Mention moving to the cloud and someone is bound to ask, “How do we do that?” The answer is that it’s really simple. All you need is connectivity, and all you have to do is replace your existing system with a business-application cloud service.

This will mean that you have decided to end the life of your existing application and instead receive your payroll and HR software from a new provider. That provider will manage the migration of all your data to the cloud and will manage the application’s security, availability, and performance, as well as address any problems and changes in the underlying software and hardware the application depends upon. It’s that easy.

Charles Pittaway, MD of Netcash, says that the biggest benefit of moving to a reputable cloud service is that business owners get access to a safe online system with competitive transaction fees. “SMEs can exercise control over their money and only pay for services used. The get secure online access to debit order collections, salary and creditor payments, credit card gateway and a range of credit and risk management services from one account. Overheads are reduced as there are no hardware costs, no costs for additional resources, and no costs for managing several different accounts.”

High security

The integration of a variety of security services provides customers with a single secure payroll system, directly from the payroll software. Security services include identity number validation and verification services, bank account validation and verification services, credit checks and secure salary EFT payments.

Bank account validation and verification ensures that a valid bank account has been entered into the payroll system and that it is in the name of the employee specified on the payroll. This eliminates one of the most critical areas of payment fraud which occurs when an employee’s salary is paid into the fake or erroneous bank account of another individual. In addition, the solution validates employee banking details with major banks including Absa, African Bank, Capitec, First National Bank, Mercantile, Nedbank and Standard Bank.

“Businesses want simple, cost-effective and efficient debit order, salary and creditor payments and credit and risk management services,” says Pittaway. “As a business owner your cash flow and your relationship with your customers and creditors are the two most important aspects of your business. Cloud solutions ensure that all transactions are processed securely, accurately and on time each and every time.”

Many cloud application service providers enable users to register for an account online. That means there are no lengthy approval times to open a merchant account and implementation of the service can be done in a matter of hours. With Netcash, the service agreement has no fixed timeframe which allows you the flexibility to discontinue the services at any time.

The benefits

Moving your payroll to the cloud allows your business to reap the many benefits of software as a service (SaaS):

Innovation

You always use the latest release of the software, so the business has continuous innovation in user experience, workflows and capabilities.

Reduced costs

Cloud solutions can easily and quickly be deployed to solve immediate business needs.

Risk Mitigation

SaaS providers typically excel in security measures, including access controls, backup and recovery, and other potential vulnerability points.

Control

With SaaS, the business gets full control over process timing (data entry, audits, check runs, quality checks, adjustments), which is not guaranteed when the payroll is managed in-house or outsourced. You also get anytime access to data, analytics and reporting, and the assurance that the software always includes the most recent changes in legislation.

Scalability

Cloud-based payroll solutions make it easy for businesses of any size to dynamically scale operations as and when they need to.

The stats

• Cloud-based solutions are implemented on average 82% faster than on-premises solutions.
• They require only 22% of the resources in ongoing staff compared to on-premises shops, freeing up members of the payroll team to focus on more strategic initiatives.

The post Cloud based Payroll – Join the cloud appeared first on Netcash.

That’s according to Donovan Marais, Channel Manager at Netcasg who says that there is a proposal of tough new rules from PASA which aims to clamp down on debit order fraud.  It also puts small business owners under pressure to improve and intensify their management of debit orders.

Unauthorised Debit Orders

“Debit order fraud and abuse of the system has become a major issue in South Africa ever since smaller companies have been permitted to use debit order services to collect payments from their customers,” says Marais. “Often, fraud takes the form of a dishonest company debiting a small, unauthorised amount of between R50 to R100 from a customer’s account. The rationale is that the customer won’t notice and if he does; it’s easy enough to reverse the charge without the customer taking the matter further.”

Under the new PASA regulations, a steep penalty of R1000 will be imposed for each unauthorised debit order, targeting companies that make deductions without explicit customer consent. What’s more, companies that are possibly unethical in this regard may be stopped from processing debit orders after a certain number of complaints from consumers. Aside from these penalties; taking money from a customer’s account without permission can damage a company’s reputation and relationships with its clients.

What this means is that SME’s must be transparent and ethical when they ask consumers to sign debit order mandates, says Marais. They must ensure that the account holder and not a child or spouse, has given clear permission for the debit order to be processed each month.

They should also ensure that the account they are deducting money from actually belongs to the right customer. One way to do this is through the bank account verification service. “Debit orders are a useful tool for SMEs, because they can help ensure timely payment of customer accounts, improving cash flow” says Marais. “But it’s important to be aware of the risks associated with debit orders.  We support PASA’s efforts to curb debit order abuse and are working closely with our clients to protect their consumers.”

