© 2015 PayStream Advisors, Inc | www.paystreamadvisors.com | info@paystreamadvisors.com
2015 AP and Working
Capital Report
Capturing Game-Changing Savings with Working Capital Tools
Q2 2015 | Featuring insights on...
» Current Market Trends in Working Capital Software Usage
» Dynamic Discounting Management
» Supply Chain Financing
» Electronic Payments Optimization
» The Perfect Payment Index
» Leading Working Capital Solution Providers
Underwritten in part by
Q2 2015
© 2015 PayStream Advisors, Inc | www.paystreamadvisors.com | info@paystreamadvisors.com
2
Introduction
3
Working Capital in AP
4
Working Capital in DDM
7
Working Capital in SCF
8
Working Capital in Electronic Payments
10
Optimizing the Supply Chain With the Perfect Payment Index 13
The Road Map to an Optimized Supply Chain
14
Conclusion
15
C2FO
16
Taulia
19
Transcepta
23
About PayStream Advisors
26
Contents
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3
Introduction
Capturing early payment discounts is a top goal for any Accounts
Payable (AP) department, as it ultimately grants organizations huge
returns on cash. However, if the department is still using manual AP
processes, the resulting slow approval times and invoice processing
errors keep this goal from becoming an achievable aspiration. The
inability to capture what is effectively free money is a very frustrating
dilemma for organizations, causing many to simply give up on the idea.
Organizations that rely upon antiquated AP processes hurt more than
themselves—they also deeply impact their suppliers. If a company
is unable to approve and pay invoices quickly, suppliers experience
slower cash flow, which further disrupts the supply chain. Suppliers
may also be reluctant to continue business relationships with buyers
who cannot pay on time, and as a result, those organizations could
potentially lose important segments of their valuable supplier base.
Fortunately, today’s organizations can use working capital software
to increase discount capture while also alleviating AP pains around
invoice approval and payment. Dynamic discounting, supply chain
financing, and other working capital applications free up cash flow and
strengthen the supply chain, ultimately improving supplier relationships
and increasing a company’s bottom line.
PayStream Advisors’ 2015 AP and Working Capital report offers a
guide for organizations actively exploring working capital solutions.
This report explores market trends and illustrates the relevance and
applicability of working capital solutions such as dynamic discounting
platforms, supply chain financing, and electronic payment methods.
Also included are several profiles of some of the current leading
working capital software providers.
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Working Capital in AP
PayStream Advisors surveyed over 200 individuals employed in a
variety of industries, and compiled data to reflect current attitudes
towards early payment discount capture and working capital solutions.
One of the most important findings of this research shows that
discount management software adoption among organizations has
grown dramatically from 2014 to 2015.
Early payment discounts, traditionally given under the standard
discount terms of “2% 10, net 30,” are common offerings among
suppliers trying to incentivize their buyers to pay invoices faster.
These buyers should need little encouragement to participate in early
payment programs, as capturing discounts is one of the simplest ways
to increase savings for organizations. However, most organizations are
only able to capture discounts some of the time, see Figure 1.
There are many problems that lead to late invoice payments and
missed discounts. Organizations report that the greatest reasons for
these issues are lengthy approval cycles, manual routing of invoices,
and missing information on invoices, see Figure 2.
Figure 1
Half of Organizations
Can Only Capture
Discounts Sometimes
“How often is your
organization able to
capture early payment
discounts available?”
1%
15%
34%
50%
Always
Never
I don’t know
Sometimes
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Implementing invoice receipt automation, such as scan and capture
solutions and eInvoicing portals, greatly cuts down on approval times
and increases the AP department’s ability to capture early payment
discounts. These returns increase when receipt automation is
leveraged with a robust invoice workflow automation system. However,
innovative organizations recognize that to always capture all the
possible savings, as well as improve the health and success of their
supplier base, they need to take their automation goals a step further.
Savings that result from invoice automation alone are miniscule when
compared to the huge returns possible with dynamic discounting.
Dynamic Discount Management (DDM) and other working capital
strategies allow companies to invest their cash safely at rates that can
significantly exceed returns from many other traditional investments.
PayStream has found that it is possible to achieve annual returns as
high as 36 percent on available cash.
