Are you one of the good ones?
A company that’s easy to do business with, gets accurate invoicing out to customers and prospects quickly, and occasionally gets remarks from customers about how smooth the process is?
If so, you’re probably using Salesforce CPQ in its optimal state. But did you know there’s another platform that’s often-overlooked to creating a competitive advantage ... with SG&A savings realized from your invoicing processes?
It’s Salesforce Billing.
Here’s what you should know about Billing, how it integrates into Salesforce, and how to build a well-oiled machine by avoiding certain errors.
Click to jump to a particular section:
Why you want Billing | Who owns it? | How Billing integrates | How long does this take? | Ways to mess up | Who Should Adopt Billing
Why you want Billing
If you have CPQ and are using it to its fullest potential, Billing is the next step towards greater automation and the way to bring the entire quote-to-cash process into one platform.
Finance teams love it because it opens up more accurate forecasting and cash flow reporting
Sales enjoys having greater automation and faster time-to-quote
Support appreciates having easier-to-use data in customer files
IT likes that this is a trusted application from Salesforce and installs nicely (typically when using an outside consultant)
Billing is purpose-built to take over any existing invoicing processes and platforms you have today and create a much more seamless experience for teams and customers alike.
In short, it’s fantastic, and we’ve found clients love it when they finally make the switch. And it’s one of the more underutilized packages by the thousands of companies currently using Salesforce.
One quick note: if you're not using CPQ for everything its worth, start there - our CPQ consulting services are an excellent investment with proven ROI, and you'll learn when it's time to add Billing into your mix for maximum impact.
Who’s in charge?
We’ve seen Finance typically lead this process of transitioning to Billing.
For starters, they’re the ones managing company cash flow. If you’re in Finance, you know where your current quote-to-cash system needs improvement, have ideas on how to speed it up, and also have input into how all other teams use their budget.
In addition, they typically control the entire invoicing process.
Considering Salesforce Billing impacts multiple teams, Finance leading the way makes a lot of sense, but additional input is welcomed from other stakeholders:
Sales - Understand how customers will be invoiced, in case it impacts future selling or relationships
IT - Data migration and mapping, system integration, and upkeep
Support - Identify issues that cause customers angst - and opportunities to upsell loyal ones
How Billing integrates into Salesforce
This is where I’m going to dive into some technical details. If you're not looking for those, feel free to skip ahead.
Billing is an add-on package that relies on the Quote and Standard Order objects within Salesforce CPQ.
A natural progression into Salesforce Billing begins with an Opportunity and Primary Quote. When an Opportunity is created, a Quote is attached with the relevant information and record-keeping.
Once the Opportunity moves into closed-won, Salesforce creates an Order record. The Order and Order Products hold all the information to produce Invoice and Invoice Lines, which impact what the customer receives.
So the information flow goes something like this:
Order Products and other objects
If you aren’t looking for technical information, you can skip ahead!
Salesforce Billing brings over 55 new objects into Salesforce when installed. Billing Rules, Tax Rules, Revenue Recognition Rules, Credit Notes, Invoices - all of these are objects that need to be configured correctly.
To begin configuration, Products must be set up with a Billing Rule, Tax Rule, Revenue Recognition Rule, Charge Type, Billing Type, and Billing Frequency. These are the minimum requirements to ensure a product can be ordered and invoiced in Salesforce Billing.
Billing also introduces ways of storing your information in the form of Finance Books, General Ledgers, and more. When properly-deployed, these provide the backbone of organization for your Billing instance - but also build the foundation for Billing’s advanced capabilities.
These Books pair with Treatments and all of your established Rules, etc. to unlock more for Finance teams, as these dictate how Salesforce Billing interacts with your various Books and Ledgers. Having accurate treatments on your Billing Rules, Tax Rules, and Revenue Recognition Rules enables quick and easy reporting.
Reporting on what types of products per Legal Entity or Finance Book is a must-have for Finance teams, who love this feature when it's properly implemented.More information from Salesforce can be found here.
The combination of these rules, treatments, and attributes work together to produce the correct details on the Order Product. When an Order Product is created, Billing determines how much to charge on the next billing cycle and at what frequency.