Sage Online Payment Systems

Marais says that payment solutions such as Netcash can help merchants to better manage the risks associated with debit orders. Netcash allows merchants to capture details for recurring and non-recurring debit orders directly on a secure website.

Netcash also allows for the capturing of debit order mandates on paper or voice recording form, making it easy to store and access for future reference. The system also provides comprehensive reports and statistical data; allowing businesses to analyse the efficiency of payments and take timeous action against defaulting clients.

“Companies should also take the necessary steps to manage risk when setting up scheduled payments to pay salaries and suppliers”, says Marais.  “For example, the bank account verification service can assist and ensure that you’re paying the salary into the right employee’s bank account.”

Bank Account Verification Service to Prevent Debit Order Fraud

• It can be a useful way of preventing various forms of payroll fraud or to guard against human error by accidentally paying monies to the wrong account.
• In cases where people or businesses have paid the wrong person by accident, they often face a long struggle to get their money back.

In the recent high court application of Mochudi vs Mothupi, a Free State worker refused to return more than R500 000.00 which was paid into his bank account in error. The verdict is still to be decided as to whether he will have to pay back the money. “Would you rather write off R5.00 to ensure the correct person is being paid or R500 000.00 because you never verified the account holders details beforehand?” asks Marais.

“Consumers and businesses should scrutinise their bank statements and accounts carefully each month to make sure they have approved the debit order deductions on their account. Everyone has  40 days to dispute any unauthorised transaction on their bank accounts, after which you will need to obtain a court order to affect the same”, he explains.

Says Marais: “Debit orders are a safe, cheap and convenient way of collecting money and it can really boost cash flow significantly, but small merchants must educate themselves about the risks. And remember many of your customers may not be happy to pay by debit order. Be sure to offer card facilities, EFTs and other payment mechanisms to accommodate them.”

Safeguard your business transactions with Netcash’s secure payment gateway, ensuring compliance with all PASA regulations.

The post What you need to know about debit order fraud and the latest PASA regulations appeared first on Netcash.

It’s fair enough then that, on some days, you may wish there was more than one of you on your team. Duplicating yourself would help you get to things quicker and get them done more efficiently. The good news is that, in this day and age, you don’t necessarily have to clone yourself to optimise on work productivity.

Advances in modern technology are enabling the automation of many financial processes. This doesn’t mean that innovative technologies are going to put financial managers out of their jobs soon. What it does mean is that, by automating the more mundane aspects of your role, like data capturing, manual invoicing, chasing up payments, and the reconciliation of payment-related information, you should be freed up to focus on the more strategic side of your financial management responsibilities.

How Debit Orders Save Time:

Being in a cash-flow limbo is never ideal for business. According to the authors of the best-selling book, Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t, SMEs ideally need to get to the point in their cash conversion cycle, where they are bringing in more revenue than they are paying out. This is especially true for businesses that want to scale up.

One way to accelerate cash flow within a business is to automate processes like debit order collections, payments and invoicing.

• Automating debit order collections improves debit collection rates. Ideally, the software you use should also enable you to access your online collection records for easier data analysis and reporting. This way, debit orders save time.
• When it comes to automating customer payments, existing products allow you to receive payments from clients through bank EFTs, credit cards or direct cash payments. By providing customers with multiple, safe and easy payment options, they have fewer excuses for not paying you on time.
• Gone are the days of manual invoicing systems. These are both time-consuming and inefficient when compared to newer technologies. Automated customer invoices are accessible to customers online, or by email or post. By providing customers with more than one option for receiving their invoices, and by automating the process, customers can receive their invoices sooner and have less of a proverbial leg to stand on should their payments be overdue.

The strategic side of financial processes automation

You should also be happy to learn that existing fintech further assists financial managers with automated risk reports, commercial and consumer credit checks, and the automatic reconciliation of payment-related information. With these functions taken care of, you are freed up to focus on improving cash flow, making wise investment decisions, correctly allocating financial resources and the likes.

The post Debit Orders Save Time appeared first on Netcash.

With just a few clicks, your customers can easily consent to electronic debit order mandates using Netcash’s streamlined online procedure.

Here are few of the top reasons why you’re going to love our e-mandates:

Our e-mandate is a cross-platform facility

• Your Netcash electronic debit order mandates work on any web-enabled device, which means your customer can authorise from whichever device is most convenient to them including PC, tablet or smartphone.

