2018 June Board Notebook

Finance Department
Process Improvements for 2018-2019
Send Invoice to Bookkeeper
Identified Issue: We have noticed that school bookkeepers don’t always receive invoices from their sponsors. This results in the Beta
finance team having to reach out to bookkeepers for payment. From speaking with bookkeepers, we find that they never received an invoice
from the sponsor.
These instances happen almost exclusively when sponsors use a school PO to place an order.
For orders that are placed with a PO, the computer system generates an invoice and emails it to the main sponsor on file with the club.
This is the point where the breakdown occurs. The Sponsor should forward that invoice to the bookkeeper for payment, but often doesn’t,
believing that the transaction is complete.
Solution: We are going to incorporate two complementary solutions to this problem.
a. Solution 1: During the fall of 2018 we will begin to collect the email address of all bookkeepers associated with Beta Clubs. We
can then include those email address in the correspondence with sponsors concerning invoices and financial statements. Once this
has been implemented, when we send a statement or invoice to the sponsor, a copy will also be sent to the bookkeeper.
b. Solution 2: When the computer system sends an invoice to a sponsor, a pre-written message
accompanies the invoice in the email body.
a. The message currently reads “Please see attached invoice. If you have any questions about this invoice, please reply to
this email.”
b. I will change the message to read “Please see attached unpaid invoice. Please forward this invoice to your bookkeeper for
payment. Invoices created with a PO are not paid. Please forward this invoice to your bookkeeper even if you submitted a
PO to the Beta Club. If you have any questions, please reply to this email.”
This will instruct the sponsor to forward the invoice to the bookkeeper and concurrently sending a copy of the invoice to the bookkeeper (in
instances where we have the bookkeepers email address). This process will be very beneficial in streamlining the process.
Benefit: Reaching out to sponsors for payment on unpaid invoices is a time intensive process for the finance department. By making the
changes above and ensuring in that documents are sent to the correct individual in each school, we will be able to be more efficient in
collections and improve our cash flow process.