New features released for LISA in Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management
A preferred solution on Microsoft AppSource, Bluefort’s License and Subscription App (LISA) enables you to modernise, automate and optimise your licencing and subscription processes. LISA is purpose-built in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and operates seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Commerce. We’re proud to share new features available in the October 2020 release in addition to the already-powerful capabilities of LISA: Master Contracts – we’re excited that customers can now group subscriptions into a Master Contract. Vendor Contracts – Need to manage supplier subscription contracts? It is now possible to create vendor-only contracts from the brand-new vendor contract cockpit! Product linked templates - It is now possible to link subscription templates to a released subscription product. When this product is added to a plan as a plan line, the linked templates are created as plans for the same customer or customer master contract. Copy lines function – Need to copy from one subscription plan into another? It is now possible to copy plan lines from another subscription plan line without copying the header. Rounding – Easily manage rounding on a plan as well as on individual line level. Improved add-ons functionality – Do you have complex subscription plans with additional “add-ons” customers can subscribe to? We’ve improved Add-Ons functionality with an Icon, and you can also specify the add-on percent based on the full parent-amount or discounted parent-amount, etc. Churn reason code – We’re all human and sometimes humans make mistakes. Easily distinguish between user errors and customer cancellations. It is now possible to define the Churn reason code. A reason code must be provided when cancelling a plan in order to manage churned plans separately from cancellations due to user errors. This feature improves analytics on customer churn. Credit note function – Sometimes Credit Notes are necessary in the subscription business. It is now possible to create a credit note from a specific date for one or more selected subscription plan lines. Plan line Billing Posting Profile - It is now possible to override the header Billing Posting Profile with a Billing Posting Profile on the plan line level. Automatic Billing Posting Profiles - It is now possible to set automatic posting profiles per Billing Posting Profile which are automatically selected based on the number of remaining months in a cycle. Revenue recognition enhancements – Users now have the capability to specify manual revenue and cost recognition amounts on the plan line if needed. Default order settings on customer - When firming an action of type: “Sales Order" or “Purchase Order”, the logic can link to the default Order settings on the Customer, if not set on the Item level. This provides greater flexibility for streamlined management of subscriptions. Quotation and Project line details - Creating Quotation lines and Project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) line details for a subscription item is now more flexible. We've also made some minor enhancements to data jobs to be executed.Are you ready to modernise your subscription management processes and scale up? Contact us here for a meaningful discussion about supportive technologies that drive subscription success. Click here to open up my calendar and find the right date and time for us to have a chat.
Bluefort and Nexer Dynamics bring innovative subscriptions software to UK
The subscription economy has outperformed every leading market growth indicator in terms of revenue growth for more than five years, leading more and more businesses to re-evaluate their business models. However, the increased administrative tasks associated with a subscription model can be burdensome and negatively impact adoption, with unrealised revenue and manual intervention crippling its success. Bluefort’s innovative Licence and Subscription Management App (LISA) offers a simplified approach to these problems within the familiarity of Dynamics 365. LISA has now been added to Nexer Dynamics’ portfolio of products and services, offering its clients a smarter and more elegant way to manage their license subscriptions or managed services business model. “We’re excited to partner with Nexer Dynamics on this initiative. The Bluefort LISA is embedded within the Dynamics 365 framework and delivers significant value to customers who are managing subscriptions”, said Shaun McKay, Director of Operations at Bluefort UK. Thanks to the partnership, Nexer Dynamics can now help clients across all industries to simplify and improve every aspect of subscription management, including process automation, data analytics, customer experience and compliance with GDPR, IFRS 15 and ASC 606. “The partnership with Bluefort strengthens our offering and value add to our customers. Bluefort’s products, services and culture perfectly align to the needs of our clients and I’m looking forward to an exciting future working together”, said Colin Crow, Managing Director at Nexer Dynamics. Learn more about Bluefort’s subscription software and partnerships Partner Click here to open up my calendar and find the right date and time for us to have a chat.