Because of this, Order Products become the most important record to understand how Salesforce Billing invoices products.
Invoice Automation
Configuring Salesforce Billing goes beyond product configuration.
Invoice Schedulers can automatically create invoices daily, weekly, monthly, or on a one-time basis. For example, an Invoice Scheduler that runs daily at 9am will create Invoices for any invoice-ready products.
This automation reviews Order Products to see if it’s eligible for an invoice. Even though this automation runs daily, it invoices a single deal monthly or annually - it’s based on the Order Products Billing Frequency that you’ve set.
When configured correctly, Salesforce Billing harmonizes the rules, attributes, objects, and automation to create a significantly-automated invoicing system. The result? Significant time savings, which allows your staff to focus their efforts on higher-priority items.
And with greater automation comes less human error, as well!
Clients who handle much of their invoicing manually today have the potential to build this capability (with our help) and redeploy the SG&A savings to supporting business growth.
How long does this take?
Implementations usually take 3-6 months for thorough alignment, design, and testing before anything goes live. More complex systems and order volume require a longer commitment, though it varies on how you use Salesforce and invoicing processes today.
For companies already using Billing, a system health check is the first step to identify if there are any issues - with a plan to prioritize fixes and create a clear timeline to value.
Health checks usually take 2-4 weeks and are an excellent investment.
How Salesforce Billing can turn into a nightmare
Getting your invoicing process wrong creates major distrust with your existing customers and slows down cash flow as you’re working to fix system issues.
Here’s where some companies (and consultants!) have gotten things wrong with an implementation or existing platform upgrade:
Bad data
If you can’t trust your current data within Salesforce, there are larger-scale issues than just your invoicing process.
Incomplete, irrelevant, or wrong information at best clutters where your teams spend their team and cause workarounds that have to be put into place.
At worst? They directly interfere with an ability for people (and customers) to quickly get what they need. This includes forecasting and/or getting paid quickly.
Rush the design
I can’t stress this enough. It’s a tedious process, but getting it wrong creates more problems later that reduces your revenue streams.
Mapping out your current process and understanding how you currently operate your business is paramount to getting this right the first time. It requires multiple stakeholder interviews and getting into the nuts-and-bolts of your systems with IT’s help.
Resistance to Change
Have you heard the phrase (or read the book) about how what’s gotten you here won’t get you there … “there” being your stated business goals?
If your teams aren’t fully bought-in from the C-suite on down, you’ll have slower time-to-value on your Billing investments. Doing things the way they’ve always been done won’t drive the business gains you’re looking for - nor will it lean on the expertise you’re bringing in to get this done right the first time.
If your teams aren’t fully committed to these new ways of doing business, they’ll fail to use them. And you don’t need additional tech debt plaguing your organization.
Billing enhances current processes. Make sure your teams leverage the gains available!
Wrong people … or schedules
These are arguably two of the most-overlooked factors in your project’s success.
First, make sure the right people are involved. Any Billing work will involve integrations with your quote-to-cash process, so you need stakeholders that can both approve decisions and advance the technical work - and from IT, Finance, and Sales at a minimum.
But these people also need the right amount of time to invest, and this may mean pulling them off another project or two.
That’s because if work reaches a bottleneck waiting for approvals, testing, and/or critical work within your secure systems, it slows everyone else down.
Your teams understandably have a full day’s work already on the books everyday, so work to make sure this addition to their plate isn’t inhibited by other projects that may not be a priority.
So, should you invest in Salesforce Billing?
I’d say yes if you meet at least two of the following criteria:
You have Salesforce as your CRM of record and either have CPQ or will very soon
Order volume increases have put a strain on your invoicing team
Current processes feel manual and invite human error
You want the entire quote-to-cash process under one “tech roof” within Salesforce
Billing is sometimes seen as a “nice to have” by companies, but I’ve found that when done well it’s so much more. Imagine what your company could look like three years from now with the efficiencies you gain from Billing!
Staff spend time on higher-priority items
Invoicing is more accurate and automated
Customers are happier
Bills get paid faster
How does that impact your financial picture? It’s a worthwhile investment!
Have questions? I’m available on LinkedIn to chat - or you can always reach out to learn more about how DoubleTrack can help!
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