleagues. In busy periods, she can now keep the reminders running and help colleagues at the same time. Ania Bartusch: “We should have made this switch long ago. Accounts receivable follow-up is now much faster and more transparent, leaving us much more time for personal contact with our customers.”
And the overview of debtors? She can now request this with a single click.
As the Dutch branch of FAAC Group, FAAC BV got the opportunity to test iController. Ania cannot say much about possible future plans, but she is positive. “We would like to extend the use of the software to Belgium in future and show our parent company in Italy that iController is good software – who knows, maybe FAAC Group will follow worldwide.”
