Billing Service Design & Journey Map

Research Summary

The billing process is a complex and evolving challenge, involving 28 steps, 12 different actors, and 9 software systems. This process is exceedingly manual, convoluted, and time-consuming. Moreover, the constantly changing client needs further complicate the process, exponentially increasing the potential for errors.
Examining the ecosystem, we have identified several issues and opportunities. By visually heat mapping these issues and opportunities, we can pinpoint the steps in the process where the most friction occurs, as well as areas where unmet needs may present opportunities to elevate the client experience.
The distributed nature of accountability within the billing process, involving many different actors, makes it impossible for one person or one department to be solely responsible for timely and accurate invoices. Although the front office is ultimately held accountable, they do not have the tools or resources needed to oversee the entire process.
With more than 9 different software systems involved, most of the process, particularly the handoffs between actors, is handled via email, Excel, and PDF. The billing process also moves through or touches at least five BNY Mellon systems and two external client systems.
Clients generally feel neutral about our billing process; they rely on timely and accurate data to complete their own accounting audits and other operational transactions. If everything goes smoothly, it is expected. However, any mistakes or delays can quickly lead to client frustration or even anger.
By focusing on our clients' monthly invoicing journey, we have identified several internal issues that cause poor client experiences. Additionally, we have discovered multiple opportunities to enhance the client experience and create a significant differentiator for BNY Mellon.

The Personas

The distributed nature of accountability within the billing process, involving many different actors, makes it impossible for one person or one department to be solely responsible for timely and accurate invoices. Although the front office is ultimately held accountable, they do not have the tools or resources needed to oversee the entire process.

Revenue control processors are handling up to 400 to 500 invoices per month.
Anecdotally, revenue and billing services estimate that only about 2 out of every 10 setup requests have enough information to be completed.
Front office staff are spending up to 30% of their time on billing, when it should only be about 5%; this percentage is even higher in EMEA and APAC.
Late invoices cause inaccurate expense projections, resulting in risk for the client.
Complicated invoices are cumbersome and time-consuming for clients to review and process.

Due to breakdowns throughout the process, every actor is struggling to complete their tasks. They lack the correct inputs and visibility needed to complete their tasks accurately and efficiently.

Challenges

Complex and Unclear Fee Schedules: From the very beginning, complex and unclear fee schedules confuse the process. Fee schedule terminology does not match invoices, and the intricate fee structures combined with client customizations often result in ongoing monthly manual billing work.
Disconnect Between Account Opening/Closing and Billing Setup: During account setup, client data and instructions pass through many people and systems with multiple points of manual intervention. Additionally, many clients frequently open and close accounts, add or remove services, and periodically adjust fee schedules, leading to a continually evolving billing profile.
Growing Client Mistrust Due to Inaccurate Fee Data: Repeated inaccuracies or unclear fee data foster growing client mistrust. Poor data integrity, often caused by setup issues or manual fee calculations, leads to unidentifiable and frequently repeated invoicing errors. This mistrust is compounded by the lack of internal and external visibility into how fees are calculated.
Burden of Invoice and Fee Data Presentation: For both internal teams and external clients, the presentation of invoice and fee data in PDF or Excel formats is cumbersome and difficult to read, and not available in a consumable digital format, making it more of a burden than a benefit.
Client Questions Lost in Email: Client questions often disappear into the "black hole" of email, as they are frequently routed internally through several departments and individuals, resulting in lengthy wait times.
Accounts Receivable Headaches Due to Unmatched Payments: Unmatched payments create significant accounts receivable headaches. Incorrect setups and manual payment systems with poor remittance data lead to unmatched payments and invoices, ultimately creating avoidable aged receivables.

Oppurtunities

Fee Schedule Opportunities: Simplify and standardize the fee schedule to reduce client customizations and digitize the process.
Billing Setup Opportunities: Integrate people, processes, and technology throughout the new business, account opening, and billing setup phases. Ensure a single point of accountability and enable seamless movement of client data between systems.
Fee Data Opportunities: Automate and standardize fee data. Implement intelligent systems to automatically flag line items that are out of thresholds or complete reconciliations.
Invoice Presentation Opportunities: Create visibility into fee data through interactive online invoices. Transition to automated delivery of sophisticated analysis and insights, as well as streamlined client workflows through APIs.
Client Inquiry Opportunities: Allow clients direct access to billing and payment experts within a tracking system visible to all relevant parties.
Payment Opportunities: Enable clients to electronically submit payment instructions or advisements at a line-item level if needed.

Recommendations

Digital Access to Summary and Trending Fee Data:
- Provide clients with an online dashboard to view summary and trending fee data.
- Allow clients to customize and export their views.
Automate Reconciliations:
- Implement automated processes to facilitate hassle-free fee reconciliations.
- Utilize proactive threshold alerts to flag discrepancies early.
Invoice Tracking, Queries, and Approvals:
- Deliver invoices online with version control and tracking capabilities.
- Build in workflows to enable clients to route invoices through internal approvals seamlessly.
Improve Communication Flow for Account Management:
- Ensure accurate billing by collecting the correct information during account opening and closing.
- Facilitate proper notifications of opened and closed accounts to the billing team to maintain invoicing accuracy.
Strategic Tools & Forecasting:
- Provide clients with advanced tools to use historical fee data for forecasting current and future expenses.
- Enable clients to make strategic operational decisions regarding their business and partners using these insights.

These recommendations aim to enhance client satisfaction, streamline billing processes, and improve overall operational efficiency.

Invoice Processor Interviews (12 participants)

Conduct interviews with team members who receive and process invoices, review the quality assurance process, and gather feedback on existing processes and formats.

Management Interviews (8 directors)

Engage in open-ended discussions about the billing experience, understand its impact on the business, and learn how billing data is utilized in operations.

Journey Mapping Workshop (8 client workshops)

Facilitate workshops with expense teams to gather feedback on current processes and roles, document steps and procedures, and identify pain points and opportunities.