3 Trends to ramp-up your subscription business
Moving your business towards a recurring revenue model can be challenging and it’s a two-part process: implementing the subscription offering itself and ensuring that you can support the model from a technology perspective. If you’ve traditionally sold your products or services outright, it can be difficult to navigate the pitfalls of trading ownership for experience. How do you safeguard your revenue with slow moving products or services? How do you manage customers who have enjoyed specific pricing discounts for many years? How do you manage the appeal of custom offers when you're striving to standardise? To gain the traction you need, we explore 3 key areas that can close the gap faster between outright ownership and subscription success. You see this when you make Retail purchases daily: “buy-2-for-1”, “combo-special” or “buy-3-get-cheapest-free”. The concept of bundling has been hugely successful in the Retail space and there’s no reason for Subscription-based business not to take advantage of this as well. Bundling provides the perfect opportunity to boost slower performing products or services and to increase the overall subscription value. If you’re a niche player or a larger enterprise with many divisions, bundling also provides the opportunity to extend your offering to the benefit of the customer by including products or services from partners. As more companies standardise their offerings, personal tailoring weighs heavily on both your existing customer base as well as being a competitive play for new business. Tiered approaches provide a mechanism to achieve a standardised approach which can further be tailored with add-ons or restrictions, depending on the customer’s base subscription. The key benefit which makes this approach so attractive for subscription businesses is the lowered risk associated with human error and the potential up-sell and cross-sell gains. Whilst personalised pricing is not a headache for start-ups, it can be for companies moving toward subscription. Many established relationships have been nurtured with customers over the years, starting from an initial discounted engagement. When a company replaces their ERP, a common question usually includes: “Does your system offer Customer Trade Agreements or per-Customer Pricelists?”. Whether your price point is based on geographical location or customised toward long-standing customer relationships, it’s important that this element forms part of your strategic road map from outright ownership to subscription. In fact, many businesses today attribute a sizeable portion of their revenue to key accounts. Factor in your key accounts when planning your model. In order to ramp-up your subscription business, customer-centricity and team enablement is part of the foundation which will determine how successful it will be. The core concept of subscription is already attractive to your customer. Now you need to make it irresistible with a high-value offering which enforces the customer’s belief that you are the right partner to help them achieve their goals. Contact us here for a meaningful discussion about supportive technologies that drive subscription success. JTNDc3R5bGUlMjB0eXBlJTNEJTIydGV4dCUyRmNzcyUyMiUzRSUwQSUwOS5vdXRsb29rLTM2NS1pZnJhbWUlMjAlN0IlMEElMDklMDloZWlnaHQlM0ElMjAyMDAwcHglM0IlMEElMDklN0QlMEElMEElMDklNDBtZWRpYSUyMHNjcmVlbiUyMGFuZCUyMCUyOG1pbi13aWR0aCUzQTE1OTFweCUyOSUyMCU3QiUwQSUwOSUwOS5vdXRsb29rLTM2NS1pZnJhbWUlMjAlN0IlMEElMDklMDklMDloZWlnaHQlM0ElMjAxNTAwcHglM0IlMEElMDklMDklN0QlMEElMDklN0QlMEElM0MlMkZzdHlsZSUzRQ==[tabbed_section style="minimal_alt" alignment="center" spacing="default" tab_color="Accent-Color" cta_button_style="accent-color" icon_size="24"][tab icon_family="fontawesome" title="Contact Us" id="1618841820176-9" icon_fontawesome="fa fa-envelope-open-o" tab_id="1618841820177-1"][/tab][tab icon_family="fontawesome" title="Set Meeting" id="1618841820217-9" icon_fontawesome="fa fa-calendar" tab_id="1618841820218-3"]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwY2xhc3MlM0QlMjJvdXRsb29rLTM2NS1pZnJhbWUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRm91dGxvb2sub2ZmaWNlMzY1LmNvbSUyRm93YSUyRmNhbGVuZGFyJTJGYmx1ZWZvcnQxJTQwYmx1ZWZvcnQuZXUlMkZib29raW5ncyUyRiUyMiUyMHdpZHRoJTNEJTIyMTAwJTI1JTIyJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIyeWVzJTIyJTIwc3R5bGUlM0QlMjJib3JkZXIlM0EwJTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNFClick the button below to open up my calendar and find the right date and time for us to have a chat.[/tab][/tabbed_section]
Recognising revenue in your subscription business