E-mandates are highly customisable

• Each Electronic Mandate can be customised with terms and additional clauses specific to your business needs whilst remaining compliant.

Our e-mandates are compliant

• Our E-Mandate service adheres strictly to banking specifications, ensuring full compliance and security. Bank Account Verification ensures that the bank account details belong to the account holder. The personal details are recorded and verified by One Time Pins (OTP’s) to ensure authentication. You can also print a copy of the Electronic Mandate at any time should you need to produce it.

E-mandates are convenient

• Once your client electronically accepts a mandate, you can choose to automatically add their details to your debit order Masterfile. This means you don’t have to recapture the client details to your Masterfile every time!

In addition to the above, this will save time and money while the task and transition are easy and secure!

Enable e-mandates in 5 easy steps:

1. Click on Services > Debit orders > Manage debit orders > Electronic mandates.
2. Click on Add mandate.
3. Complete each container as you would when adding a Masterfile entry – note that it is not necessary to insert banking/credit card details as your client will complete this electronically.
4. Send the mandate to your client.
5. Once your client electronically accepts a mandate, you can choose to automatically add their details to your debit order Masterfile. This means you don’t have to recapture the client details to your Masterfile every time!

The post Electronic Mandates are now available with Netcash debit order services appeared first on Netcash.

The Netcash technology allows Sage Pastel Payroll & HR users to verify employees’ ID numbers and bank account details, pay salaries online, perform credit checks on employees, all from within the interface of their payroll and human resources software.

Says Netcash managing director Charles Pittaway: “This technology allows SME companies to easily extend the power of their desktop payroll with a range of online solutions that save them time and money.”

“Even if you are not ready to move all of your software to the cloud, you can use our connected services to improve efficiency, reduce the risk of fraudulent or erroneous payments, and save on transaction costs. Netcash brings you integrated payment and risk management solutions directly from your payroll software at a click of a button.”

Netcash features and services for Sage Pastel Payroll & HR users include:

• ID Number Verification: Have the peace of mind that the ID number you have captured is associated with the correct employee as verified by the Department of Home Affairs.
• Bank Account Verifications: Netcash helps you eliminate payments being made to the incorrect employee by ensuring that the bank account is valid, open, active and belongs to the specific employee.
• Salary & Creditor Payments: You can process EFT salary and creditor payments straight from your online Netcash account or upload your file from your payroll software. No need to install additional banking software, no risk of exporting EFT files.
• Credit Data: A Netcash account gives you risk management services, including credit checks from multiple credit bureaus and CIPC, directly available in your payroll software.

“These services promise new levels of efficiency for SMEs who used to pay employees by logging into online banking and paying them individually. Now, you can safely do all your payroll transactions from within one easy to use interface,” Pittaway says. “This level of technology was once affordable only to large companies, but now it is within reach for nearly any business.”

Unlike equivalent services and products designed for larger companies, Netcash does not require the installation and configuration of any special software. That means you do not need to call an expert from the bank in to get up-and-running with Netcash. All Sage Pastel Payroll & HR software users have a Netcash account ready for activation, with no account setup fee. They will also enjoy a 90 day trial with no monthly module fees to pay and low transaction fees for certain transactions.

The post Netcash integration brings the benefits of connected services to Sage Pastel Payroll & HR clients appeared first on Netcash.

Anzole Farming, a group of small businesses run from Tzaneen in Limpopo, South Africa, has streamlined its payments, accounting and payroll processes by replacing its old business system with Sage One and Netcash. Tight integration between Netcash, Sage One Accounting and Sage One Payroll (better known as the Integrated Sage Solution) is enabling Anzole Farming to reduce its costs while improving efficiency.

Anzole Farming includes a number of businesses such as a farming business, transport business (Masterloads Transport), and a nursery in Pretoria (Toits Wholesale) and Tzaneen (Masterplants). Rachelle van Heerden, the accountant for the group of companies, says that with so many books to balance and so little time, she needs a business solution that saves her time and enables her to be productive.

Before the implementation of the Integrated Sage Solution, managing creditors was Van Heerden’s single biggest headache. Previously she had to print out the creditors list from the bank, search for each account in the banking app, and then re-enter the amount she had to pay. Not only was this time consuming, but it also left room for error. Now, she can simply export payments from Sage One Accounting and Sage One Payroll to pay creditors and employees with a couple of clicks.