These high returns make the adoption of dynamic discounting, supply
chain financing, and electronic payments more than just an interesting
supplementary investment to tack on to AP automation—it becomes a
strategic necessity for competitive advantage.
Fortunately, research shows that organizations are recognizing the
importance of working capital tools. DDM adoption has grown steadily
from 2012 to 2014, but in the last year, it has increased by a much
greater amount, see Figure 3.
Missing information
on invoices
57%
Manual routing of invoices
62%
55%
Large number of
exceptions
46%
Lengthy approval cycles
43%
Lost invoices
38%
Decentralized invoice
receipt
Figure 2
AP Problems Result in
Missed Discounts
“What are the top three
problems that lead
to late payments and
missed discounts at your
organization?”
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Thus far in 2015, 30 percent of organizations are using DDM.
PayStream Advisors attributes this 22 percent increase in usage to a
number of factors, including the enhanced ease-of-use and accessibility
of these solutions, the affordable nature of cloud-based technology,
and improved capabilities for suppliers.
The organizations that have yet to adopt working capital solutions are
most likely hampered by a lack of education within the market. The
following section offers a guide to the uses, applicability, and benefits
of DDM software.
3%
2012
2013
5%
8%
2014
30%
2015
Figure 3
Percentage of
Organizations Using
DDM Each Year
“Are you currently using
a Dynamic Discounting
Solution?”
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Working Capital in DDM
Dynamic Discounting Management is software that leverages the speed
and efficiency of AP automation to unlock cash flow for both buyers
and suppliers. Instead of using static discount terms, such as “2%
10, net 30”, DDM solutions offer invoice discounts based on variable
rates. These early payment discounts decrease as payment deadlines
approach, enabling buyers and suppliers to set and select discounts
according to their own business and financial requirements.
There are a few different Dynamic Discounting terms models. Sliding-
scale discounting is a commonly-used method that offers automatic
discounts on a pre-defined set of invoices, starting high but decreasing
as the invoice due date approaches. While discount schemes of this
nature are effective, they rely on buyer-set APRs that are fixed for the
duration of the terms window. Other Dynamic Discounting strategies
offer a more collaborative approach that takes into account suppliers’
financial needs, giving them a hand into how APRs and terms are set.
Dynamic Discount Management solutions go beyond simple early-
payment discounts—they are designed to reveal and capture every
possible savings opportunity. They enhance the discount capture
process by offering a transparent and accessible tool to view discount
terms and upcoming due dates at any time within the terms window.
DDM also gives comprehensive control to suppliers, providing them
with interactive tools and platforms that enable them to designate
which invoices are eligible for discounts and for what type of discount.
Because Dynamic Discounting is only applicable to approved invoices
awaiting payment, the speed at which invoices are received, routed,
and approved by AP is vital for capturing savings. Electronically received
invoices— such as those generated directly from a purchase order
or those originated electronically via EDI, vendor portal, or eInvoicing
network— optimize this process, as does invoice workflow automation.
DDM and other working capital applications are built into or can be
leveraged with most electronic invoice management solutions on the
market today.
Despite the benefits of DDM software, some buying organizations still
hesitate to use these solutions because they fear they won’t have the
cash flow to consistently offer discounts to their suppliers. Fortunately,
today’s DDM and working capital solution providers offer many funding
possibilities, ensuring that a company’s budget does not affect their
ability to capture savings.
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Working Capital in SCF
Funding for dynamic discounts traditionally comes from a buyer’s
capital, but supply chain financing (SCF) opens payments to competitive
bids and invites banks and third-party funders to participate. Third-
party participation, such as from hedge funds, is growing as word
spreads of its available returns and relatively low risk.
Early payments can be lucrative for large suppliers who have cash flow
needs. The discount rates associated with early payments are generally
lower than the finance rates of short-term loans. Cash-strapped buyers
who have other priorities—such as a monthly revolve—or those who
are unable to budget their DPO, generally split the returns from a
DDM solution, while third parties get a very short-term (under 56 days)
return well over 100 basis points.
Supply chain financing may come from the working capital applications
in invoice automation software, and can often be funded by the buyer,
a third party, or both. SCF can also be used through supplementary
working capital platforms that may be leveraged with existing systems.