If you’ve never dealt with revenue recognition from a recurring billing perspective, moving your business towards subscription offerings can be challenging. If your subscription model is founded on the principle of upfront payments whilst you deliver good and services over a longer period of time, tracking the revenue correctly is an integral part of your business model. Let’s look at a simple example: We provide a monthly boxed subscription service to our customers at $10 a month, paid annually in advance. Customers pay $ 120 for the year and we have a small sign-up fee of $ 5. We receive payment of $ 125. We can’t recognise the entire $125 as revenue because we’re still to deliver the 12 boxes from their annual subscription. According to IFRS standards, at signup we can only recognise the $5 sign-up fee, even though we’ve received the full year’s subscription payment upfront ($125). From an Accounting perspective our ledger entries look like this: Account Debit Credit Accounts Receivable 125.00 Earned Revenue 5.00 Deferred Revenue 120.00 Following the AR entries, a credit is then written to the cash or bank account. Once we’ve delivered our box for the first time, we can say that we’ve fulfilled month one of this contract and we can recognise the value of month one which is $10: Account Debit Credit Deferred Revenue 110.00 Earned Revenue 10.00 Every month that we continue to fulfil the contract, $10 moves from the deferred revenue to the earned revenue, decreasing our liability and increasing our earned revenue. Keep in mind that different businesses could have different recognition schedules and you might need to accrue revenue on a daily or monthly basis depending on the accuracy you require. If your model is based on month-to-month payments with immediate cancellation, you’ll likely be managing accruals daily in order to facilitate more efficient and accurate cancellations. You also need to factor in VAT calculations at the time of invoicing and this could differ depending on your country and your customer’s country. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) encourage companies to track revenue in this manner as it provides visibility to external parties that might need access to financials statement like your bank, investors, board of directors or shareholders. Corporate tax calculations can be impacted by the amount of deferred revenue carried into future periods. Deferred revenue is a liability because it’s dependent on your business to deliver the contracted services or goods. Refunds for cancellation, especially for annual subscriptions makes handling this much more efficient if you’re accurately tracking deferred revenue. Some businesses use manual spreadsheets or standalone revenue recognition software. Neither are ideal as manual calculations are error-prone and standalone systems aren’t centralised within your Financials solution. Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain has built-in revenue recognition and if combined with Bluefort’s License and Subscription App (LISA), you have a powerful solution that not only recognises revenue at the appropriate times, but also fully automates subscription billing and purchasing process across various plan types and models. In order to ramp-up your subscription business, tracking revenue accurately will play a big role in how successful you are in making the shift to recurring revenue. When you consider a technology road map for your subscription model, you need to focus on customer billing, the complexities of your subscription and the related financials with your business strategy in mind. Contact us here for a meaningful discussion about supportive technologies that drive subscription success. JTNDc3R5bGUlMjB0eXBlJTNEJTIydGV4dCUyRmNzcyUyMiUzRSUwQSUwOS5vdXRsb29rLTM2NS1pZnJhbWUlMjAlN0IlMEElMDklMDloZWlnaHQlM0ElMjAyMDAwcHglM0IlMEElMDklN0QlMEElMEElMDklNDBtZWRpYSUyMHNjcmVlbiUyMGFuZCUyMCUyOG1pbi13aWR0aCUzQTE1OTFweCUyOSUyMCU3QiUwQSUwOSUwOS5vdXRsb29rLTM2NS1pZnJhbWUlMjAlN0IlMEElMDklMDklMDloZWlnaHQlM0ElMjAxNTAwcHglM0IlMEElMDklMDklN0QlMEElMDklN0QlMEElM0MlMkZzdHlsZSUzRQ==[tabbed_section style="minimal_alt" alignment="center" spacing="default" tab_color="Accent-Color" cta_button_style="accent-color" icon_size="24"][tab icon_family="fontawesome" title="Contact Us" id="1618842386765-1" icon_fontawesome="fa fa-envelope-open-o" tab_id="1618842386766-6"][/tab][tab icon_family="fontawesome" title="Set Meeting" id="1618842386831-4" icon_fontawesome="fa fa-calendar" tab_id="1618842386833-2"]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwY2xhc3MlM0QlMjJvdXRsb29rLTM2NS1pZnJhbWUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRm91dGxvb2sub2ZmaWNlMzY1LmNvbSUyRm93YSUyRmNhbGVuZGFyJTJGYmx1ZWZvcnQxJTQwYmx1ZWZvcnQuZXUlMkZib29raW5ncyUyRiUyMiUyMHdpZHRoJTNEJTIyMTAwJTI1JTIyJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIyeWVzJTIyJTIwc3R5bGUlM0QlMjJib3JkZXIlM0EwJTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNFClick the button below to open up my calendar and find the right date and time for us to have a chat.[/tab][/tabbed_section]
