There is nothing more comforting than watching Mister Rogers don his trademark sweater. As a someone who calls Pennsylvania home, the statue of his likeness in Pittsburgh is a reminder of more simple times. 30 years ago, “‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ showed how people made crayons. Today, crayon-making is a robot’s job.”

TLDR Version:

• Automation is here and changing businesses: Crayola
• There will be disruption and displacement
• Companies that get this right will create value for their customers
• New use cases for automation are emerging: hiring and brand experience

Topics: billing, operations, automation, change management

In the last episode, we covered everything you’d want to know about collections. This episode we covered the ins and outs of Bookings, Billings, and Revenue. BBR, not Pabst Blue Ribbon PBR, but BBR, Bookings, Billings, and Revenue.

Topics: Podcast, billing, operations, SaaS, Insider, collections

The technology stack you choose not only supports growth, it shapes it.

Software is such a integral part of the modern work environment that it impacts all areas of your business, from how you do things, to who you hire.

TLDR Version:

• Companies are at risk if they don’t adapt to customer desire for flexibility
• Playing it safe on productivity software can inhibit growth
• Safety means paying for enterprise-software salespeople’s boats
• Smart companies are reevaluating legacy software
• Modern approaches lead to better outcomes.

Topics: SaaS, Software, operations, Pricing

In episode 2, we covered the ins and outs of collections in the context of running and growing a business. Jason went deep on how to get paid or more precisely, collections....

Topics: Podcast, billing, operations, SaaS, Insider, collections

The one-thing we’ve learned from the the Walking Dead or Evil Dead, is that the tried and true method of eliminating zombies is to destroy the brain. In business, we can’t be constantly destroying our organization’s central nervous system and that’s why digital transformation is tough. That said, you can design your organization’s brain to effectively adapt to rewiring with a sound API strategy.

Topics: billing, SaaS, operations, API, Documentation, SOA

Price simplicity was once considered paramount to a successful SaaS pricing strategy. The advice was formulaic—establish a value metric, assemble a “good, better, best” tiered plan structure, provide people monthly and annual billing options, and you were off to the races.

“The pain point that every single B2B company shares is pricing.” – https://frontapp.com/blog/2017/02/13/how-we-de-risked-our-saas-pricing-strategy/

Things have changed. Oversimplification of your pricing model may cause your company to leave money on the table. This is because fast-growing businesses, regardless of size, often find they must serve different user types, each with their own willingness to pay, in order to grow.

Topics: SaaS, Pricing, operations, billing

We invite you to listen to our new Pain in the GAAP podcast. Each month we’ll spend 5-10 minutes covering a new topic we wished we knew when building finance and operations teams at growing companies. We'll discuss various finance and accounting topics, such as rev rec, A/R, A/P, FP&A, monthly closing, Excel tips, and other general topics.

Topics: Podcast, billing, transactions, SaaS

The first 24 months of a startup lay the foundation for its future success. Young companies redesign the wheel, disrupt an industry, or identify a way to plan an ICO to raise funds off cyrpto-tailwinds. These grand plans don’t need to be bogged down by also reinventing business operations and controls.

Prior to my time at Ordway, I built a checklist of controls, used with my companies, that I feel every startup needs to accomplish during their first two years of operation.

Topics: operations, billing, recurring revenue, SaaS

It was straightforward to do revenue calculations when we had 5 customers.

Growing companies oftentimes build manual processes by utilizing Microsoft Excel or Google sheets spreadsheets because it is the easiest, most affordable process to implement at the time.

Topics: SaaS, billing, recurring revenue

WASHINGTON, DC — June 20, 2018 — Ordway, a billing and revenue automation platform for growing companies, today announced that Lerer Hippeau, Founder Collective, Middleland Capital, and Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund are investing $2.5 million in the company to scale its operations. Led by Sameer Gulati, a SaaS veteran at the epicenter of billing and ERP systems’ evolution for the past 18 years, Ordway is transforming how organizations can more efficiently handle billing for their most complex customers. 

Topics: SaaS, press release, billing, recurring revenue