Currently, most organizations report that only 1 to 10 percent of their
suppliers offer an early payment discount, see Figure 4. PayStream
attributes this low rate to suppliers’ experience of often receiving
late payments from their buyers. However, because of the ability to
leverage SCF and gain quick returns, more buying organizations are
urging their suppliers to adopt DDM technology.
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Because of SCF solutions, suppliers once again find it profitable to offer
early payment discounts. As these solutions and financing options
become more advanced and accessible, supplier participation is
expected to increase. Working capital tools accelerate the exchange
of information between trading partners, provide improved visibility
into the status of invoices, and bring more control over financial
transactions—all of which promotes higher supplier participation.
These tools can be accessed easily through free self-service eInvoicing
portals or with add-on solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing
invoice automation systems. In addition, supplementary working capital
marketplaces are appealing to suppliers for their collaborative design
and multi-party control.
Figure 4
Most Organizations
Report Only 1-10
Percent of Their
Suppliers Offer an Early
Payment Discount
“What percentage of your
suppliers offer you an early
payment discount?”
12%
10%
47%
20%
8%
4%
11-25%
None
I don't know
26-50%
50-75%
1-10%
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Working Capital in
Electronic Payments
The final tools for a robust working capital strategy and an optimized
supply chain are electronic payments and an electronic payments
program. Payment management is very important to the success
of many areas of an organization, especially the ability to capture
discounts. Surveyed organizations reported that missed discounts
are among the greatest pains they experience in their payment
management process, see Figure 5.
Figure 5
Missed Discounts
Pose Big Problems in
Payment Management
“What are the top three
greatest challenges your
organization faces in the
payment management
process?”
Late payments
30%
High processing costs
35%
Missed discounts
25%
Duplicate payments
20%
Employee confusion about
the correct payment
method to use
12%
Lack of payment visibility
13%
More than one
payment method for
some suppliers
12%
Loss from fraud
4%
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Efficient payment management and discount capture are closely
related, and innovative organizations recognize the importance of
strengthening this relationship through electronic payment solutions.
ePayment solutions are critical to dynamic discounting for many
reasons, including an accelerated payment cycle and the elimination
of costs associated with printing and mailing checks. When an
organization mails a check to pay an invoice, several days are lost in
mail delivery, thus delaying the payment and minimizing the early
payment discount opportunity. With a card payment, on the other
hand, the invoice is paid and the discount is captured on the same
day. Electronic payments give organizations back the days that check
payments take away, increasing savings as they reduce payment cycle
times.
Electronic payments come in a variety of different forms, including
commercial cards (P-cards, One Cards, Fleet Cards, and Ghost Cards),
Virtual Accounts (VA), Automated Clearing House (ACH), and wire
transfers. Purchasing cards (P-cards) are one of the most common—
and easiest to implement—forms of electronic payments, and they are
especially useful for organizations looking for savings opportunities.
When asked about their methods for achieving rebates, most
organizations reported that they use purchasing cards, see Figure 6.
Although P-cards are more widely used, Virtual Accounts are
also among the most effective payment methods for enhancing
working capital programs. Virtual Accounts, or Virtual Card Accounts
(sometimes called Single-Use Accounts) are payment card numbers
issued by a bank under a card network and are used to settle invoices
after approval. In 2014, Virtual Account payments became the fastest-
Figure 6
Purchasing Cards Are
the Most Widely Used
Method for Capturing
Discounts
“Which of the following
methods does your
company use to achieve
discounts?”
55%
Purchasing Cards
Dynamic Discounting
30%
26%
Supply Chain Financing
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growing segment of the ePayments landscape. With Virtual Cards
suppliers may initiate the payment either via virtual terminal or as a
direct deposit into a bank account, along with an electronic notification
of the deposit.
Virtual Account payments allow buyers to time payments and take
advantage of early payment discounts. They also provide cost savings,
revenue generation, and security features not available with typical
P-card payments. With a Virtual Card Account, a buyer can potentially
“triple-dip”: they can gain early payment discounts, earn card volume
rebates, and take advantage of the grace period between purchase
and monthly statement dates.
ePayment solutions also have benefits in other AP and supplier-related
functions, such as vendor self-service options, collaborative dispute
resolution, quick delivery of remittance information, and assistance
with compliance and auditing.
