Lack of support from previous vendor led Gemaire to look for alternatives.

Self-Assessment

Worked with the wider Watsco brands to select a solution that would work for all.

Solutions Research

Selected Versapay due to its focus on moving customers online and industry leading client support.

Provider Selection

Promoted the new platform to all customers via marketing messages and prominent display ads on the Gemaire website.

Implementation

Working closely with Client Success Manager to customize reports and push towards 100% customer adoption.

Success Management

Gemaire is a subsidiary of Watsco, Inc., the largest independent HVAC/R distribution company in the world. Founded in 1969, today Gemaire proudly distributes heating, air conditioning, refrigeration equipment, parts, and supplies.

Company Overview

In distribution, sales is everything! Gemaire has improved its sales function by transforming its accounts receivable and payments process. By replacing an old invoicing and payments system with a solution that drives online payment adoption, provides an easy channel to communicate with customers, and unlocks data to help make strategic decisions, Gemaire has reduced its 90+ days receivables by 30%.   In times of economic uncertainty, the ability for customers to make payments online from wherever they are working helps to ensure business continuity and has positioned Gemaire for long-lasting success.

Today

With 65% of customers still receiving printed invoices and only one online payment method available, Gemaire’s AR process was manual, paper-based and time intensive. Onboarding new customers onto the platform was challenging and transitioning COD customers into long-term, lucrative term accounts was a burden.    With over 8,000 active customers and only phone and email available to reach them, Gemaire was struggling to effectively communicate with customers at scale. Little to no in-platform reporting options were available, which resulted in a total lack of visibility into customer payment behavior and an inability to pull the reports required by the CFO.   Gemaire wasn’t getting what it needed from its current provider to effectively serve its customers so with that, and a drive from its parent company to transform legacy processes, Gemaire started to look for a better solution.

The Starting Point

Gemaire Distributors - Case Study | Versapay

The Solution

Reducing 90+ Days Receivables by 30% at Leading HVAC Distributor

AR had had no advancements within Boston Properties in quite some time.

Process was driven by the AR team as the solution needed to address their day to day needs and how they interact with tenants.

Chose ARC due to the capabilities of the platform, the price and the belief that it’s a good partnership.

Ran a competition between regions to get to 100% email adoption prior to implementation kick-off.

Working with CSM to run payment adoption campaigns to increase payment adoption among tenants, including promotion of AutoPay.

Boston Properties, a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT), is one of the largest owners, managers and developers of Class A office properties in the United States, with a significant presence in five markets: Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC.

Boston Properties has greatly reduced the time and effort spent managing receivables. By implementing a solution that allows tenants to self-service, access their account information 24/7/365, and schedule payments, Boston Properties has decreased the time spent chasing small dollars and is better meeting tenant expectations.  By automating the old, manual, and paper-based tasks, Boston Properties’ AR department is now 100% paperless. With 84% of tenants adopting this new platform within the first few months alone, it’s clear to see that tenants were ready for a change.

Boston Properties was spending too much time on low-value AR tasks, chasing small dollars and going back and forth with tenants. The AR team was using four separate systems to track billings and payments so instead of proactively managing receivables and positioning the company to scale, days were spent hopping between different platforms, reconciling information.  Tenants paid via ACH and checks to lockboxes but payments were rarely a true match to the amount Boston Properties showed owing. The AR team was then left with the tireless task of cash application and reconciling payment. This resulted in a lot of back and forth between Boston Properties and tenants which was both a resource drain for the company and an annoyance for the tenants.  Boston Properties’ AR department hadn’t had any advancements in quite some time so it began looking for a comprehensive solution that allowed everything to come into a single pane of glass for its tenants and improv efficiencies for its team.

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