New features released for LISA in Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management
A preferred solution on Microsoft AppSource, Bluefort’s License and Subscription App (LISA) enables you to modernise, automate and optimise your licencing and subscription processes. LISA is purpose-built in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and operates seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Commerce. We’re proud to share new features available now in addition to the already-powerful capabilities of LISA: Discount functionality on subscription plan lines – We’re excited that customers can now inherit discounts from standard Trade Agreements or specify a discount on the subscription plan line itself. Trade Agreements are a powerful capability within Dynamics 365 which enables you to work with specific agreed pricing between one or more customers. Price and Discount Indexing - This feature provides more advanced and granular management of prices and discounts by allowing scenarios such as price-grandfathering and trials. This capability adds real value to drive customer-focused needs and differentiate from your competitors. Subscription templates - It is now possible to save a subscription plan (and its lines) as templates and to create subscription plans from existing templates. This new feature takes bundled offerings to new heights for businesses wanting to replicate certain offerings for more customers. Subscription copy functionality - It is now possible to copy a subscription plan (and its lines) from the same customer or another customer. This is particularly helpful when you need to configure a subscription for a new customer, using a similar subscription as your starting point. Improved renewal functionality - Subscriptions terms can be created on a subscription plan level. These can be configured to auto-renew to other subscription plans using a subscription chain. Auto-cancellation of the subscription plan line level remains available. This feature extends the already powerful capabilities which LISA has in easily managing complex subscriptions. Project hours entitlements - It is now possible to set project hours entitlements for subscription plans linked to a project. Project hours can be linked to a specific role, a specific activity or for all roles and activities within a project. Standard subscription plans for projects - On the product level it is now possible to configure whether standard or project subscription plans are generated from a project Enhancements to subscription plan creation from projects - It is now possible to see which subscription products configured in a Project's Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) has already been published to a subscription plan. A parameter also controls whether the same WBS product can be transferred more than once. Enhanced granular security configuration – There are two new roles available for LISA: Subscription Manager and Subscription Project Manager. The introduction of these additional roles help business further refine their security and policies within the Dynamics 365 framework. Subscription notifications – We’re excited about subscription notifications which enable Business Event triggers in Dynamics 365. Business events provide a mechanism that lets external systems receive notifications from Finance and Operations applications. In this way, the systems can perform business actions in response to the business event. Subsequently this new feature provides great opportunities to enable the integration with the Power Platform, Dataflex, Azure Functions and more! We’ve added more Inquiry forms for enhanced analysis of subscription data – this delivers improved contextual information where you need it most. Enhanced Forecasting functionality drives insights into future cashflow scenarios of your subscriptions. Enhanced Power BI dashboards and reports deliver improved analytics to make better decisions, faster! Overall Performance improvements and enhanced Integration functionality from external systems or online stores. Are you ready to modernise your subscription management processes and scale up? Contact us here for a meaningful discussion about supportive technologies that drive subscription success. Click here to open up my calendar and find the right date and time for us to have a chat.