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Optimizing the Supply Chain
With the Perfect Payment
Index
An electronic payment is a vital finance tool for increasing working
capital and capturing discounts. However, the road to success in these
areas requires that organizations formulate a plan to optimize their
payment terms and maximize results. Building a strategy with a variety
of payment methods also enables organizations to satisfy the diverse
needs of their suppliers.
Organizations that optimize their payments process can be defined as
“Perfect Payers.” To help other organizations become Perfect Payers,
PayStream has built a tool called the Perfect Payment Index (PPI). This
tool illuminates weak spots in existing processes so that organizations
can restructure their payment management strategies. The ultimate
goal is to give buyers the ability to make a perfect payment—one that
is made on time, uses the cheapest payment method possible, and
achieves the highest possible discount.
Perfect Payment Index (PPI)™
% on time • % paid electronically • % of discount potential captured
95% • 95% • 95% = 85.7%
The PPI strives to balance the payment efficiency and working
capital needs of buyers and suppliers
The Perfect Payment Index™
Company
Payment Discounts /
Incentives
1
2
3
4
Average
% Paid on Time (< 60
Days)
92%
92%
93% 91%
92%
% Paid Electronically (ACH
or Card)
55%
52%
39% 68%
53%
% of Potential Discounts
Captured
32%
76%
26% 74%
45%
Perfect Payment Index
16.2% 36.4% 9.4% 45.8% 27.0%
Tables 1 & 2
The Perfect Payment
Index
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The Road Map to an
Optimized Supply Chain
Dynamic Discounting, Supply Chain Financing, and ePayments are
the three greatest strategies to create more savings and a healthier
supply chain among organizations. The road map to using these tools
successfully is as follows:
1. Automate AP: This is the foundation of true P2P success and
process efficiency. Organizations should start by exploring invoice
receipt and capture solutions (mailroom services, eInvoicing, OCR-
data capture, validation, coding, etc.) and then compliment these
with a strong workflow automation suite (routing, 2- and 3-way
matching, non-PO support, escalation, reminders, etc.). The ability
to capture discounts begins with the ability to process invoices
electronically, transparently, and quickly.
2. Unlock Available Discounts: When organizations implement a
DDM solution, it opens up the possibilities for savings. This software
brings transparency and ease-of-use to the AP process, and when
suppliers see how this tool ensures consistent early payments, they
will offer more discounts.
3. Increase Cash Flow with SCF: Even with a DDM solution, buyers
do not always have the funds to properly support early payments
on every invoice. SCF broadens the potential of DDM by optimizing
cash flow, encouraging supplier participation, and reducing risk in
supply chain operations.
4. Implement ePayments Functionality: Electronic payments,
especially Virtual Accounts, allow organizations to pay their invoices
faster and with less risk. Suppliers will be more enthusiastic about
business relationships and offering discounts when assured a
swift payment. In addition, electronic payments allow organizations
to look deeply into their payment management processes and
optimize future operations.
5. Use the Perfect Payment Index: Using the Perfect Payment
Index is the most important step in developing a payment strategy
that produces perfect payments every time. It not only brings
transparency to a payment management program’s strengths and
weaknesses, it also allows organizations to create tiered payment
timelines for their suppliers that incentivize cooperation and
increase cash flow.
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Conclusion
PayStream has found that with Dynamic Discounting and working
capital solutions, the returns on purchases can total as much as 1 to
5 million dollars on every 1 billion in spend. In addition, the software
is beneficial to suppliers and supply chain health. Any company that
hopes to strengthen their supplier base and increase their bottom line
should carefully evaluate potential solutions.
To aid those organizations in their search, the following profiles
showcase the diverse working capital and AP offerings of some of the
market’s leading working capital solution providers.
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C2FO
C2FO is an early payment solution that allows suppliers to name their
own rate for accelerated payment in a live, bid/ask environment. The
C2FO marketplace is driven by a supplier pull model in which suppliers
control their rates and options. Buyers achieve their desired objectives
(e.g., discounts and APRs), while their suppliers offer rates that align
with the specific cash needs they have throughout the year.
