FinancialForce.com Announces New Portal Within Salesforce Customer Portal

FinancialForce.com, an online cloud accounting solution on the Force.com platform via Salesforce.com, has released My Account, extending the benefits of the Salesforce Customer Portal.

FinancialForce Accounting users can turn to My Account to securely publish billing and payment activity for internal use for Salesforce Customer Portal customers. Businesses using My Account can provide their customers with financial self-service with access to their invoices 24 hours a day. Customers can view outstanding invoices, purchasing history, payment status, and download invoices electronically.

My Account addresses the following common problems in customer-supplier relationships, including:

• providing a common location for suppliers and customers to cooperatively resolve payment issues;
• clarifying which invoices are due for payment;
• eliminating the typical back-and-forth activities related to lost invoices and other invoice history requests;
• enabling customers to elect to be notified when new invoices have been posted to the portal, keeping them informed and encouraging prompt payment; and
• improving days sales outstanding (DSO) and cash flow while  reducing service costs and time spent dealing with payment disputes.

“We see huge benefit in improving synergy and collaboration between the accounting, service and sales functions,” Jeremy Roche, CEO of FinancialForce.com, said in a statement. “We believe CRM should incorporate all aspects of a business relationship, including the financial relationship. My Account extends the financial and receivables views we currently provide to Salesforce CRM users to their customers. This leads to a more holistic and seamless service experience for the customer.”

Jeffrey Kaplan, managing director of THINKstrategies, confirms that information published within My Account is accessible by authorized users only. “It is my understanding that FinancialForce is relying on the same encryption algorithms that underly Salesforce.com’s solutions to permit a secure connection between the two apps,” he says.

Kaplan also says My Account will reduce the number of lost invoices by “provid[ing] better archival and tracking capabilities” for businesses while also allowing “greater integration and better visibility across the billing/payment process."

“We are saving time through automated invoice processing with FinancialForce Accounting, and the self-service portal is a great add-on,”  Tracy Howard, controller at Wi-Fi Alliance, said in a statement. “As a membership organization it is important that we are clear and transparent in all our financial transactions. We are an early adopter of My Account, and it’s apparent that it will help us provide members with account status updates and encourage quicker payment of invoices. The portal provides the same intuitive user experience we have come to expect from FinancialForce.com.”