Avolent BizCast Electronic Invoice Payment and Presentment

Transcription

1 Ellen Walsh Product Report 18 October 2002 Avolent BizCast Electronic Invoice Payment and Presentment Summary BizCast is a packaged application for business-to-business electronic invoice presentment and payment targeted at automating the order-to-cash accounts receivable process. Table of Contents Overview Analysis Pricing Competitors Strengths Limitations Insight List Of Tables Table 1: Features and Functions: Avolent BizCast Gartner Entire contents 2002 Gartner, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.

2 Corporate Headquarters Avolent Corporation 444 De Haro Street, Suite 100 San Francisco, CA 94107, U.S.A. Tel: Tel: Fax: Internet: Overview BizCast is an electronic software solution for electronic invoice presentment and payment, which the company describes as Financial Relationship Management (FRM). BizCast targets large suppliers in retail; healthcare; electronics; maintenance, repair, operations (MRO) suppliers; and manufacturing by automating the order-to-cash process. Table 1: Features and Functions: Avolent BizCast Enrollment Presentment Account Summary Payments Users can self-enroll into the system and select passwords Service agreements are signed, captured and stored within the database Post-load enrollment allows the biller to only load those invoices for accounts that have been activated via enrollment by a customer Users can filter invoices by bill date, due date, amount and invoice number Invoices can be downloaded as paper bills Portable Document Format (PDF), American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), HTML or as raw data CSV and other formats View invoice summaries for past and present invoices Invoice section display allows billers to create logical groupings for display of lineitem details based on a specific attribute such as purchase order (PO) number Line-item display allows users to view individual charge items of invoice and use filters to customize views Invoice annotation allows the user to view and attach free-form text notes to an invoice in order to communicate possible review details, approval instructions, reminders and other notes High-volume threshold views for line-item detail Line-item download to desktop Reverse number lookup Balance forward or all balances rolled into current invoice or open invoice display with individual invoice balance View multiple accounts Consolidated Account Totals Aged Account Balances Invoice Summary Views Process through any financial institution or payment processor 18 October

3 Table 1: Features and Functions: Avolent BizCast Disputes Workflow Customer Service Representative (CSR) Administration Biller Administration Credit card, debit card or automated clearing house (ACH) payments Pay multiple accounts Offline payments Partial payments or overpayments Attach free-form notes to payment such as department or cost center Biller can dictate whether invoice balances are updated when payments are requested (optimistic) or only when payments are approved (pessimistic) Research and track payments Annotate Payments Set payment date, amount and method Configurable payment calendar for appropriate scheduling of payments (noting holidays or other occurrences) Payment methods can be unique to business unit or biller Request ad hoc disputes off total invoice, unrelated to line item (such as shipping or tax issues) Line-item dispute for full amount, partial payment or percentage of original amount Dispute reason codes Free-form text Automated dispute resolution based on business rules or manual dispute resolution Display offline dispute adjustments Dispute Status Tracking Employee access to dispute queue for online dispute resolution Credit memo handling for disputes that resolve as credits against invoice or account Provides the ability for a payer to create workflow based on a dollar range and apply that to one or more accounts Admin user can specify different individuals or groups to review, approve and pay the invoice Allows the admin user creating the business process to assign an owner to manage the process Accounts can inherit business process Allows the admin user the ability to create multiple workflows, which are a series of events (review, approve, pay invoice) based on the invoice s total dollar amount Expedite invoices Workflow task lists Notifications and auto-escalation CSR can search for a user or account by any data element, or combination of data within the account hierarchy CSR can assume the role of a specific user for that account to reproduce the user s specific application experience CSR can view online and offline payments Biller admin can view a biller s contact information, update the information, or select a biller for further operations such as Notification Management Biller admin can modify/add/delete other admin or CSR users from within the biller s hierarchy 18 October

4 Table 1: Features and Functions: Avolent BizCast International Notifications Reports Translate Architecture Web Server Support Application Server Support Database Support Operating System Support Security Allows biller admin to specify user types for the application and add the set of permissions available for each user type, based on individual application modules and pages Allows the users to select their preferred language display Allows users to select one or two additional currencies to be displayed for invoice and service totals. Links allow users to determine the conversion rate between the accounting currency and display currency Notification templates allows customers the ability to select preferred notifications from a predetermined list of biller-defined options Invoice Expenditure Report allows customers to select accounts and a date range so they can determine invoice trending analysis over time Additional customer reports break out specific areas of invoice such as cost center or product codes Biller reports such as biller aging reports and cash forecasting Provides the biller with the ability to convert print stream data format into an Extensible Markup Language (XML) output via a standard what-you-see-is-whatyou-get (WYSIWYG) interface XML Data integration Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.31, 1.4 Extensible Style Language Transformations (XSLT) templates Rivest-Shamir-Adelman (RSA) cryptography Relational database Microsoft IIS, iplanet, Apache BEA Weblogic, IBM Websphere, ATG Dynamo, Tomcat Oracle8i, SQL Server, IBM Database 2 (DB2) Sun Solaris, Windows NT, Windows 2000 Roles-based permissions and preferences Single sign-on credential from other systems authenticate via encrypted tokens Persistent audit trails Encryption of sensitive data in database HTTP and demilitarized zone behind two firewalls Analysis Architecture BizCast is designed to be a turnkey application that can be customized with a toolkit. BizCast follows a multitiered, Java-bean, component-based architecture and is application-server independent. The presentation, business logic and data layers are separated. Graphical user, interface-based, application extension tools allow the data to be extended by adding account objects. BizCast utilizes XSLT templates with XML data integration and supports a fully relational data model. Relational Database Technology Support Rather than utilizing a document-centric approach or storing data as binary large objects (BLOBs), Avolent stores data in a relational database. Document-based approaches make it difficult to search 18 October

