Financial
TimeGate Financial is a module that provides seamless integration from duty/contract-to-invoice as well as tools to automate the billing process and to optimise the accuracy of invoice/credit note generation.
Why TimeGate Financial
The invoicing of duties carried out by contract service providers in the security, cleaning and facilities markets is complex. In some cases clients are billed based on contracted duties (with a subsequent reconciliation) and in others based upon actual duties performed. Billing frequencies and terms of trade add another layer of complexity. Most TGL clients operate manual systems or use financial packages (both off-the-shelf and bespoke) to manage this process. However, these solutions typically fall short on three key fronts:
- Information Consistency
Operational and financial management are inextricably linked. However, disparate systems typically result in poor information consistency. Interfaces can be designed to manage this but we estimate that less than 5% of clients adopt this solution. The result is that business critical information such as contractual hours and pay/bill rates are inconsistent across operational (TimeGate) and financial systems. - Data Accuracy
Inconsistent information is compounded by the "export" of operational information from one system to another. In our experience, financial information systems (both off-the-shelf and bespoke) are rarely structured to adequately manage both contracted and actual duty billing. In general one is done well and the other is managed with a manual-fudge. Errors are common. - Process Efficiency
The financial process within most businesses is highly repetitive, with around 90% of transactions requiring no intervention. Despite this, many TGL clients still use manual systems with 100% transactions intervention. Moreover, the 10% of transactions which necessitate intervention suffer from the separation of operational and financial systems. Although financial users can be provided access to TimeGate to generate reports and review operation audit trails, the process is not seamless and users tend to suffer from limited familiarity with TimeGate.
High ROI Strategy
TGL believes the Financial Module is the solution to the problems cited above. Our strategy is to design value-added modules which can deliver ROI>100% to client businesses. We believe returns from TimeGate Financial will be derived in the following areas:
- Invoice Accuracy
Current systems suffer from poor data accuracy and are likely to result in under-invoicing. This is an asymmetric problem; clients will likely report over-charging but are much less likely to identify under-charging. We estimate 1% greater accuracy is worth £240 per employee per year. - Payment Frequency
We expect the module to accelerate invoice generation (especially of ad-hoc and variance invoices) and to reduce delays owing to queries. We estimate that just 3 days per annum of faster payments are worth £10 per employee per year (assuming 5% financing costs). - Processing Costs
Although no two businesses are the same, we expect the module to enable a reduction in invoice processing costs. We estimate current management systems cost 2.5 - 5% of sales to operate and we would expect savings of at least 10% of these costs, which translates into £60 - £120 per employee per year.
In conclusion, we would expect the use of our integrated invoicing solution to provide business gains equivalent to over £300 per employee per year.
Financial Module Overview
The TimeGate Financial Module is designed as a seamless addition to the existing core solution: operational information is managed within TimeGate and passes directly to be invoiced. There are two basic invoicing models within the TimeGate system:
- Basic
This system manages arrears invoicing based upon actual duties. There is also an ad-hoc function to deal with items such as key-holding or extra-cover. - Advanced
This system provides complete billing flexibility, spanning contracted and ad-hoc invoicing. The system is able to invoice in advance or in arrears. Moreover, a sophisticated contract-variance system ensure that financial staff can identify and manage every variance with ease.
