SK Global Ranked Top AR Automation Provider by Emergen Research

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As companies are continuing to experience accelerated growth, it is more important than ever that they have the tools to optimize their working capital and their financial processes. That’s why SK Global is excited to share that we have been ranked as one of the top AR automation providers by Emergen Research. This is a huge accomplishment and testament to the amazing team at SK Global. Here’s what you need to know about this incredible news. 

Breaking Down the Numbers  

To determine the leading AR automation solution providers, Emergen Research’s research methodology focused on interviewing subject matter experts and industry professionals such as AR managers. Coupled with qualitative analysis, they analyzed secondary sources such as industry reports, annual company reports, databases, and more. Together, their analysis outlined the top 9 industry leaders in AR automation based on the reputation, quality of the solution, and their market share proportion of the overall AR automation market.  

They also provided valuable information on recent market trends and future growth opportunities for adopters of such solutions – offering an invaluable resource for financial tech professionals interested in exploring more about the current developments within this space. For more information on these areas of the report, check out the Emergen Research study here.  

What Makes SK Global Stand Out Among AR Providers

SK Global has succeeded in the AR automation industry, shining amidst prominent competitors such as Blackline, Bottomline Technologies, Kofax, Quadient, Oracle, and more. Being a small company featured alongside these large competitors has clearly shown that SK Global has succeeded in providing design excellence and technology innovation to our customers. Being recognized in this manner means SK Global is at the forefront of AR automation with our Treasury Automation Suite – a sophisticated suite with features like automated direct debit with mandate automation, robotic-process powered matching of customer payments to outstanding invoices, deduction handling, invoice presentment and credit card payment handling. 

What We Can Expect From SK Global in the Future

As SK Global endeavors to continue to be an industry leader, we are looking to add even more advanced functionality to our AR automation solutions. To help accounting teams automate their processes better than ever, we are developing innovative ways to increase invoice-to-payment matching rates and to streamline the customer settlement process. For our Direct Debit functionality, we continue to release new formats regularly so our customers can easily have access to payment files that work for their specific banks. 

The Benefits of AR Automation for Businesses and Consumers Alike

Automating your Accounts Receivable process will not only increase the efficiency of your AR team but drive down operating costs significantly. For your accounting team, automated AR processing can give your team the tools to better track your cash flow since your team will have a clear view of who is paying on time and who is not. Most importantly, your team can even increase cash flow by completing incoming payments faster with the help of RPA-powered AR automation tools.  

Teams are also no longer bogged down by processing errors since the top AR automation solutions like SK Global’s have robust matching logic and rules for high payment-to-invoice matching. Compliance and security are also automatically embedded in all of SK Global’s solutions. 

 SK Global is a top innovator in AR automation and we are always looking for ways to streamline the AR process for accounting teams. As we have seen in the Emergen Research study, SK Global is a leader in this area and is the chosen solution provider for global accounting teams in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance. If your team is currently looking to automate your accounts receivable process, book a meeting with our team at sales@sksoft.com and discover ways that your company can elevate your AR process. 

SK Global Ranked Top AR Automation Provider by Emergen Research

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As companies are continuing to experience accelerated growth, it is more important than ever that they have the tools to optimize their working capital and their financial processes. That’s why SK Global is excited to share that we have been ranked as one of the top AR automation providers by Emergen Research. This is a […]

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Is security and automation important to your company? How do you transfer data to and from your bank today?

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If it is a manual process, can files/data be tampered with? With BankFabric, your business can select between three options to automate and secure the process; SFTP, APIs or, through Web Services.  

SFTP

SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) is a proven communications technology. It is supported by most banks, enabling automated communications. With SK Global’s solution you can initiate payments from within either Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain or Business Central to the bank. BankFabric eliminates the need to login to a bank’s website. Our solution ensures validation and secure file transfer to any bank and enables automated import of bank data for auto-reconciliation. BankFabric will allocate bank files correctly within your Dynamics F&SC or BC environment, across any number of legal entities. SFTP functionality is built directly into BankFabric which allows you to enjoy a direct Host2Host communication line with the bank. 

