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October 25, 2021

At FinancialForce, Next Gen SaaS Erases Front Office-Back Office Divide



How FinancialForce Is Eliminating SaaS (News - Alert) Silos For Better Service



It’s a common struggle for businesses across various sectors: narrow roles and lack of communication create information silos between departments. Teams struggle to collaborate across these divides and these barriers have negative ramifications for the organization, especially when it comes to areas like troubleshooting and customer service – but the problem doesn’t end there.

In addition to the basic divisions between teams, many companies struggle with a much greater separation between the front and back office, essentially between the staff that work directly with clients and those who handle administrative functions.

While neither team is inherently more important and they must work in concert in order for the company to be successful, few organizations actually equip these teams with compatible tools. The result is visible in poorer customer service, lack of understanding of each other’s perspective, and even animosity between teams. Luckily, new tools are poised to address this problem.

Demanding More

One reason that front office and back office staff often rely on incompatible tools is that, with the rise of SaaS tools, organizations have access to a much wider array of programs, and it’s easier to experiment with different options until they find the right fit. In theory, this is great news because it improves functionality and can allow businesses to demand more from software companies if they’re going to earn an organization’s loyalty. At the same time, however, it also encourages fragmentation as teams leave behind unsuitable programs and choose alternative tools that may not be compatible with those used by other teams.

In large business, where interoperability is more likely to be prioritized and overseen by a central IT department, different teams are more likely to use compatible programs, but they also tend to have larger budgets that allow them to choose high-end tools with increased cross-functionality. They can both demand more and pay more in the name of performance. Smaller companies, on the other hand, have to be more selective, which is why it’s big news when a mainstream brand that’s popular across industries launches a high-value tool designed to link departments.

FinancialForce Bridges The Divide

SalesForce is one of the biggest names in SaaS today, known for offering a wide variety of digital business tools as well as for its interoperability with software made by other companies. Now, with the introduction of FinancialForce, a native SalesForce tool, team members in both front and back office roles are able to see important customer financial data in context, while linking that information to accounting. It’s a game changer in business communications and customer service.

Why has SalesForce taken the lead in developing this type of connected financial services tool? With years of commitment to business and customer service, SalesForce understands its client base and, due to its existing software portfolio, it can clearly see where there are gaps in the market. By developing a tool designed to merge front and back office interactions, SalesForce has demonstrated not only its commitment to serving its customers, but to helping its client businesses serve theirs.

Seeing The Difference

Obviously, if you’re not already a SalesForce user, but instead rely on another platform for major operations, the promise of a native financial tool may not be very appealing – and if that sounds like your business, you’re not alone. So, what would it take to sell you on the platform? It may help to know that this September, the SaaS Awards named FinancialForce Best Product in the Business Accounting or Finance category. When the award was announced, judge Christopher Southall specifically pointed to the platform’s grasp of complex legacy accounting tools as one reason why the program had earned top billing.

If your business is tethered to a legacy financial tool, FinancialForce could be exactly what you need to move forward. These older platforms are infamous for their security vulnerabilities, lack of interoperability, and substandard UX, which limits who can be recruited to use them, as well as their accuracy and value to your company. Modern SaaS tools, on the other hand, are much more reliable, improve your organization’s recruiting prospects, and ultimately drive customer loyalty.

Connection Is Key

Given the somewhat niche nature of financial tools, some businesses may not understand why it’s so important to emphasize a connection between the front and back office teams in this area. Do customers really benefit from such a shift?

Customers don’t just benefit from stronger connections between front and back office teams, but they demand such collaboration. When customers have to wait to get the help they need, whether that’s a long lag in connecting with an initial agent or being placed on hold while a front office team members scurries around in an attempt to obtain information from a back office representative, you’re testing their loyalty – and the outcome is rarely favorable. Long wait times when trying to resolve a problem is a leading cause of customer dissatisfaction, and it can cost your business.

A Better Back Office

Though we’ve emphasized the importance of FinancialForce’s connectivity for front office performance, the platform offers high-value features for the back office, as well. In particular, by generating better reports and analytics informed by the improved customer lifecycle experience (CLX) hub, FinancialForce is able to provide the insights even multinational corporations need to navigate the marketplace. The bigger a business is, the harder it is to see the big picture through the piles of data, but FinancialForce organizes that information into meaningful reports.

For as long as front office and back office teams are divided and departmental silos keep teams from sharing important information, businesses will struggle to support their customers, but you no longer have to accept tools that emphasize that divide rather than addressing it.

Instead, with the benefit of new tools that are informed by real users and a deep knowledge of the SaaS marketplace, FinancialForce offers a way to correct course. If you’re a SaleForce user or have ever considered investing in this type of enterprise technology, now is the time to evaluate your technology portfolio. Is it holding you back, or pushing you into a new digital future, free of cumbersome legacy tech?



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