The Top 8 Tools to Overcome the Challenges of a Recurring Services Business
No one joins a recurring services business because it’s easy. In fact, it can feel like you’re walking a tightrope. You’ve got to deliver a top-notch service, keep those subscriptions ticking over, make sure billing runs accurately, keep your customers happy, and attract new customers too. Here are some of the biggest challenges you’re up against: Customer Retention, Support and Management: Keeping customers engaged and loyal in the most competitive era without a centralised system to help track them and their data Subscription Management: Manually processing subscriptions costs you untold money and thousands of work hours a year. Financial Management: Invoicing, payroll, and tax filing is complex and tedious, and errors cost money and compliance fines. Project Management: Keeping track of projects and monitoring progress can be nearly impossible. Team Communication: Silos, especially with the remote teams, are extremely costly and can drive up employee turnover. Reliable Numbers and Data: Without accurate numbers and the analytics that customer data can give you, you’re operating in the dark It’s a lot. But there’s good news. It all gets a lot easier when you have the right tools to smash out the challenges that keep you awake at night. Here are the top 8 tools that can help you turn things around for good: 1. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software When you’ve got a good CRM system, you’ve got a virtual personal assistant that boosts customer relationships. It manages customer data, tracks all interactions, and helps you improve your Customer Lifetime Value. But not all CRM systems are the same. Avoid complexity where it isn’t needed. The easier your CRM is to use, the easier it will be to scale. 2. Accounting Software The better hold you’ve got on your financial picture, the more likely you are to be successful. The best accounting software will simplify and stabilise everything from invoicing, payroll, tax filing and compliance. Flexi found that it can cut your operating expenses by up to 50% too. It cuts the risk of mistakes, and gives you numbers you can have confidence in. You can see your cash flow, profit and loss, and balance sheet at a glance. That’s how you make the best decisions possible 3. Project Management Software Project management software keeps all your projects on track with very little effort on your behalf. According to a PWC study, 77% of high performing projects use project management software. These tools allow you to assign tasks, allocate resources, set deadlines, and monitor progress. With real-time information flow, you’ll know who’s working on what, deadlines coming up, and how much work is left to be done. Your teams will be happier because there’s no waiting around, no shortage of resources, no unhappy customers, and no delays. 4. Social Media Management Tools Having a strong social media presence is a requirement, not a preference these days. But running social media, especially on multiple platforms can be a very big job. You need something that will save as much time as possible. The right tools let you or your team schedule posts, automatically engage with your audience, and analyze the performance of your content so that you boost impact and conversions. 5. Cybersecurity Software When you’ve got effective cybersecurity software, you’re protecting your business data and your customers. Which is important because the last thing you need is the financial and reputational damage caused by a data breach. The right solution will not only keep everything locked down, but will make recommendations and warn you when necessary. 6. Communication Tools It’s key to knock down all the information silos you have between teams in your company. Platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams connect people in real-time an eliminate the time wasted chasing calls and emails. But more than that, the right tool will let information free-flow in real time - usage numbers, contract terms, payments and reconciliation - they all require the best communication possible. According to McKinsey, organizations that communicate effectively are 4.5 times more likely to retain their best employees. That’s important because turnover is expensive - it can cost 1.5 x the salary of a tech sales rep just to replace them 7. Analytics Tools There’s no point in sitting on data because when it’s used properly, it’s like gold dust. The right analytics will give you insights into customer segmentation, selling opportunities, financial forecasts - everything you need to take your company forward. According to Forbes, companies who adopt data-driven marketing are six times more likely to be profitable year-over-year. When you understand what your data’s saying to you, you can make the best long-term growth-driving decisions. 8. End-to-End Subscription Management Software An end-to-end subscription management software, will automate and secure all the important stuff for you, from sales opportunities to payments and reconciliation. It’s a fact that automation leads to growth. It saves untold manual hours, creates the best sales opportunities, avoids the risk and loss that comes with manual billing and payment collection, and boosts customer satisfaction All for a lot less effort from you and your teams. In fact, 73% of IT leaders say that automation has saved their teams 10-50% of the time they previously spent on manual tasks. You’ll also get accurate numbers, insights into customer behaviour and revenue forecasts, and complete revenue recognition. But perhaps the biggest benefit of a subscription management software is its impact on the customer and employee experience. Both will have a seamless experience that gives them everything they need with none of the hassle. And that literally is something you can take to the bank.