APIs

While not yet supported by all banks, this will likely prove to be the future means of communication to/from banks!  APIs do not rely on files to transmit banking data, but rather just a stream of relevant information. They are highly secure since there is no file that might be left in an unprotected location.  APIs are very easily setup and administration is minor. Once the API has been developed between the ERP and the bank, it’s smooth sailing. 

Web Services

Web services have been used for a number of years. They do not have widespread adoption and generally have only been supported by banks in Northern Europe.  Just as with APIs, Web Services allow for fully automated communications between you and your bank. You will have a tighter integration as Web Services contain both a security certificate exchange, and the exchange of files in the same process. Web Services require more extensive coding to initially develop but are easy to set up and administer.  

Manual Communication 

If you prefer to upload/download bank files manually, this is also supported. You can drop files into BankFabric and still enjoy all the added automation and features within our Banking and Treasury Suite, within Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Supply Chain. 

BankFabric

In a Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Supply Chain production system there is no access to the underlying virtual machine and external data transfer. With this pain-point in mind, we created the BankFabric solution to provide direct bank communications, file encryption and APIs between your Microsoft Dynamics 365 system and your banks. With BankFabric, you can automatically and securely connect directly to any bank in the world to process and match payments, reconcile statements, handle Direct Debits, and more. BankFabric can be configured for automated bank communications across all legal entities within your Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain ERP system, to as many banks as you are working with, globally. 

Secure and automate your bank communications and start optimizing essential financial operations activities today! 

Call our experts today and hear how you can empower your Accounting Team! 

SK Global Software

We are the leading Microsoft Dynamics ISV, providing solutions and expertise around Banking, Treasury, and Payment Automation for Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Supply Chain. Our Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions and services help organizations worldwide save time and money by automating key processes, increasing efficiency, and reducing risks. 

 – Microsoft Dynamics Certified ISV 

 –  Our software serves an extensive customer base world-wide  

– Scalable solutions that automate financial processes in any industry 

 – Our solutions are used in more than 80 countries 

 – Providing global bank communication  

Contact us today to learn why companies, small to global enterprises, choose SK Global Software. Call our experts today and hear how you can empower your Accounting Team! 

 SK Global Software EMEA +45.20.61.45.75 US +1.301.963.7300 Sales@sksoft.com www.sksoft.com 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance Implementation: How to Identify if you Need Further Automation

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Before implementing a Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&SC Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, there’s a lot of planning your organization should do to ensure a smooth implementation. An important consideration is whether your business will need to add additional automation.

How to Identify if you Need Further Automation

Determining your Software Requirements

Before deciding whether you will need to add software aside from what’s included in the standard version of Dynamics, it is recommended to first determine your teams’ requirements or expectations from the ERP system. Pinpointing the specific features, functionality, and performance that your stakeholders expect can be a challenging process. The most efficient way to determine your key requirements is through conducting a requirement analysis. To administer a requirement analysis, we recommend following these five steps:

1. Identify your Key Stakeholders

To verify that you receive all the important input needed you must first ensure you distinguish all key decision makers and users.

2. Record Requirements

Once you have determined who the essential stakeholders are, we recommend deciding how you would like to collect the requirements. Whether you decide to hold one-on-one interviews, use focus groups, leverage use cases, or build prototypes you should ensure that each important stakeholder and end user provides feedback. Axia Consulting provides a great guide in their article: Requirement Gathering Techniques.

3. Sort the Requirements Into Categories

To achieve an organized overview of the requirements we recommend categorizing them. Starting with two major categories of functional and non-functional then further organizing the requirements into smaller sub-categories.

4. Evaluating and Reviewing Requirements

For each requirement on the list, we recommend the following:

  • Describing the requirement in detail
  • Ranking each requirement on level of importance
  • Discussing the effect of the change
  • Highlight conflicting issues and resolving them with the stakeholders
  • Consider feasibility
  • Specify test scenarios

5. Stakeholders Give a Final Approval of Requirements

Before moving forward with a finalized list of requirements, it is important that all key decision makers can come to an agreement. It is suggested to have a final meeting to decide on this as a team.

