Video transcript
Basis Technologies provides a software automation platform that our customers can use to plan and manage their digital advertising campaigns across channels. And we also provide services that complement our software. My role at Basis is to oversee the accounting, accounts receivable and accounts payable functions, and to provide support, coaching and development to the people on my team.
Our finance organization is highly focused on automation and innovation because we want to be able to support our large customer base as efficiently as possible, and we also want to make our lives and our clients' lives easier.
Initially we implemented Flywire because we have international clients who would like to pay in local currency, but we were only able to accept payment in US dollars. So Flywire was able to help us create a solution integrated with NetSuite where our customers could pay in their local currency and we would receive those payments in dollars. This is something that our clients have been asking for several years, so we were able to meet the client need. It has allowed us to expand our business into countries where we might not otherwise have full operations.
Flywire has really made my team's job much easier when it comes to how we process credit card payments. Previously we were manually running credit cards upon requests from a client, but now our clients can log into Flywire and make those payments directly. Flywire also is integrated with NetSuite so it automates the process of applying those payments to open invoices in our accounting system, saving us approximately 5 to 10 hours per week for that team.
Before we implemented Flywire, our collections team had to navigate between our credit card processing system and our accounting system, NetSuite, every time they wanted to process a credit card payment. Now our customers can log into Flywire and make those prepayments whenever is convenient for them. Our advertising agency clients often want to receive separate invoices for the different brands. Flywire was able to integrate with our NetSuite configuration and allow us to automatically apply payments made through Flywire to as many invoices as we need. Now that these processes are automated, the collections team can spend more of their time on more strategic, higher value-add projects and initiatives.
Working with the Flywire customer success team has been an absolute delight. The team is extremely knowledgeable, both about the Flywire platform as well as NetSuite and other accounting processes. So the team is able to easily answer any questions that we might have about the software, and they're always available to help.
Digital marketing can get complex. There are lots of tools and people managing different parts, and it can be extremely challenging to see what’s working and what isn’t. Basis Technologies’ mission is to bring it down to the basics. Founded in 2001, the Chicago-based firm delivers enterprise software that connects, automates and analyzes campaigns across all digital advertising mediums, and services to enhance and optimize ad tech. Earning the No. 1 spot on Fortune’s Best Medium Workplaces in Chicago in 2022, Basis is a private company with 1,000 employees in the Americas and Europe, working with more than 1,000 brands and marketing agencies. Most of its customers are in the United States, but it is rapidly gaining interest and adoption with companies in Central and South America and in Europe.
Payments a blocker to international growth
Strengthening controls and automating manual parts of the finance process is a huge focus for Basis Technologies VP, Controller Maria Mutter, who is a relentless chaser of efficiencies, in no small part so that her team of 20 can achieve career goals and develop in their own roles. Around 2019, she and her team saw that billing processes threatened to hinder international growth. Clients were billed via emailed invoices in U.S. dollars, and wanted to view and pay invoices online in their native currencies using preferred, local methods, like Boleto in Brazil. What’s more, finance team members grew weary of fielding late night payments-related calls, and manually matching incoming cross-border payments to invoices stored in NetSuite, its ERP system.
Easing cross-border payments in NetSuite
Basis Technologies implemented Flywire in 2019 to ease cross-border payments and automate foreign exchange at transparent, competitive rates. Customers now pay in their native currencies and Basis receives cross-border B2B payments in U.S. dollars. Flywire is integrated with NetSuite via an API integration configurable within the NetSuite instance. This embeds a payment link in international invoices and automatically applies incoming payments to open invoices in the NetSuite A/R module, reducing DSO for international payments.
Flywire provides Basis customers with many payment options, and support in their local languages when they have questions or issues. Flywire also masks the complexity of handling country-specific regulations and tax laws – a boon for Basis’ international business growth.
“Having the ability to accept payments in foreign currencies has allowed us to expand our business into new countries where we might not have full operations,” Mutter said.
Next stop, domestic payments: Basis Technologies looks to Flywire to handle B2B credit cards payments
The positive experience it had with Flywire for processing and reconciling cross-border B2B payments led Basis Technologies to look to the payments software provider again when it needed to improve domestic credit card processing. Credit cards had to be manually entered in Basis’ bank portal – its processor – with one person responsible for running five to 10 payments a day. That was extremely time-consuming and costly with fees as the team tried to accommodate demand for B2B credit card payments. What’s more, the bank portal wasn’t connected with NetSuite, necessitating several more steps to log into the accounting system, create payment records and manually apply payments to open invoices.
Credit card payments now run through Flywire, which is integrated with NetSuite. Clients can now make credit card payments through the online portal, and the process of applying those payments to open invoices in NetSuite is automated. This removes as much as 10 hours weekly of manual work.
“Now that these processes are automated the collections team can spend more of their time on more strategic, higher value add projects and initiatives,” Mutter said.
Flywire also automates the process of applying a bulk payment to multiple invoices, working with a unique billing configuration in the NetSuite system. This saves the collection team roughly four hours a week, and allows them to focus on complex accounts and reconciliation.
“We have a complex customer set-up in NetSuite, and the Flywire team did an excellent job of understanding that,” Mutter said. “Flywire is very value-add, and the services are top notch.”
Accounting team now focused on outliers, strategic tasks
A majority of Basis Technologies’ domestic customers still pay via check and ACH. Having all international payments and a portion of incoming domestic payments digitized through Flywire frees the team to focus on issues holding up payments completed via other methods, and spend more time providing analysis that will improve collections and even inform expansion strategies. Early Flywire wins also help the team better sell the value of digitized payments. Accounting likes it – and so do customers: the volume of domestic payments running through Flywire has more than doubled in just months after launch.
“It’s absolutely made my team’s job much easier,” Mutter said. “With NetSuite and Flywire, our customers can view those invoices online and the invoices are automatically captured in NetSuite.”
Results
