Survey Reveals that Collectors Lack Confidence In Collections Management Metrics

Aceva Technologies, a leading provider of enterprise applications for receivables and cash management, today announced findings from a recent survey which indicate a lack of confidence in the relevance of collections management metrics most commonly being used by corporations today. In addition, the survey found that companies that use collections management software are more effective and motivated as they spend less time on tactical tasks and more time on strategic deliverables that impact the bottom line.

“Best-in-class collections management metrics should not only be accurately measurable, but should also be actionable,” said Sanjay Srivastava, chief operating officer of Aceva. “By first making sure the most applicable key metrics are being used, AR teams can actually impact the underlying drivers affecting collections performance.”

According to the survey, though past due percentage and aging bucket performance are the most commonly used metrics for measuring the performance of collections teams, over 60% of the respondents lacked confidence in their ability to accurately reflect collections management performance. Incidentally, respondents ranked these same measures among those that took the least amount of time to generate, accounting for their continued usage despite low confidence scores. On the other hand, other metrics such as trending average days to collect, and amount collected per employee generated high-confidence ratings, but were more difficult and time consuming to produce.

“Many companies don’t manage to the most relevant metrics as they are complex and cumbersome to produce and use without automation software. Based on the survey results, it is apparent that there is a real opportunity for companies to start using better metrics that capture the true effectiveness of collections teams,” Srivastava added. “Without the right metrics, it is impossible to truly excel in the collections management business. After all, you can not manage what you can’t measure properly.”

Additional survey findings discovered that users of collections management software are more effective and motivated as they spend less time on tactical tasks and more time on strategic deliverables that impact the bottom line:

• 68% of respondents that use collections management software feel they are more effective, compared to 24% of the respondents that don’t use collections management software.

• 29% of respondents that use collections management software spend their time on tactical tasks, compared to 62% of the respondents that don?t use collections management software.

• 89% of respondents that use collections management software can see the impact that their work has on the organization, compared to 50% of the respondents that don’t use collections management software.

• 88% of respondents that use collections management software feel they have the tools to impact the bottom line, compared to 68% of the respondents that don’t use collections management software.

• 81% of respondents that use collections management software are satisfied with their job responsibilities, compared to 57% of the respondents that don’t use collections management software.