The Top 8 Tools to Overcome the Challenges of a Recurring Services Business
No one joins a recurring services business because it’s easy. In fact, it can feel like you’re walking a tightrope. You’ve got to deliver a top-notch service, keep those subscriptions ticking over, make sure billing runs accurately, keep your customers happy, and attract new customers too. Here are some of the biggest challenges you’re up against: Customer Retention, Support and Management: Keeping customers engaged and loyal in the most competitive era without a centralised system to help track them and their data Subscription Management: Manually processing subscriptions costs you untold money and thousands of work hours a year. Financial Management: Invoicing, payroll, and tax filing is complex and tedious, and errors cost money and compliance fines. Project Management: Keeping track of projects and monitoring progress can be nearly impossible. Team Communication: Silos, especially with the remote teams, are extremely costly and can drive up employee turnover. Reliable Numbers and Data: Without accurate numbers and the analytics that customer data can give you, you’re operating in the dark It’s a lot. But there’s good news. It all gets a lot easier when you have the right tools to smash out the challenges that keep you awake at night. Here are the top 8 tools that can help you turn things around for good: 1. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software When you’ve got a good CRM system, you’ve got a virtual personal assistant that boosts customer relationships. It manages customer data, tracks all interactions, and helps you improve your Customer Lifetime Value. But not all CRM systems are the same. Avoid complexity where it isn’t needed. The easier your CRM is to use, the easier it will be to scale. 2. Accounting Software The better hold you’ve got on your financial picture, the more likely you are to be successful. The best accounting software will simplify and stabilise everything from invoicing, payroll, tax filing and compliance. Flexi found that it can cut your operating expenses by up to 50% too. It cuts the risk of mistakes, and gives you numbers you can have confidence in. You can see your cash flow, profit and loss, and balance sheet at a glance. That’s how you make the best decisions possible 3. Project Management Software Project management software keeps all your projects on track with very little effort on your behalf. According to a PWC study, 77% of high performing projects use project management software. These tools allow you to assign tasks, allocate resources, set deadlines, and monitor progress. With real-time information flow, you’ll know who’s working on what, deadlines coming up, and how much work is left to be done. Your teams will be happier because there’s no waiting around, no shortage of resources, no unhappy customers, and no delays. 4. Social Media Management Tools Having a strong social media presence is a requirement, not a preference these days. But running social media, especially on multiple platforms can be a very big job. You need something that will save as much time as possible. The right tools let you or your team schedule posts, automatically engage with your audience, and analyze the performance of your content so that you boost impact and conversions. 5. Cybersecurity Software When you’ve got effective cybersecurity software, you’re protecting your business data and your customers. Which is important because the last thing you need is the financial and reputational damage caused by a data breach. The right solution will not only keep everything locked down, but will make recommendations and warn you when necessary. 6. Communication Tools It’s key to knock down all the information silos you have between teams in your company. Platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams connect people in real-time an eliminate the time wasted chasing calls and emails. But more than that, the right tool will let information free-flow in real time - usage numbers, contract terms, payments and reconciliation - they all require the best communication possible. According to McKinsey, organizations that communicate effectively are 4.5 times more likely to retain their best employees. That’s important because turnover is expensive - it can cost 1.5 x the salary of a tech sales rep just to replace them 7. Analytics Tools There’s no point in sitting on data because when it’s used properly, it’s like gold dust. The right analytics will give you insights into customer segmentation, selling opportunities, financial forecasts - everything you need to take your company forward. According to Forbes, companies who adopt data-driven marketing are six times more likely to be profitable year-over-year. When you understand what your data’s saying to you, you can make the best long-term growth-driving decisions. 8. End-to-End Subscription Management Software An end-to-end subscription management software, will automate and secure all the important stuff for you, from sales opportunities to payments and reconciliation. It’s a fact that automation leads to growth. It saves untold manual hours, creates the best sales opportunities, avoids the risk and loss that comes with manual billing and payment collection, and boosts customer satisfaction All for a lot less effort from you and your teams. In fact, 73% of IT leaders say that automation has saved their teams 10-50% of the time they previously spent on manual tasks. You’ll also get accurate numbers, insights into customer behaviour and revenue forecasts, and complete revenue recognition. But perhaps the biggest benefit of a subscription management software is its impact on the customer and employee experience. Both will have a seamless experience that gives them everything they need with none of the hassle. And that literally is something you can take to the bank.