5 across invoices, to perform ad hoc queries and to provide consolidated invoicing and roll-up reporting. Storing data in a relational database makes it easier to locate line-item dispute data and manage linkage across workflow, since data is stored in tables. The use of relational databases also means that customers can use relational database tools to access data, not proprietary application programming interfaces (APIs). Component Architecture The use of component-based technologies means that there are units of independent components deployed. Additions and changes can be made to individual components, without having to recompile the entire program. The customer can make changes by assembling together different components in different ways, rather than having to access source code. This also helps to simplify upgrades. Components can be extended on top of the base product, and the next version of the software will pick up the changes without affecting other existing components. Server Architecture Avolent provides a base set of servers that come with the product. The BizCast Presentation Server consists of dozens of different discrete components that handle different business functions such as disputes, login, account enrollment and many other functions. There is also an integration server with custom and standard database adapters. A series of gateways, such as the accounts receivable gateway, provides access into different back-end systems. Workflow and Payment servers each provide additional functionality. All servers leverage the same domain data model. Modules BizCast consists of the core platform and five separate modules: BizCast Platform BizCast Payment BizCast Translate (for conversion of print streams into BizCast) BizCast Analyze (for online reporting and analytics) BizCast Reprint BizCast Workflow BizCast Platform The BizCast Platform includes the following key capabilities: Online Account Management Account Summary Consolidated Invoicing Account Roll-Up Views Account Hierarchy Access Link to Credit Line/Credit Status Role-Based Access Control to Accounts 18 October

6 Electronic Invoicing Notification Invoice Summary Consolidated Invoicing (across multiple business units, divisions or product lines) Line-Item Detail Download Invoice Data PDF Invoice Delivery Online Customer Care Employee Account Management Account Inquiry Credit Memo Handling Invoice Reporting Usage Reports Real-Time Account and Invoice Analysis BizCast Payment BizCast Payment module includes the following key capabilities: Electronic payment on account or invoice Supports any payment type: ACH, credit card, procurement card, debit card Electronic remittance delivery to accounts receivable (AR) Schedule payments Full-pay, partial-pay or over-pay Automatic payment based on invoice amount Offline (paper check) and online payments BizCast Translate BizCast Translate module includes the following key capabilities: Conversion of printstream billing data into BizCast Converts AFP, Xerox Metacode, Dynamic Job Descriptor Entries (DJDE), Printer Control Language (PCL, ASCII and other formats) Graphical data extraction tool High-performance conversion engine BizCast Analyze 18 October

7 BizCast Analyze module includes the following key capabilities: Electronic creation of reports and graphs Live drill-down on reports Defined customer reports for spend analysis, usage reporting, purchase history Defined biller reports for cash forecasting, AR aging and collections Instant download of analytic data cubes for offline query and data mining BizCast Reprint BizCast Reprint module includes the following key capabilities: Electronic delivery of invoices in PDF format Original delivery or invoice reprints BizCast Workflow BizCast Workflow module includes the following key capabilities: Payer-defined workflow for invoice review, approval, payment authorization Supports simple and multistep workflow Auto-escalation of pending items Workflows can be assigned based on invoice amount or account Workflow task lists notifications Pricing Software licenses start at approximately US$300,000. Maintenance prices are 20 percent of license fees. GSA Pricing No. Competitors BCE Emergis Emergis e-invoicing is an end-to-end, business-to-business (B2B) interactive invoicing and payment solution that addresses the needs of both billers and their trading partners. Key biller features include online trading partner enrollment, invoice data extraction and presentment, payment processing including accounts receivable (AR) updating, along with integrated customer care features. Trading partner functionality includes statement of account and invoice viewing, invoice dispute capability, invoice and payment approval workflow, search and sort capability, multiple invoices included in a single payment instruction, payment scheduling, payment account setup and accounts payable (AP) integration capabilities. Emergis e-invoicing is hosted and managed within an Emergis data center. Bottomline Technologies 18 October

