Millennials Are Here to Stay: Is Your Accounts Receivable Process Ready?

A couple weeks ago, we attended the Receivable Management Association's annual conference in Toronto. The keynote speaker, Lisa Nelson, President of Equifax Canada challenged the audience to think about big ideas, and how they can innovate to differentiate. She spoke passionately about the coming cohort, the Millennials, a group that now out populates the baby boomers in the US.

She was direct about how companies need to be ready for a new type of customer who is much different than the ones businesses have been dealing with for decades. Companies need to innovate now because Millennials expect it and the market demands it.

Millennials are an interesting breed (I am one myself), and Nelson brought to light some intriguing points about us:

1. We won’t answer voicemails or return phone calls;

2. We don't write checks;

3. And, in Ontario 72% of mail addressed to us won’t be opened.

From my lens, these statements are very true. Nelson underlined how Millennials do business differently - technology is ingrained in us and convenience is key. We will go online, we communicate on social networks, and pay electronically on apps and through self-service options.

Business can’t continue to deny the fact that technology is taking over. If they do, they will be left behind when the generational gap closes. Millennials have high expectations of convenience, and self-service. They immediately search online for answers or simply “ask Siri”.

The AR process in many businesses has gone unchanged for years. Organizations still mail invoices to their customers and accept check payments (of which Millennials don’t write). Does your process still include this?

Millennials are coming fast and changing the game. We want self-service and doing business with you to be efficient and easy. Versapay ARC bridges that convenience gap between you and your customers (future millennials) . Your customers can easily access their invoices online, and make payment in your company branded portal.

When we took ARC to market we thought the main benefits would be to the B2B supplier, helping them get paid faster. But as the product penetrated the market, we quickly realized the convenience of viewing, paying and inquiring about invoices online, makes the end customer happy as well.

Main take away: Be ready for change. Business won’t be using paper in the AR process for much longer. Offer your customers an online payment tool that is convenient for them, because Millennials demand convenience and they aren’t going anywhere.