One of the more important jobs of the accounts payable professional is keeping up with what is happening in the industry at large. This is critical for a few reasons, including skills development and the hunt for new technologies, but is sometimes difficult to do. That is why, each week, the team at Payables Place collects news stories and announcements on the people, companies, and events that can have the biggest impact on the accounts payable team; this cuts down on the amount of time that the AP professional needs to spend keeping up to date and makes it easier to get back to the task at hand—driving strategic value for the organization.
This week in payables news includes a few developments: Esker integrated its AP solution with Microsoft Dynamics, China launched its international yuan-clearing system, and Basware released its most recent earnings. Read on to find out more about these and all the other impactful news from around the accounts payable world.
Esker Enables Complete Integration with Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV ERP Solutions
Esker last week announced that it completed integration with Microsoft’s Dynamics NAV, providing a single solution for document processing into and out of the ERP solution. Because of the complete integration, MS Dynamics NAV users can have the Esker AP automation solution up and running in a few days—this allows Dynamics users to streamline the reception, handling and approval of invoices, while also creating a full audit trail quickly.
The Microsoft Dynamics NAV integration is the latest in a long line of ERP suites that Esker ties into, a list which includes SAP, Epicor, and McKesson. Overall, the more ERP and accounting systems that a solution has pre-integration with, the more valuable that solution becomes. The reason for this is because more customers are able to quickly implement the AP automation solution without a lengthy integration process. This does not mean enterprises that have an unsupported ERP cannot use the solution, but it does take more time to get the AP solution integrated in that case. As a result, integrating with more ERPs is a good move for Esker and other similar solutions.
Basware Interim Report January 1-September 30, 2015 (IFRS)
Basware this week announced its interim financial results for the nine months ending September 30, as well as its third quarter earnings data. The Finnish procure-to-pay (“P2P”) solution provider announced that net sales for the nine months ended September 2015 grew 12%, from €93 million to €104 million, while third-quarter net sales were €33.6 million, an increase of 11.3% from €30.2 million. Operating profits for the third quarter were down 14.3% quarter-over-quarter, from €1.2 million to €996,000, and earnings per share went up 80% quarter-over-quarter from €0.05 to €0.09.
These are overall solid results for Basware, which also experienced strong growth in the U.S., the U.K., and Germany—key markets for the solution provider. The Finnish solution provider plans to pursue growth in its Network Services business, and notes that its Financing Services business has experienced strong interest in the U.S., U.K., and Finland (12 customer signed up in September). Basware is one of the top eInvoicing players worldwide, so it is always interesting to get the picture of how well they are doing from a financial perspective. Last year was a bit tough on the company, and their fortunes have so far turned around this year. What will happen in fourth quarter of 2015 remains to be seen now.
Fifth Third Bank Extends Innovation With Paymode-X Partnership
In partnership news, Bottomline Technologies announced last week that Fifth Third Bank is the latest financial institution to leverage the Paymode-X technology. Paymode-X is designed to streamline ePayment and remittance information delivery between buyers and suppliers, on a network that already includes 300,000 customers—one of the largest pure-play payment networks around. Many enterprises use Paymode-X to migrate to ePayments, and Fifth Third providing the software opens up a new crop of customers to Bottomline.
Network-based payment solutions become valuable only when more clients are added to the network, whether on the buyer or supplier side, so it makes perfect sense for Bottomline to try to capture as many enterprises as possible. From that perspective, enabling more organizations onto the network is an imperative. That is what Bottomline has managed to do through this latest partnership with Fifth Third Bank; enterprises will start using Paymode-X without Bottomline needing to sell into them, which is a win-win because those organizations receive ePayment capability and Bottomline adds new clients to its network.
Coupa Inspire Debuts in Paris for Second Annual European Customer Conference
Coupa Software last week announced that it would hold the European version of its conference, Coupa Inspire, in Paris for the first time. The conference, at the Westin Paris Vendome, kicks off on October 22, 2015, and brings together 500 financial professionals, procurement leaders, and industry analysts, many of which represent Coupa’s customer base in Europe. The conference will cover topics as varied as global deployment success, funding spend management initiatives, and the rise of specialist procure-to-pay solutions.
China Launches International Payment System
Last week, Xinhua News reported on the launch of phase one of China’s international payment system, which is designed to streamline cross-border transactions denominated in yuan. The payment system was first proposed in 2012, and is designed to eliminate the network of yuan clearinghouse banks around the world. Prior to the launch of the China International Payments System (“CIPS”), yuan cross-border trade transactions needed to be cleared through one of the yuan clearing banks in places like Hong Kong, Singapore, or London, or through a correspondent bank on the Chinese mainland.
The launch of CIPS is a point of pride for the People’s Bank of China, which has pushed for the system since 2012. It is also a sign of the modernization of China’s financial system, particularly because it simplifies business for enterprises that want to denominate trade in yuan instead of a foreign currency. Firms outside China will now, with the launch of CIPS, be able to clear transactions from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Beijing time using internationally accepted payment formats. CIPS functions as a Chinese version of the SWIFT payment system, and integrates with that protocol to smooth cross-border trade. Overall, this is a good move for China and could signify the easing of business procedures in-country.
Check out these related articles for more:
Payables News Weekly: Basware Launches New Product; New U.S. Bank Corporate Payments President Named
Payables News Weekly: Perfect Commerce Finalizes Acquisition; NACHA Unveils Mobile Wallet Initiative
Payables News Weekly: China Cuts Reference Rate; Federal Reserve May Delay September Rate Hike