In addition, the cost per transactions was also high. Before switching to Netcash, Anzole Farming was paying up to R287 a month and R8.50 per transaction for each creditor payment. With Netcash, the group pays a R40 monthly fee and R3 per transaction. This amounts to a cost-saving of R10,000 a year across the group.

Anzole Farming is also benefitting from automating management of its payroll with an integrated Sage One Payroll and Sage One Accounting solution – no more disordered Excel spreadsheets to keep track of salaries and leave, and no more copying and pasting data from the accounting system to a spreadsheet and vice versa.

Another benefit is that Van Heerden and Anzole Farming owner Thys du Toit no longer need to make regular trips to the Nursery in Pretoria to check the books and collect backups. The Sage One cloud solution allows her and her external accountant to log on from wherever they are to check the latest transactions and financial trends across all of the businesses.

“It means that I can be based in Timbuktu and log in to my business in South Sudan. I love all the Sage offerings that I currently work with,” says Van Heerden. “It’s the integration of all the products that makes the accounting process much less time consuming. And time is money.”

Says Anton van Heerden, EVP and Managing Director, Sage South and Southern Africa: “As the global market leader of integrated accounting, payroll and payment systems, we take great pride in being an indispensable business partner to small businesses like the Anzole group. Entrepreneurs are the drivers of prosperity and it’s our privilege and honour to serve them.”

The post Integrated Sage Solution helps Anzole Farming appeared first on Netcash.

PropWorx is a Property and Accounting Management System, that provides a host of management tools to assist Estate Agents, Rental Managers, Property Portfolios Managers and other businesses in the Property industry, to manage their businesses better.

They offer services and solutions such as Credit Checks, Listing of Properties, Payments, Tenant Statements, all hosted from one seamless system.  PropWorx improves efficiency and reduces the unnecessary workload associated with the management of sales and rental portfolios.

After starting the use of our Supplier Payments System, they have been getting some really great PropWorx Client Reviews!

Silvana A Pereira, Managing Director of PropWorx was concerned about the security associated with processing payments for their clients.  “We were worried about our customers leaving the Propworx system, and going onto a different platform to process payments.  We chatted to Netcash and together we integrated the PropWorx system directly with Netcash”.  The system now manages the payments process, from creating a payment, to actually loading it on to Netcash, directly from PropWorx.

The Netcash integration into Propworx means that the client can now verify and validate bank account owners all in one system.  “Everything from the verification of the account, to the payment of that account, is done directly from the Propworx system, so everything is managed in a safe and secure environment”, adds Silvana.

Silvana says, “The PropWorx integration with Netcash made perfect sense to us.  They are just as passionate about payment solutions as we are about Property and trust management. We found that the integration with Netcash was simple, and our clients are simply loving it”.

In closing, Silvana adds: “We recommend that all our Propworx clients make use of the Netcash system.  It just makes so much sense to manage the full payment process in one system, and to make use of a reliable payment solution such as Netcash”.

The post PropWorx Client Reviews appeared first on Netcash.

Innovative payment solutions provider Netcash is an alternative to expensive, bureaucratic bank procedures for small and medium enterprises, offering more flexible services and improved cash flow.

“For small and medium companies like mine, traditional systems for processing debit orders are old-fashioned, clumsy and very expensive,” says Atholl Fleming, part-owner and FD of Witbank security company Secure Access. “As a growing company our cash flows are very tight; we need to get client payments in promptly and effectively so we can meet our payroll and other financial commitments every month.”

Fleming began using Netcash services in 2004 after getting frustrated with his existing debit order provider. “The whole system was archaic,” he says. “It was all offline and we could only use one terminal to capture all our debit orders. That was okay when we were just starting out, but it became a major problem as we grew.

In addition, says Fleming, “The quality of the information we got back was very poor. If a debit order was rejected for lack of funds or if the customer had given the wrong account number, they couldn’t tell us where the problem was. “We’d have to do a manual search through the entire batch to find the problem. With Netcash, we can find and fix it quickly.”

Fleming and his staff have flexible access via the Internet to their account. “I have six or seven people who have access to the database, and I can check things from home or while I’m travelling.”

“For the first time in years my family could go away for a weekend at month end because I didn’t have to be in the office to check on things.” It is now also much easier for Secure Access staff to isolate and follow up on rejected debit orders. “The speed and efficiency of our debtors collection has improved markedly, and our month-end planning is much better,” says Fleming. “We’re also probably paying around R3,000 less than we would be paying our old service provider.”

Fleming notes as another advantage that Netcash retains a portion of each debit order run as a surety, rather than asking for upfront sureties. “I wasn’t so keen in the beginning because they held higher sureties than the previous service provider, but in hindsight it’s been to my advantage. I’ve never had to pay in any extra money to cover unpaid debit orders.”

