With skyrocketing prices, rising interest rates and an erratic stock market, today’s marketplace is best described as “volatile.” Operating in such an unstable market makes it a challenge for companies to create and nurture a successful sales program. That’s why we at NexTec Group consistently design and release new features for our CannaBusiness ERP and FoodBusiness ERP software solutions (as well as for any Sage X3 solution we configure and implement) that help our customers manage their sales programs effectively.
A perfect example is our newest feature – royalty and rebate management software – that enables companies to set up, calculate and pay rebates and royalties with ease. Below, we discuss the feature’s details and its many benefits. We’ll also explain what a modern, comprehensive ERP solution is and how it helps alleviate the problems brought on by manually managing rebate and royalty processes.
Issues with Manual Rebate and Royalty Management Processes
An ERP solution integrates disparate business applications and gathers company-wide data into its centralized database. It supplies companies with accurate, real-time information that helps them make strategic, business-building decisions. An ERP solution also automates companies’ complex business processes.
Implementing an automated business management solution clearly benefits companies, but many still continue to rely on separate—often aging—software solutions and manual-based processes. This continuing reliance on antiquated and inefficient systems means these companies are managing their rebate and royalty programs with spreadsheets and manual data entry. Unfortunately, these processes produce concerning results.
For example, human errors during data entry are common, and these errors may or may not be caught and fixed in a timely manner. Manual procedures also reduce visibility into customer-specific sales programs for companies’ finance, purchasing and sales teams, inhibiting their ability to forecast for the future.
But that’s not all. Spreadsheets and manual data entry may also induce:
- A lack of cash flow data.
- Disagreements with suppliers.
- Incorrect margin calculations.
And because the manually managed rebate and royalty information is not captured by a company’s business management software, complying with regulatory and audit requirements becomes a monumental task.
Streamlining an Effective Rebate and Royalty Program with ERP Software
At NexTec, our R&D team is continuously working on new software releases for our unique ERP solutions, and our amazing development team’s goal is ensuring that each release is filled with enhancements that address changing industry standards as well as exceed our customers’ evolving expectations. They met their goal with our rebate and royalty management features, which enable companies to streamline their rebate and royalty programs.
So, how exactly does our new feature assist cannabis, food and other businesses in making their rebate and royalty programs more efficient and effective? Let’s take a look.
Royalties
When a business sells a certain product or products, they may pay royalties due to trademarks, ownership, branding, licensing (and more) requirements. Tracking and processing multiple royalty payments accurately is a critical factor in creating a successful royalty program.
With NexTec’s new feature, our customers have an integrated fulfillment process within a flexible framework. They can manage the process from an accounting perspective as well as all supplier or licensor reimbursements. Users can easily pay an external party based on sales, and depending on how the business sets up the royalty program, they can pay via a fixed price per unit or a percentage based on gross or net price.
Users also have the ability to track royalties throughout the sales, delivery and invoice process and to define the payment periods (e.g., monthly, quarterly, etc.).
Rebates
Rebates are offered by suppliers to attract and retain distributors. The rebate is a portion of the purchase price returned to the buyer if the buyer agrees to buy a specified amount of product.
NexTec’s rebate management software is fully integrated with our fulfillment and accounting modules. This means that users have complete control over their General Ledger account and dimensions used to track their sales program. They also have access to real-time information (including rebate information that applies to sales lines, program status and calculated benefits) and deep insight into program results, which can be viewed graphically or numerically.
Benefits of Royalties and Rebate Management Software
Clearly, streamlining a rebate and royalty program with NexTec’s new feature supplies companies with a number of incredible benefits, but there are more, including allowing users to:
- Determine how rebates and royalties are calculated and paid out.
- Set the program’s start and end dates.
- Calculate the benefit as a set amount or a percentage of the price.
- Choose if a rebate is removed directly from the invoice and whether or not the rebate is accrued.
- Apply a rebate to all customers and products or enter specific criteria that must be met for a rebate to apply.
- See the rebates that apply to a sales line in real-time.
- View the current status of a program and its calculated benefits.
- Monitor which transactions generate a rebate.
- Analyze a sales program and display the results as a graph.
- Print a rebate statement.
With benefits such as these, companies have a strong incentive to research, select and implement a purpose-built ERP solution that can automate their complex business management needs. One company that did just that is FIGR™, a cannabis enterprise located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
FIGR needed a new ERP solution when it was bought by Prince Edward Island locals, and it needed a new solution fast. So, the FIGR team turned to NexTec for help.
“First and foremost, we were looking for a complete, robust ERP solution with a strong reputation and capabilities spanning manufacturing, distribution, inventory control and core accounting,” says FIGR CEO Kyle Smith. “We could then build on this platform to incorporate cannabis industry specific capabilities.”
When our experts showcased the features and functionality of CannaBusiness ERP, which is built in Sage X3 and configured by our experts, the FIGR team knew it was the right ERP solution for them. After going live in just 17 weeks with no downtime, they were able to reduce their manual workflows and reliance on spreadsheets while also increasing their user adoption rates, their forward-and-backward traceability capabilities and their compliance timeframes.
Says Smith, “It simply wouldn’t be possible to remain in compliance if we had to gather the regulatory information manually. When we were smaller, we could do it in spreadsheets, but we’ve grown, and we need software that can produce those reports for us automatically.”
Growing with NexTec’s Innovative ERP Solutions and Updated Features
With NexTec’s innovative software releases, the FIGR team eradicated their spreadsheets and automated their workflows, boosting productivity, competitiveness and its bottom line in the process. FIGR’s story highlights how an ERP solution with continually enhanced features empowers companies to succeed today and in the future.
“We’ve got the right application in place with CannaBusiness ERP and the right technology partner to keep us going and growing,“
– Kyle Smith, FIGR CEO
To learn more about our new rebate and royalty feature and how our powerful ERP solutions can help organizations in every industry succeed, contact our experts today. We’d love to chat.