Manage Accounts Receivable With Payment Reconciliation

Managing accounts receivable can be challenging with multiple supplier payment terms. Payment Reconciliation from Edge simplifies tracking supplier commission payments.

 

Quickly Reconcile Supplier Payments and Identify Errors

Is manually reconciling supplier payments getting too cumbersome as you grow?

The days of manual supplier commission reconciliation are over. Energy Payment Reconciliation from Edge normalizes all of your supplier payment data into a single database. We then automatically match up what you were paid against what you were owed to identify errors and calculate commissions. With Payment Reconciliation energy brokers can:

 

  • Easily import supplier commission files each month or pay period.

  • Quickly identify potential errors in supplier reporting.

  • Rectify errors with suppliers directly from the system.

  • Generate agent commission reports and run payroll.

 
 

And did we mention that the Reconciliation app fully integrates with CRM?
Now you can fully manage your energy broker business from anywhere.

Payment Reconciliation Features

Payment Periods

Set custom pay periods based on how you do business.

  • Create custom payment periods that are unique to your business.

  • Set up specific rules based on supplier reporting.

  • Craft custom pay cycles to compensate your sales agents.

Payment Files

Keep a record of all supplier commission pay files.

  • Upload supplier commission files as you receive them.

  • Automate accounts receivable reporting based on pay data.

  • Get a master view into lifetime revenue.

Payments

View detail on revenue by customer, contract, and LDC account.

  • See a master view of all revenue by customer utility account.

  • Dig into each payment to see records of the period, margin, usage, etc.

  • View agents and commission schedules tied to each supplier payment

Payment Disputes

Quickly identify and dispute supplier payment errors.

  • View all potential commission errors from a single dashboard.

  • Create tasks to follow up with suppliers to rectify issues.

  • Mark disputes as pending or completed.

 

Agent Reporting

Quickly run agent commission reports and keep track of accounts payable.

  • A master view of all agent commissions by period.

  • Download and export agent commission files.

  • View multiple layers of agent commissions based on payment plans.

Payment Reconciliation Tips & Facts

What Is Payment Reconciliation And Why Is It Important?

Payment reconciliation as it relates to accounting is the process by which accounts receivable or payable are reconciled against some sort of benchmark dataset. In the energy broker business, energy broker finance teams need to reconcile supplier commission payment files against what they were paid and what they were expecting to be paid. Reconciling supplier commission payments is critical to the success of any energy brokerage. Although most energy suppliers use commission payment software to pay their brokers, these programs do have errors from time to time. Most systems pay brokers a fixed margin based on a customer’s unique utility account number. If that number is entered incorrectly or changed, then the broker might not receive the payment he is entitled to. A process of payment reconciliation is designed to catch these errors as they occur and correct them.

It is very important to reconcile supplier payment files for several reasons. First, you are entitled to a certain amount of commission for all of your customers. If a supplier forgets to pay you on an account or incorrectly reports a commission payment, you must correct the error to be paid the correct amount. Furthermore, your sales agents and personnel count on sales commissions for their income. Having a proper reconciliation system in place ensures that your sales team gets paid correctly and is happy, which is critical to your success. 

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Interested in seeing what an energy broker CRM can do for your energy business?

 

How Does The Edge Reconciliation Application Work?

As a full-service energy broker CRM system, Edge stores all of the data related to your customers and their active contracts. More importantly, Edge has the information related to your commissions, such as contract start date, contract end date, anticipated usage, broker margin, account information, and more. All of this data is used to create a baseline for anticipated commission payments from suppliers. Next, as commission files come in from suppliers and are uploaded into Edge, the Payment Reconciliation application compares what was paid on the commission report to the expected commissions based on the system’s data. Edge is able to notify brokers when there are discrepancies between the two data sets in order to catch supplier errors and get them corrected. Here are some of the common errors that our system identifies:

  • Missing payments for specific utility accounts or contracts

  • Incorrect broker margins

  • Late payments based on contract start dates

  • Payments that are too low based on usage profiles

 

“Using the Edge System, we were able to confirm that our supplier payments were correct and find missing payments that may have otherwise been missed. This is the best supplier payment process we have ever used and we are confident that our money is safe with the Edge System.”

— EDGE Broker

How Technology Is Changing The Retail Energy Sector

Technology is changing the way we do business throughout the world, and although the retail energy sector might be lagging, it is no different. Energy brokers who take advantage of technology have an unfair advantage over those who do not.

Overview

The retail energy industry has been late to adopt technology as a way of transacting business. Many energy brokers and suppliers still process energy quotes and contracts via the telephone and email. As technology continues to develop and grow, the retail energy industry is beginning to transform. Today, there are online energy brokers who allow residential and small commercial customers to transact with suppliers on their websites. Other brokers are implementing reverse-auction functionality where suppliers bid on customer contracts in real-time. As this industry continues to evolve, it is important to be positioned for success with the right technology.

Workflows

An energy broker software application, like Edge, allows brokers to be at the forefront of this technological revolution. Not only does a system like Edge allow brokers to replace manual processes with automated workflows, but it also streamlines the broker-supplier relationship. Applications such as Edge’s RFP enables brokers to submit custom price requests to multiple suppliers with the click of the mouse. On the other end, suppliers can turn around price quotes directly in the Edge system, allowing brokers to manage opportunities from a single dashboard.

Utility Data

Furthermore, access to utility systems such as the Eligible Customer List (ECL) has given brokers an unprecedented opportunity to create prospect lists, confirm customer utility data, and structure pricing. Edge’s ECL application is another example of how technology can transform the way you transact business. In the current climate, finding the lowest rates for your customers is paramount. Utilizing the ECL, Edge clients can automatically calculate load-factor to determine the best way to quote a customer.

Payments

Additionally, many energy brokers have commission pay structures in place to pay agents, channel partners, sales employees, and referral partners. Trying to manually reconcile supplier commission payments while figuring out who to pay is an operational nightmare. Systems like Edge allow energy brokers to process commissions automatically. Not only will our system identify errors in supplier commission statements, but it will also calculate multiple levels of sales commissions based on your pre-set parameters.