With just over 2,300 debit orders per month to process, Fleming says Netcash has offered Secure Access much greater efficiency, ease of use, ease of access and cost effectiveness than any alternative solution. “They also offer more than just debit orders,” he says. “We pay our creditors through Netcash, and we use their credit card processing facilities as well.”

“Normally it costs about R800 a month just to rent a credit card machine for doing online transactions, and then there are transaction fees and commissions on top of that,” Fleming notes. “Netcash has a simple system which works very well for the few credit card transactions we need to do, and it costs much less.”

“My church and our homeowner’s association also now process payments through Netcash,” adds Fleming. “Between them they process a few hundred debit orders at the end of every month, and it takes about an hour. Doing that through a traditional bank would be a huge mission.

The post Secure Access appeared first on Netcash.

There are plenty of consultants out there who will give you exactly the opposite advice about customer service today. 20% of your customers account for 80% of your revenue, they will say. Treat that 20% like gold: offer them special deals, ask their opinions, remember their birthdays and pamper them with golf days. The other 80%? Do as little as you can get away with and hope they go away.

This is not really an exaggeration. Here’s a professor of management at Rice University in the US, approvingly describing what happens at a large bank: “Though customer satisfaction is important, the goal is to increase customer and corporate profitability… First Union estimates that its ‘Einstein’ system will add at least $100 million to its annual revenue. About half of that will come from extra fees and other revenue from unprofitable customers, while the rest will flow from pampering preferred customers who might otherwise leave the bank.” The rich pay less, and the rest pay more, in other words.

I suspect most people reading this article have experienced being on the wrong end of this calculation. Whether it’s a bank, a cellphone company or a restaurant, we’ve all been overlooked in favour of someone with a bigger (apparent) bank balance. “We’re only interested in your money,” these businesses are telling us. “The more money you have to give us, the more attention we will pay you.”

This is not a classy way to treat people. Even worse, it’s not good business. Customer X may not be worth much today, but you have no idea who her friends and family are. She could be the one who refers your biggest client of the year. And then again, where might Customer X herself be in five year’s time? And when she finally makes that big deal, who is she going to take her business to – the people who saw her potential from the start, or the ones who only started paying attention when she had cash?

At First Union Bank, customer profiles are flagged red, yellow or green so service representatives know how well to treat them. At Netcash, we’ve made sure our service staff have no way of telling how big a client is – we want every client to be the most important one we have.
I’m with the gallery owner. If you care even the slightest bit about serving your customers well, you will treat every one with exactly the same care and respect. It shouldn’t matter how much money they’re worth to you today.

The post The Secret to great customer service appeared first on Netcash.

Herman Blackie, co-owner and sales director of the health club chain Zone Fitness Clubs, credits payment service provider Netcash with making the financial management of his nine clubs more efficient and improving cash flow.

“We process thousands of debit orders every month” says Blackie. “Our previous payment provider was completely inflexible and we had to do a lot of manual changes to each month’s debit order run. We could manage in the early days, but once we’d opened our fourth club it became impossible. We needed an efficient, automated solution that offered good reporting.”

Managing debit orders and payments online through Netcash has made life much easier, says accounts manager Abby De Lillie. “With our previous provider it was impossible to verify account details before we did a debit order run, and we’d get a lot of rejected transactions,” says De Lille. “Now I do a quick verification run and within a couple of minutes I have detailed information of every account that’s rejected, so we can easily check and correct details in time for the real debit order run. We also get much better reporting on unpaid accounts, which we can feed directly into our club management system so that we can send prompt reminders.”

Blackie confirms that Netcash’s ease and transparency has made administration much easier. “We just couldn’t have done it the old way with nine clubs, it would have been far too labour-intensive.”

More importantly, says Blackie, “I have a great relationship of trust with Netcash. The corporate world is littered with white collar crime and there are no guarantees, so you need a service provider with a good track record. Netcash handles R3.5 million a month of our money, securely and efficiently. They’re also extremely accommodating and helpful – they never say no.”

Blackie says that although Netcash temporarily retains 10% of collections as security, “the banks typically want more, as well as having higher transaction costs.”

“You also can’t negotiate with banks,” he adds. “With Netcash it’s the people who actually own the business who are making the decisions, not managers who just follow the rules. It makes them much more flexible and easy to deal with.”

The post Zone Fitness Debit Order Collection appeared first on Netcash.