In a real-time working capital marketplace, both parties benefit:
suppliers base offers for accelerated payment against their alternative
cost of borrowing, allowing buyers to realize returns higher than those
achieved in short-term investment markets. Marketplaces take into
account the supply and demand dynamics of both parties, resulting
in an optimal return for each. Corporations are able to generate a
good yield on their cash (such as a 5-7% APR), and they de-risk their
supply chain. In addition, suppliers can access the liquidity they need
at a rate on par with or below where they could borrow. C2FO boasts
an average delivery of 22 days of early payment to suppliers. C2FO is
Collaborative Cash Flow Optimization.
Since its first transaction in May 2010, C2FO has consistently enabled
collaborative wins between buyers and suppliers, delivering billions
in working capital and millions of days of accelerated payment across
the globe. The platform has a wide variety of buyer verticals, and C2FO
suppliers represent virtually every industry and size demographic.
Founded
2008
Headquarters
Fairway, Kansas
Other Locations
Seattle, London, Amsterdam
Number of Employees 100-150
Number of Customers 30,000+
Target Verticals
Retail, Transportation, Automotive,
Aerospace, Technology, Manufacturing,
Healthcare
Partners/Resellers
Fifth Third Bank, KPMG UK
Awards/Recognitions
Ingram’s Magazine’s Best Companies To
Work For (2014); Global Finance’s 2014 and
2015 List of Innovators; 2015 OnFinance Top
100
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Solution Functionality
C2FO is a cloud-based SaaS solution. It is a web-based platform that
can be accessed from any web-browser and from any mobile device.
The platform is ERP-agnostic and seamlessly integrates with buyers’
existing process frameworks and AP systems.
C2FO is a global platform, available in any jurisdiction. C2FO allows
suppliers to make an offer in APR or discount across any currency,
and the company works with clients to adhere to appropriate local
requirements. Additionally, the C2FO marketplace allows for a cross-
over effect where a single supplier can access early payment on
invoices from multiple buyers within a single platform.
C2FO administers and operates its dynamic discounting program in
a straightforward, private, and secure manner; there are no outside
parties involved and no changes to the payment process between
buyers and suppliers. C2FO securely handles multiple sources of data
with a series of robust and easy-to-plug software modules.
C2FO has a robust supplier onboarding team that is dedicated to
supplier participation and client results. 30 percent of the company’s
employees are full-time Supplier Relationship Managers (SRM). This
team provides suppliers with 24/7 global, multi-lingual coverage via
phone, web chat, email, and webinars.
eInvoicing Integration
C2FO works seamlessly with any electronic invoicing solution.
Working Capital Services
C2FO enables companies to name their own rate for working capital.
The C2FO platform allows both buyers and suppliers to manage
and achieve their unique goals. For buyers, these include (but are
not limited to) setting a target APR and a minimum APR threshold,
automatic withholding of reserve percentages, the ability to customize
APR settings for individual suppliers, and the ability to easily adjust the
amount of cash available for early payment and when that “cash pool”
is replenished. C2FO also includes advanced buyer settings to flexibly
manage working capital metrics.
From suppliers, C2FO allows each company to select their desired
APR or discount rate for early payment, choose which invoices
they wish to receive early payment on, and adjust how often they
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18
request early payment without any ongoing contracts or risk-based
underwriting. Suppliers are onboarded with a single click, requiring no
documentation or signatures to participate.
Once a supplier’s early payment offer is accepted, the invoice date
and amount are automatically updated in the buyer’s AP system. The
buyer’s existing AP and invoicing processes are then used to pay the
invoice early.
Reporting and Analytics
Every C2FO market participant can download files on demand that
show invoice-level detail on all their market activity. C2FO also provides
an in-application dashboard that allows users to view real-time
key metrics within any given date range. For buyers, these metrics
include early payment awarded, awarded income, additional income
opportunities, DPE (Days Paid Early), and APR. For suppliers, metrics
include awarded early payment, discount total, DPE, and new pay date.
Additionally, the platform offers buyers more detailed reporting that
includes participation by segment, total loaded AP, crossover analysis,
and more. All reporting capabilities allow organizations to gain deeper
AP and supply-chain insights and discover opportunities for optimizing
their working capital.