Synced Solutions: Using a Partnership to Elevate Subscriptions for You and Your Customers
Bluefort is the best-key secret in the subscription management industry. And now we’re letting the secret out. Whether an organization wants to bring in a subscription model, or sell subscription management licenses and solutions in the Microsoft Dynamics sphere to others, there’s a lot to think about. Particularly at a time of so much financial instability. Those subscriptions are an excellent way of bringing a reliable revenue stream, companies don’t want to think about getting into a situation that makes their world more complex. And they don’t want to bring their own customers that complexity. The good news is that what appears to be a complex situation can be managed with ease, no matter who is using it. All that is needed is the right tools. That’s why Bluefort was thrilled to host a fireside chat with our VP of Product, Bjorn Kuijt and U.S. Senior Business Development Manager, Edward J. Harof, and Jeffrey Goldstein, the CEO of our partners Queue Associates. Are you in any of these situations? In the Microsoft Dynamics 365 world in general. Involved with Microsoft Dynamics in the Cloud, including the business application side of the house. Communities around the globe use those applications. Microsoft Dynamics users and prospects who are thinking of adding these applications to their environment. Consultants who are engaged with Microsoft users. Thanks to the AI buzz, Microsoft Dynamics has been elevated in the marketplace to a new level which is fantastic and exciting. Consultants out there can capitalize on this, which is why we’re providing you with info on SaaS applications and how they can impact the companies you’re working with to make their processes automated and efficient. Specifically, we mean subscription management which involves a billing model moving toward automation and away from legacy and manual systems that waste time and money. Want more information on how you can thrill your clients by providing them with the most advanced technology solution for subscriptions? bluefort partner Queue Associates “I can't say enough about the relationship.” There are long-term relationships, and then there are lifetime relationships. Queue has been working with Microsoft products since the DOS days in the early 80s. And they’ve been growing with Microsoft ever since. One of the things Queue’s been encouraged to do is to focus on vertical industries, and that’s where Bluefort’s solutions and the partnership have helped them focus on vertical industries anywhere they have recurring revenue. Queue Associates has always been dedicated to delivering products that help their customers go where they want to go with ease. Queue has found that Bluefort’s solution helps them compete better by enabling the focus on vertical industries that prioritize subscription management, recurring revenue, and billing. And because many clients don’t know this end-to-end subscription management solution is out there, Queue takes pleasure in guiding them through the Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Bluefort integration and how it handles lead-to-order, all the way through to payment processing and reconciliation. In other words, Queue Associates is thrilled they’re bringing something to the table that solves their clients’ problems. Why Bluefort likes to partner up with Microsoft Dynamics-loving Businesses Having a lot of experience built up over the years in business applications on Microsoft Dynamics, we’ve learned how much the solution is capable of. And businesses in that world understand that too. Dynamics offers a lot, including ERP, being able to go into manufacturing, supply chain management, financial management, project services, and project capabilities. Over time Bluefort has attached surrounding solutions to the Enterprise EAP applications, adding on CRM over the years. It makes a wider footprint and a wider fit for purpose for different departments in different types of subscription companies. This comes in handy because companies are waking up to the importance of tying customers to the business through subscriptions. What’s better is to keep on providing value to customers, underpinned by the type of service and product companies provide to their end customers. But really, it’s any subscription model. That’s where the growth has been on the Microsoft side - both moving to the cloud and making software more servitized. Manufacturers are jumping on the bandwagon too - developing a product or a piece of equipment anymore that can be sold as a one-off, but that is also ring-fenced all the way across with services with upgrades with Innovation, support and guidance in an ongoing fashion. Those kinds of business capabilities ultimately drive a much better customer experience and a much better utilization of products and services over a longer period of time. That’s where Bluefort’s solutions and partnerships come in. Having a Dynamics 365 set of applications that span all