The High Stakes of Billing Technology

“When [billing] goes well, no one cares. When it goes wrong, it’s the end of the world.”

Kind of overly dramatic, sure, but in business, also pretty right on the money.

Longtime Forrester Senior Analyst Lily Varon attributed that eye-popper of a statement to a customer in one of her articles some time back on billing technology and the latest incarnation of the well-regarded Forrester Wave evaluation of this market.

While they say ‘a picture is worth a thousand words,’ what can equally be said is a few well-chosen words saves the time of having to use more.

The linchpin building block for long-term growth and success for any business may be a smooth, successful billing process, but for those running the business, it most likely goes unnoticed when in the form of well-oiled machine and very much noticed - and hand-wringed-over (see above re: world ending) - when not.

No Pressure, It’s Just Everything

As Forrester’s Varon herself noted regarding the importance of having the right billing technology, “Everything from customer trust to the company’s accounting is on the line.”

For this veritable ‘center of the universe’ for business, there’s a lot of choices when it comes to billing and the billing technology out there. Also, plenty of published articles on everything from the latest trends to the needs to consider and the rises and the falls of the haves and have-nots among offered tools.

Which is a long-winded way of saying there’s a lot to consider in this area.

More Choices Doesn’t Equal More Clarity

“Billing technology vendors filled the gaps left by technology built for one-time or traditional revenue models,” as the November 2021 Forrester infographic co-authored by Varon noted. “They built recurring-revenue-friendly versions of capabilities from complementary technology categories. The result: a cluttered and confusing landscape.”

According to the recent Tech World Times piece, “Latest Trends in Billing & Invoicing Software,” more intelligent invoicing, automation improvements and deeper embrace of cloud and mobile-first development are among the top considerations for companies seeking to stay ahead of the competition and “incorporate 2025’s billing software innovations today.”

regarding the continued evolution of invoicing software development and application, the Tech World Times article notes,

"In five years, it will seem archaic to manually intervene in the invoicing process in any capacity.” 

Billing & Invoicing Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

The decision-makers tasked with choosing a billing platform - the CFOs, CIOs, CTOs and others - have a lot to consider, including:

• Knowing the difference between billing and monetization
• How the size of their company helps determine the right tool fit
• The right finance / IT architecture fit
• How revenue recognition should fit in

All Billing Needs in a Single System

The robust billing engine at the heart of RecVue’s Billing & Invoicing module was specifically created to fulfill these expectations and more with adaptability, accuracy and a user-friendly, configurable interface. For more information about our top-tier solution’s capabilities amid all of today’s revenue models, business requirements and configurable pricing models, please download the RecVue Billing & Invoicing product brief.

Because we agree, billing and invoicing are incredibly important. And, these days, complex. It takes a certain nimbleness, flexibility and ingenuity.

And, hey, when it’s all working as it should be, it’s not like it’s the end of the world.

To hear more about why Forrester has identified billing technology as one of the most important technologies to support the future of buying for B2C and B2B models, please join our webinar, featuring Lily Varon, on January 26th. This hour-long session will explore solutions to complex billing scenarios companies today must be able to manage, and much more.

Reserve your spot!