Implementation and Pricing
C2FO assigns a dedicated Implementation Project Manager (IPM)
to align the program with the client’s business processes and
goals. Formal training materials and documentation are delivered
to each client through various methods, including one-on-one, on-
site classroom, virtual, and web-based training programs. C2FO
implementation generally takes 6-10 weeks. Buyers are also assigned a
dedicated Account Manager to manage program performance.
The user interface offers several support options for suppliers,
including a self-help video, a downloadable Quick Reference Guide,
and a Live Chat feature for users’ questions. Suppliers can also
reach the C2FO support team via a toll-free support number or
suppliersupport@c2fo.com.
Q2 2015
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Taulia
Taulia is a leading provider of Purchase-to-Pay and Supply Chain
Financing Financing solutions. Taulia’s suite of products includes
comprehensive eInvoicing, a supplier self-service portal, supplier
information management, and Taulia Supplier Finance, including
Dynamic Discounting and Supply Chain Finance Plus. Taulia also offers
a shared supplier network to which over 250,000 suppliers have
access. Taulia is committed to helping their customers achieve their
business goals and works hand-in-hand with them to determine the
best strategies and approaches to ensure this happens.
Founded
June 2009
Headquarters
US HQ in San Francisco, CA
EU HQ in London, England
Other Locations
Park City, UT; Austin, TX; Dusseldorf,
Germany; Sofia, Bulgaria
Number of Employees 200
Number of Customers 75
Number of End Users
>250,000
Target Verticals
Vertical Agnostic
Partners/Resellers
Oracle, SAP, ReadSoft, Coupa
Awards/Recognitions
Bully Award; 2015 Best and Brightest Places
to Work in the Bay Area; 2014 OnDemand 50
Companies to Watch
Solution Functionality
Taulia provides a hosted SaaS solution that integrates with all major
ERPs. Its platform is offered in more than 99 countries worldwide with
support for multiple languages and currencies.
Taulia’s solution is free for suppliers—thus maximizing supplier
adoption and participation—and it targets the entire supply base,
regardless of size, location, or creditworthiness.
Taulia’s supplier self-services are built on a web-based platform
and address all forms of supplier communication, information, and
transaction processing. By logging onto the portal, suppliers can view
information on purchase orders, invoice statuses, and approvals, and
more at any time.
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Other benefits include suppliers’ ability to electronically message their
customers, update their vendor master information, and access free
electronic invoicing services. In addition, Taulia’s Supplier Information
Management (SIM) offering simplifies data collection and makes
suppliers more self-sufficient in managing their own information. With
SIM, suppliers enter, upload, and edit their own information, creating a
central repository of supplier data for buyers.
Beyond automating and streamlining the payables process, Taulia
offers a supplier financing suite that allows companies to transform
every invoice into a revenue opportunity. Whether early payments are
funded by the buyer, bank, or third-party financier, Taulia believes that
all invoices should be available for early payment to suppliers.
eInvoicing Integration
Taulia’s invoicing suite, Inbox by Taulia™, offers a wide selection of
invoice submission formats to ensure maximum participation and
program success. All common methods are accepted, including
integrated eInvoicing, uploads, flipping POs, web forms, or processing
email attachments via OCR (with subsequent supplier verification).
Taulia supports all formats and protocols, including EDI, Edifact, XML
formats, and text files.
Working Capital Services
Taulia has developed its extensive P2P platform on the belief that all
suppliers should be able to accelerate payments at all times, regardless
of their demographics or the funding source. The solution offers both
a buyer-funded Dynamic Discounting product and a third-party funded
Supply Chain Finance Plus product, and allows clients to implement
a mix of both buyer-funded and third-party funded early payments.
Buying organizations can decide which types of Dynamic Discounts are
offered to suppliers, choosing from Early Payments, Enhanced Discount
Terms, and Dynamic Payment Terms (DPT, a.k.a. ASAP terms).
Taulia can offer discounts on all invoices, regardless of submission
method. This allows its supplier financing products to address the
entire spend of an organization, rather than just the parts submitted
through an eInvoicing network.