8 Bottomline s Nettransact and Invoice Receipt Management (IRM) products are components of a broader Bottomline Corporate Financial Resource Management strategy. Bottomline believes that every enterprise must manage financial resources; this encompasses invoicing and receiving payments, managing cash and making disbursements. Bottomline s suite of Financial Resource Management offerings enables businesses and financial institutions to manage their critical financial transactions, cash decisions and trading partner financial relationships, leveraging the Web. Bottomline Applications include Bottomline Payments and Cash Management, Electronic Invoice Presentment, Invoice Receipt Management, Electronic Banking and Information Reporting. Nettransact is focused on biller functionality and competes directly with Avolent. Invoice Receipt Management is focused on payers. Billingzone Billingzone started as a partnership between Perot Systems and PNC bank. Billingzone aggregates bills for corporate payers at a single site. Unlike Avolent, which offers a packaged application, Billingzone acts as a consolidator and tries to group as many billers and payers under one network as it can. Billingzone is an application service provider that utilizes the Web to give partner companies access to one another s invoices using Billingzone.com. Billers and payers must go to the Billingzone site to use the services. Unlike Avolent, Billingzone provides separate products for the biller (arconnect) and payer (apconnect). Billingzone has relationships with large banks, including ABN Amro, PNC, National City, KeyCorp and Wachovia. edocs easuite edocs products include marketing, payment, distribution and customer care modules. edocs also provides packaged application software and does not host any billers, process payments or maintain a network of distribution end points. B2B functionality with adjudication, line-item disputes and multiple invoice consolidation are provided; however, edocs does not have partnerships in the B2B area to provide additional functionality. Checkfree iseries Checkfree iseries is a software package focused largely on the business-to-consumer (B2C) market, but it also provides B2B functionality. The B2B components include a Business Process Rules Support (BPRS) module as well as several B2B features. Billers can make line-item adjustments and utilize predefined dispute codes. Disputes can be recorded for line item, invoice level or field level. Exchanges with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are limited to flat-file exchanges. Roles-based workflow allows personnel to review, dispute and adjust charges at line-item level. The B2B module is designed for cyclical bills and does not include more advanced features such as three-way matching and links to shipping and financing systems. The Business Process Rules Support Module provides account structure views with details such as the customer s service plan and rates. Interactive software allows customers to adjust charges, provide dispute codes and enter free-form text to resolve errors with CSR staff. Customers can find out where bills are in the cycle. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Packages ERP packages from PeopleSoft, Oracle, SAP and J.D. Edwards also offer some of the same functionality as Avolent; although, most often, they are focused on only offering the functionality to their own customers. This is slowly starting to change. ERP packages offer tight integration within their own accounting packages for functions such as reconciliation. PeopleSoft currently has the most advanced Electronic Invoice Payment and Presentment (EIPP) functionality out of all of the ERP vendors. 18 October

9 Pitney Bowes Docsense Pitney Bowes offers the Docsense D3 electronic invoice payment and presentment solution and is based on the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) architecture. Pitney Bowes offers both B2C and B2B functionality. Pitney Bowes has strong technology, although it has fewer customers than some of the other EIPP vendors. Docsense offers a broad range of workflow options. Strengths Data-Centric Architecture The billing data is stored in relational database tables, making functions such as processing disputes at the line-item level and invoice consolidation easy to execute. Experience With Deploying Packaged Software Unlike many of its competitors, which focus on the application service model, Avolent offers a packaged application software solution that can be deployed in-house. Technical Architecture BizCast is based on the J2EE architecture. Common objects are shared across the application, reducing the amount of effort required to perform routing functions and making changes to the application easier. B2B Partnerships to Add Complementary Functionality Avolent has a strong commitment to the B2B area. Avolent started to add B2B functionality to its product set by acquiring Solant. In addition, Avolent has formed a partnership with Manugistics for integrated order management capabilities, with Databeacon for online analytical processing (OLAP) analytics on spend management and cash flow, and with Actuate for invoice printing capabilities. Limitations Financial Position Although Avolent obtained an additional US$40 million in venture capital financing during 2002, it still has not reached profitability and relies solely on the EIPP market for total revenue. Integration With Payables Process Avolent is focusing on accounts receivable departments and although Avolent can download information into accounts payable systems, does not yet have a payer-focused solution. No Hosted Solution Avolent does not offer an outsourced solution, however, it does have hosting partners such as Unisys that resell BizCast as a hosted solution. ERP Integration Although Avolent can exchange data with accounts receivable systems, it has not yet developed specific adapters for integration to named systems. Insight Avolent s BizCast provides a strong solution for accounts receivable managers that need to purchase a packaged application to install in-house. BizCast provides a wide range of features, as well as strong J2EE technology for customizing individual functions. 18 October