Anatomy of a Self-Service Payment Portal

Presentment of Invoices

• Instead of having to send out the invoices manually, you can directly upload them on this portal to be accessed by your customers as per their preference 
• If a customer needs multiple copies of the invoice, they can download the same from the portal instead of requesting you for the same. 
• You will have better visibility into the status of the invoice. Excuses such as invoices weren’t delivered, or could not be found among the hundreds of the emails received won’t stand anymore. 
• Invoice tracking would also become easier. The portal provides you insights regarding whether the invoice was downloaded, opened or any other action from the customer’s end. 
• If there has been some error in the invoice, customers can directly communicate it through the system in real-time, instead of waiting till the due date and then letting you know about the same, which is what happens conventionally.

Online-payment options

• The portal would allow customers to make the payment online in their preferred format, be it an ACH payment or through a credit card. 
• For cross-border payments, if applicable, the portal can be customized to support other payment options that might come into the picture. 
• The customers would also enjoy better visibility by being able to track the status of their payments, and the invoices being cleared. 
• Customers would be able to create payment reminders, set recurring payments, etc. on the portal itself, as per their preference and requirements 
• The portal should comply with all relevant regulations such as the PCI-DSS, thus ensuring that the transaction isn’t just fast and smooth, but also safe.

Dispute Creation and Tracking

• More often than not, customers tend to take a deduction on an invoice, while waiting till the due-date to do so. The portal would allow them to create a dispute as soon as they receive the invoice, enabling pro-active research and resolution from your end. 
• Not only that, the status of a particular dispute, as well as the final decision regarding its validity, can also be communicated to the customer through the portal 
• Customers can also make a short payment against a particular deduction while providing the reasons that could help in proactive dispute research and validation

Now that we have discussed what exactly a self-service portal is and what it is capable of doing, let us discuss how it can be useful:

1. End-to-end automation: The portal would help in automating every aspect of your billing and payment process, thus reducing manual work considerably
2. Time and cost optimization: Apart from saving the cost on paper (being environment-friendly too!), you will also save time spent by your resources in addressing and sending the invoices manually while also eliminating delivery and other related costs
3. Better customer experience: Companies can improve customer experience by providing them with better visibility and reducing the number of touchpoints for them.
4. Customer Empowerment: The “self-service” aspect of the payment portal makes your customers capable of handling their bills and payments on their own, while also reducing the workload on your team to guide them through the whole process.

Self-service customer portals ensure real-time presentment of invoices and payments by your customers through easy access to information for them, while reducing resource dependency within your team. They are an example of one of those rare win-win situations, in which there is something for everybody. It is, therefore, on you as an A/R professional to determine how you can leverage invoicing and payment software solutions for improving the way you handle your invoices, payments, and customer relationships. Remember that technology keeps evolving, and it is best for us to evolve at the same pace.