6. Conducting a Gap Analysis

After finalizing your requirements, you should conduct a gap analysis comparing the features included with the ERP with what’s on your requirements list. If there are gaps you must decide how important they are to your business.

Custom Software, Bolt-On, or Built-in (Embedded) Automation

For gaps between the ERP and your automation requirements, you must decide whether you want to resolve them with an embedded solution, bolt-on solution, or paying a developer to build custom automation.

Custom Software

When considering the cost of developing something custom, there are some hidden costs that also need to be factored in. For instance, as Microsoft keeps making changes to the base software, what will be the cost of maintaining customization to keep up with these changes? For packaged solutions, it is the responsibility of the author (ISV) to keep up with those changes. Project delays are also very common. According to KPMG Information Technology, 85% of software development projects go over schedule. Most of the time, you can find the needed functionality within a built-in or bolt-on solution. However, on the rare occasion that you have a very specific automation requirement that is not offered by a software vendor, hiring a developer to build a custom solution would likely be your best option.

Bolt-On Automation

Bolt-on automations are separate systems from the main ERP system. In other words, these bolt-on’s sit outside of the main ERP system and frequently require custom integrations to be created and maintained. These bolt-on solutions have a different user interface, resulting in a different overall look and feel from the ERP.  There are three main downsides to bolt-on solutions. For one, they are difficult to integrate with the ERP at times and may have connectivity issues with the ERP. Second, the software sits outside of the ERP requiring employees to learn two different interfaces. This often leads to additional employee training time. Lastly, they often have duplicated features that are already included in D365, leading to a higher price point with no real benefits.

Built-in or Embedded Automation

Embedded automation is built-in and designed specifically for the ERP. Opting for this type of automation allows for robust data synchronization, reduced employee training time, and centralized finance and accounting procedures. For more information in our recent article Bolt-on vs Embedded, we provide a detailed comparison between these two types of automation.

Robust Financial Automation for D365

Whether you’re in the midst of an implementation, shopping around for the right ERP, or have already implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain, it is important to continually evaluate and weigh your options for adding further financial automation. To extend upon the capabilities included in the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, many companies turn to Microsoft Independent Software Vendors (ISV) to meet their additional automation needs.  . From the top selling electric car manufacturer to the number one tech media company in the world, we have worked with a wide variety of companies in all different industries. With over 30 years of experience building and selling embedded add-ons for Microsoft ERP market, we have assisted Dynamics customers worldwide in further automating their financial processes. Below are some of the most common enhancement needs, we see year after year:

  • Secure Banking Integration
  • Accounts Receivable Cash Application
  • Accounts Payable Invoicing & OCR Scanning
  • Bank Reconciliation
  • Credit Card Reconciliation
  • Credit Card Processing
  • Online Bill Pay
  • Direct Debit
  • Supply Chain Financing
  • In-House Banking

Are you looking to further automate your financial processes within your D365 ERP? Join us on our weekly interactive demos to learn more about our most popular embedded solutions.

Kayne Capital + SK Global: Success Story

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When Kayne Capital, the leading alternative to investment management firm, decided to move forward with a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations implementation they turned to SK Global’s Treasury Automation Suite to take their financial automation a step further. Prior to their implementation, Kayne Capital struggled with the following pain-points:

  • Their accounting department would spend excessive time and resources setting up entities – they have over 270+ fund entities and 80+ management companies in play at any given time, and entities were formed and liquidated all the time.
  • Complex processes around allocating income and expenses to various management companies, making ownership structure complicated. Unique equity allocation methodologies among management companies resulted in manual and high-maintenance Excel spreadsheet.
  • Lack of a fully integrated robust ERP system, caused processes like closing, financial controls, audit logs, routing of approvals to be increasingly complex.
  • Due to the absence of a consistent account structure, they did not have the transparency needed to get a complete picture of financial performance without a separate analysis.
  • The reporting system did not provide the ability to analyze real-time data, resulting in manual efforts to produce materials.

Download the full case study to see how SK Global’s Treasury Automation Suite for D365 F&O resolved these pain-points directly in their ERP system.