the way down to the financial back end gives the potential to boost both a life cycle and a customer experience end-to-end. In other words, it brings in certainty and stability during a time where it’s needed the most. And backing that is a rock-solid use of AI-driven data. This is especially important given the rise of AI is only going to get bigger. bluefort’s partnerships work best with businesses that recognise that the business model is changing. There’s a huge opportunity not only to broaden the customer base, but to create/lengthen the CLV. That’s an incredible chance to build long-term value and revenue streams. How Does AI and Dynamics Boost Subscription Management? It’s fun to be in the right place and right time. And this is the right place and right time to capitalise on the growing AI boom. Dynamics consultants are elevating Dynamics groups in the AI field to a much higher level. There’s a good reason for that- they’ve had the vision, the expertise and the industry knowledge to leverage that for growth for the companies they work with. They also know that given how tough it has been for businesses in high-competition industries, it isn’t just about working harder. It’s about working smarter. The need for cost-saving, waste reduction, and building revenue has never been stronger. Companies need to get tougher. They must be more efficient. That’s where software solutions come in. AI is literally there to take care of all the work. It’s a fact that Microsoft and bluefort’s software provide make companies more efficient. They rely less on humans to do the day-to-day subscription operations. So they completely cut out the costly errors and resource-wasting work so that employees can concentrate on the high-value work of building customer relationships and developing the kind of products that keep them coming back for more. Harnessing AI in the way it best works lets companies go where they want to go. Partnerships Our partners are collaborators using the solution and selling the solution to others. Both sides reap the benefits. That’s why our partnership programme has been growing so rapidly. Your level as a potential partner is based on how involved you want to be. As a Dynamics partner if you spot this as a valuable opportunity for your customer, then you can go with a referral. If you decide that's something you want to grow much further, you can be trained. And our teams will help you promote the products to your customers. That way everybody wins. You won’t be floating in space on your own. Want an Example of a Good Benefit from the Solution? A perfect example of looking at what your business has to gain by using and selling the Dynamics and bluefort integration through partnership is process automation. As we look at the landscape of a typical enterprise company running a recurring or subscription based business, it’s important not just to boost revenue, but to cut costs wherever possible. Especially in the SaaS, IT Services, Professional Services, and similar industries where the focus is more and more on profitability. Subscriptions touch multiple parts of your business. You’ve got to upsell and cross-sell in the sales department, you’ve got invoicing, billing, revenue recognition, and payment collection in the finance department, keeping that customer relationship onside in the customer service department, and continuing the development of products that keep customers coming back from more. Most subscription businesses try to get all these processes sorted by Frankensteining multiple legacy systems which aren’t integrated and don’t allow for the most up-to-date data to drive opportunities and take care of the invoicing and payment processes. Why, when all this could be handled automatically? That’s where an excellent automation solution comes in. You shouldn’t have to spend valuable time where you don’t need to. Subscriptions are not always sold directly to the end customer without procurement. When you’re a reseller of products or licenses, you need to always be aware of what your customer has bought and what you need to buy to give them that. This entire both-ways procurement can be automated so that you and your teams aren’t spending countless hours (and risking costly errors!) splitting how much you need to buy and supply for ongoing subscriptions. Through our automated solutions, you’ll be able to calculate the needs and the savings no matter how often they need to adjust to meet your customers’ needs. Certainty about what you have and what you provide can help you clearly bring value to the service, starting with a good, reliable customer relationship. And when you’re selling these solutions on, your customers will experience the same benefits for their business and customers. Everyone wins. Curious to know more? Check out the video above. Want an estimate guide? Click here. Say goodbye to manual sales processes and boost your growth with Bluefort's cutting-edge automation solutions. Learn how our end-to-end system streamlines the end-to-end process.