Systems Management

Archive for September, 2011

Reduce sales outstanding time, increase cash-flow and maximise your working capital

As ever-increasing numbers of organisations are looking to lower administration costs whilst continuing to meet their CSR targets, many overlook the financial and environmental rewards of electronic document management.

We live in an age where everything needs to be greener, faster and of course, cost efficient. So developing systems and strategies for delivering and managing financial documents; such as invoices, remittance advice and other receivables, is essential.

Effective invoicing software and systems can automate and streamline an organisations entire accounts process. Enabling businesses to automatically capture purchase orders and issuing invoices to controlling debtors and collecting payments electronically online is a must for any business looking to be green and streamlined.

By introducing an electronic billing system,which integrates with existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) or invoicing software systems, a business can deliver a paperless and economic electronic invoicing process to their customers- e-Billing.

In addition to reducing workforce, material and delivery costs associated with paper based invoicing, businesses also benefit by reducing errors, accelerating settlement times and enhanced brand visibility. But it’s not just businesses that gain here, e-Billing really does represent a win-win scenario for both businesses and customers.

Consumers also benefit greatly from this combined service, enjoying instant delivery or access to their accounts, electronic or online storage, download features (which can plug into a wide range of finance systems) and a much more efficient dispute resolution process.

Key Features of e-billing:

Send electronic invoices and present online Real-time on-line management of all documents & transactions for customers Customers can download and interact with data in multiple formats Full document archiving with search and store features Automated debtor control and notification Range of reporting features including document status (delivered, opened, paid) Scalable multilingual, multi-currency opportunities Easy to use web screens with corporate branding throughout

Integrated Payments

Along with reducing administration costs and lowering environmental impact e-Billing represents the greatest value in the speed of payment and reconciliation. By enabling your customers to pay an invoice in real-time over the internet significantly speeds up the settlement time-line and drastically improves cash flow.

E-Billing system can handle Credit and Debit cards (and a variety of other methods), thus allowing organisations to provide customers with a broad spectrum of payment options and all invoices are reconciled much sooner.

Fast Customer Enrolment with 100% Coverage

Customers can access their online banking modules from hand-held devices in the blink of an eye-lid. Naturally they will expect the same services from their other suppliers. The customer enrolment process through most e-billing systems is straight-forward, timely and simple. In most cases, all a new customer needs to enrol on the e-billing platform is an email address.

Branded registration screens integrated onto your website A swift and simple online enrolment process for customers enables instant access to invoices

Summary of Benefits

Save up to 50% per invoice on processing Instant and traceable invoice delivery Quicker dispute management Significantly reduce input errors Optimise outstanding debtor management Up to 10 years online archiving Faster and effortless access for customers Marketing opportunities through electronic documents A greener, more sustainable process

Information System consists of physical components like hardware, software, database, procedures and people operating these components which interact to support the operational, managerial, and decision-making information needs of an organization. So, an information system is the means by which data flows from one person of department to another. An information system accept data from the user, process this data to produce information and achieve knowledge.

Data is a collection of facts, figures, statistics which can be processed to produce meaningful information. A process involves collecting, capturing, sifting, rearranging, calculating, comparing, decision-making, storing, retrieving, reproducing and transporting of data. Information is processed data. It refers to facts, figures or statistics that have meaning. It can become data or input for another process. Information which is known and verified is knowledge and this knowledge which is relevant and useful in any given situation which anticipate events helps the business move in the right direction taking the correct decision at the right points in time is known as business intelligence.

Types of Information Systems

The types of Information Systems are Data Processing System (DPS), Management Information System (MIS), Decision Support System (DSS) and Expert System. The data being processed in each of these systems may be done using Batch Processing Systems, On-line Systems, Real-time Systems and Distributed Systems.A data processing system process large amount of data for routine business transactions; they run a series of programs on an automatic basis at regular intervals. E.g. Payroll, Accounts, inventory.

Management Information Systems (MIS) provide reports or generate information for planning, control and decision making. They use a shared database. E.g. Estimation software for civil engineers. Decision Support Systems (DSS) differs from MIS in that it emphasizes more on decision making in all levels. It provided ad hoc (as and when required) decision reports. E.g. Business software integrating all modules payroll, accounts, inventory which helps the top management to take decision based on the business intelligence gained. In Expert System decisions are taken by the computer itself, it captures and uses the knowledge of an expert for solving a particular problem. An expert system selects the best solution available to a problem or a specific class of problems. E.g. Judicial System, medical system.

In batch processing system data are gathered from time to time and collected into groups or batches before they are entered in to the computer for processing. In On-line System data is entered online and each data is processes immediately. Real Time Processing System is same as on-line system but output is generated fast and efficiently enough to influence on going activity. But on-line system need not be real-time system. And, in Distributed System processing is shared by several independent processors at different locations in a network.

An organization may consist of many business systems and information systems is a subsystem of the business.

We live in an age where information accumulates all around us in seemingly limitless quantities. As individuals we send or receive emails, text messages, photos and sound bytes on an hour-to-hour basis. As corporations, we cram computer hard drives with statistics, contacts, financial transactions, specifications, technical drawings, instructional materials, and employee and customer data. It’s just as well that our technological capability to store information electronically has improved beyond all expectation.

But despite our technological ability to store information there is still so much that simply disappears on a day-to-day basis. Business owners and managers know the cost when an experienced and valuable employee moves on to a new job. It’s often a mad scramble to capture their knowledge and organise an information handover to the new employee. As technologically advanced we may be, you cannot just backup the employee’s brain to a computer hard drive as they leave. It’s likely you’ll soon be a victim of a variation of Murphy’s Law – the information you most need is the information you don’t have!

The continuous cycle of employees joining and leaving, at whatever level, can be a major impediment to organisation learning and the continuous improvement process. Employees are mostly concerned with the here and now rather than leaving trails of information that may benefit their successors. The management of knowledge and information within a business needs a continuous improvement process itself. Although business owners and managers may strive hard to implement, update and ensure the continuity of work systems and processes, there is still a need to foster an organisation culture that promotes the importance of spending time and energy capturing and preserving information and knowledge on a daily basis.

In any work situation, there are always employees that perpetually seek the assistance of colleagues when they need information. They rely on others to be the ‘keepers of knowledge’. They are full of praise when the information is forthcoming and they curse ‘the system’ if information cannot be found. They take little responsibility themselves to contribute to the organisation’s efforts in information management, it’s someone else’s job. At home, they probably have countless thousands of photos, some of them precious, sitting on an aging hard drive that has never been backed up.

Likewise, there are always some employees that seem to be the givers and perpetrators of information. They seem to have an uncanny knack of finding information when asked, or some 6th sense in knowing what information must be kept. But having special powers is not their reality, it’s more a case of good habits and an appreciation of the need to spend time on a daily basis collecting, updating and managing information.

The difference between people’s inclination to manage information is a consequence of training, life experience and human nature. Some people just don’t get the need to do something now if it can be left until tomorrow, or next week. For many people, taking time to store and organise information falls into this category. On any day inside any business, there is likely to be some failure to appropriately store information. While each failure may be relatively insignificant, cumulatively the effect can be considerable, even damaging to the business.