With supplier-initiated discounts, suppliers can opt to accelerate an
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21
invoice in exchange for a calculated discount based on the number
of days they are paid early. Early Payments are only offered on
NET-term invoices, and they never change the payment terms of a
supplier. Suppliers can also opt to accelerate all invoices, thus enabling
“CashFlow.”
Enhanced Discount Terms offer faster payment for an additional
discount on certain previously-discounted invoices. Dynamic Payment
Terms are sliding-scale discounts that allow Procurement to negotiate
terms with suppliers up front. Based on these terms, the buyer pays
the discounted invoice as soon as it is approved.
Taulia supports both recurring and one-off discounts. The solution
allows the customer to define Early Payment groups and assign
suppliers with resources and support from the Taulia Value
Enablement Team. An Early Payment group is generally defined by
an underlying APR and liquidity thresholds. Customers can group
all suppliers into one group or segment them into many different
categories, such as geography, spend, supplier size, and credit rating.
Buyers can set hurdle rates to turn the program off at certain times,
such as the end of the quarter or fiscal year.
Taulia leverages the payment capabilities of clients’ native ERP systems
while supporting the onboarding and collection of supplier bank
accounts in a secure and compliant way. Additionally, the Taulia self-
service component provides detailed remittance details to all suppliers
in their preferred delivery format, regardless of how the payment
happens.
A relationship with Taulia is a true partnership. Taulia is committed to
helping their customers achieve their business goals, working hand-
in-hand with them to determine the best strategies to ensure this
happens.
Reporting and Analytics
Taulia provides reporting and dashboard tools for Treasury, Finance,
Procurement, and AP to measure and monitor the success of their
discounting initiatives. These tools can be tailored to each department’s
needs. These tools include reports that analyze program success,
reserve liquidity monitoring, and cash flow management.
Taulia’s reporting platform, Taulia Analytics, aggregates and analyzes
millions of supplier transactions from more than 250,000 suppliers.
The analytics platform provides customers with a look at business
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trends while helping companies set goals, compare themselves to
industry averages, and streamline their supply chains. Customers can
compare their payment terms, DPO, and early payment discount rates
against benchmarks in their industry, region, country, and across the
globe. The platform provides immediate usable data to customers,
without having to go through data mapping and cleansing.
Implementation and Pricing
Taulia’s implementation takes 3 months, on average. Factors that
define the length of implementation include the complexity of IT
structures within an organization, the type of workflow solution in
place, internal change management procedures, and the number of
suppliers a buying organization is looking to onboard.
Taulia trains all customers and suppliers to ensure proper usage and
adoption rates. Taulia also offers extensive support from the company
website, email, chat, and telephone. The solution is equipped with self-
help material in the form of video, interactive tutorials, documentation,
online help, FAQs, and a knowledge base.
The Taulia solution is available in two pricing formats. Customers can
choose an annual subscription fee or revenue share model based
on discounts captured. An additional one-time setup fee is charged
for buyers. Suppliers enjoy completely free services and will never be
charged transaction fees. Taulia also guarantees $1 million saved within
the first year, or their next year of service is free.
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Transcepta
Transcepta is a global business network that provides AP and
Procurement professionals with collaborative P2P, cloud-based
solutions. Transcepta’s network solutions include eInvoicing, invoice
validation, PO management, spend management, VAT compliance,
and supplier information management. Since 2005, Transcepta has
connected over 100,000 businesses worldwide and processed millions
of transactions for its clients.
Transcepta’s core product is its supplier network, and supplier
connectivity and enablement is the foundation of its entire P2P suite.
The company’s strengths lie in its ability to connect all of a clients’
suppliers, regardless of size or sophistication, and in the solution’s
ability to work with any ERP. The Transcepta service is configurable and
proficient, bringing its clients 100 percent straight-through processing
through robust validation, significantly reduced payment cycle times,
and increased employee productivity.
Transcepta has recently strengthened its position in the P2P market by
expanding its supplier network services with a range of working capital
programs, including Supply Chain Financing and Dynamic Discounting.
