by Tricia Reilly

It seems like we’re starting sentences with “In these economic times…” quite frequently these days. But as every CFO knows, cash is king in any economy. It enables growth, investment and expansion; without it, you’re basically dead in the water. So how can you improve your company’s cash position?

We tackled this very issue in our second installment of the Secrets to Successful Subscription Businesses Webinar series. Featuring our CFO, Gary Hagmueller, the live event covered innovative ways to condense the length of time from when a prospect requests or is given a quote to when the money is actually received in your bank account.

Here’s a quick rundown of what was covered:

• Cash flow in a subscription business is different – While a subscription business offers a great recurring revenue stream, more transactions and billing complexity mean more opportunities to impress or confuse your customers.
• There are three distinct processes in the subscription quote to cash cycle, delays to any of which can mean a lag in cash flow:
  • Quote to close – How fast can your reps put together a quote, get it to the prospect, and get it back with the appropriate signatures and approvals?
  • Close to invoice – Can your organization generate an invoice the same day that the order is signed? Reducing delays in this phase increases the likelihood that the customer will pay.
  • Invoice to remittance – How easy do you make it for your customers to pay? Do you have multiple payment options – check, ACH, credit card, PayPal? Are you taking advantage of automated payment options?
• The Top Ten List – Gary provides his list of the best ways to Streamline, Automate and Scale your subscription business to improve your cash flow.
• Jeff Yoshimura jumps into a demo of the Zuora Subscription Management suite to show how we enable you to execute on many of the top ten recommendations.

Want to learn more? Watch a recording of the Webinar at your convenience.