Founded
2005
Headquarters
Aliso Viejo, CA
Number of Employees <100
Number of End Users 200k+
Partners/Resellers
Oracle, SciQuest, TrustWeaver, Microsoft
Awards/Recognitions
Validated for Oracle Integration
Solution Functionality
Transcepta’s P2P, supplier network, and working capital solutions are
cloud-based, global, and highly adaptive. Transcepta’s service connects
to virtually every enterprise and mid-market ERP, including E-Business
Suite, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, and Fusion/ERP Cloud. Transcepta’s
network is “Oracle native,” with Oracle Validated Integration, and it
supports connection to Oracle iSupplier Portal, eSettlements, and
Fusion Supplier Portal. Transcepta also integrates all of the leading AP
automation and workflow applications, including Oracle WebCenter
Imaging, Kofax MarkView, Perceptive Brainware, Basware, and SciQuest
AP Director.
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The Transcepta service is hosted in Tier 4 data centers, with full
redundancy and failover capability. All servers are dedicated to and
managed by Transcepta—there are no Transcepta components on
“public cloud” servers like Amazon Web Services. Application security is
built into the system and has passed multiple audits and assessments
by Transcepta customers. Security is modeled on ISO 27001.
Transcepta supports virtually any output file type, including XML, EDI
810, CSV and other text file formats. It also supports PDF and TIFF for
invoice images. Transports include all forms of FTP (including FTP-S and
sFTP), web services, a Transcepta document transfer agent called the
Transcepta Document Transmitter, and an Oracle transport (for which
Transcepta is the only native supplier network).
Transcepta’s solution processes and supports multi-currency and
multi-lingual business transactions. It supports discounts in the
currency of the original invoice, and invoice transactions are required
to match the currency of the purchase order, which Transcepta
validates. Furthermore, transactions are VAT compliant through
Trustweaver.
eInvoicing Integration
eInvoicing is a central part of the Transcepta solution. Transcepta
supports EDI, XML, and CSV formats, and can process PDF formats
through email without using OCR or other manual processes. It also
offers a Virtual Printer that processes data from any system with the
ability to print, as well as a robust supplier portal.
Working Capital Services
By enabling trading partners to collaborate over the network,
Transcepta helps clients manage discount offers that benefit both the
supplier and buyer. The Transcepta system allows a client to configure
overall settings, like amount of discount available across suppliers,
and then set specific parameters by “supplier class” – a designation
that Transcepta uses to define special handling rules among groups of
suppliers. These settings include the ability to set parameters around
when discounts are offered, as well as specific settings on the actual
discounts.
The system supports both recurring and one-off discounts, and both
buyer-funded and third party-financing models. Transcepta will include
gain-share setup in its next release.
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Transcepta focuses on dynamic and flexible document output and
delivery, as well as on supplier customization. The solution delivers
virtually any payment instruction file format, including XML, CSV, text,
and other formats. Transcepta standard interfaces facilitate AP and
GL postings, and send remittance information through email. In future
a release, suppliers will be able to set their preferred delivery form of
remittance data.
Reporting and Analytics
Reporting and analytics are accessed in the same way the client
accesses other spend analytics through their ERP, as all transactions
are passed into and out of the client’s ERP system. Additional reporting
is also available in the form of 12 standard reports, and can be
customized based on need and stage in the supplier recruiting cycle.
Several reports also assess discount opportunities and “payables flow-
through.” Additional reporting will be available in the upcoming product
release.
Implementation and Pricing
Typical implementation times are 10 to 26 weeks from project kickoff
to the completion of testing. The main determining factors are the
client’s ability to define requirements firmly and the client-side interface
configuration.
Transcepta offers industry-leading support available via videos, email,
training webinars, or phone. Transcepta also provides a dedicated
professional services team that works with account management
to update clients on reporting, new features and procedures, and
additional supplier recruiting.
Transcepta offers competitive pricing for mid-market and enterprise
customers. There is no charge to suppliers to send invoices and receive
POs through Transcepta.
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About PayStream Advisors
PayStream Advisors is a technology research and consulting firm that
improves the way companies plan, evaluate, and select emerging
technologies to achieve their business objectives. PayStream Advisors
assists clients in sorting through the growing complexities of IT
applications related to business process automation with the goal
of making objective, analytical, and actionable recommendations.
Wherever business process automation technology is an issue,
PayStream Advisors is there to help. For more information, call (704)
523-7357 or visit us on the web at www.paystreamadvisors.com.