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From 1st January 2021, companies with a turnover of over Rs.100 Cr have to switch to E-Invoicing for all B2B transactions. It had already been mandated for Rs. 500Cr + turnover companies in October 2020 and is expected to be further rolled out to all B2B businesses, irrespective of size, during the next 12 to 18 months.

E-Invoicing makes Invoice reporting real-time, and not a post facto activity. It will help in curbing evasion and fictitious input credit claims. It also ensures standardization – a format that can be uniformly read and understood by all stakeholders involved in the transaction. While this new system may seem like an additional operation for businesses, in reality, it is a step towards simplifying the process.

Let us see how.

What is an E-Invoice?

First things first, an E-Invoice is not a virtual invoice. It is an invoice that is ‘reported’ or ‘registered’ on the GSTN’s Invoice Registration Portal before sending it to the buyer. The portal issues an Invoice Registration Number (IRN) and a QR code that needs to be printed on the invoice before it is sent to the buyer.

How is this useful for a business?

The IRN number is required for generating E-Way bills for those transactions involving the transportation of goods. Many details are already filled in making the process simpler.

E-Invoices save time and effort in GST return filing since the relevant data is already pre-populated at the time of filing, saving time and effort.

The details from the E-Invoice are also updated on the Buyer’s Inward Supply register ensuring no mismatch. This will help MSMEs who often suffer because buyers fail to acknowledge invoice receipt dates (sometimes willfully) and delay the process of payments.

How do I generate E-Invoices?

E-Invoicing can be done directly on the GSTN E-Invoicing portal using the tool provided there. However, this would be cumbersome and time-consuming if there are a large number of invoices involved. Also, this would not be suitable for companies already using billing or ERP software.

The more efficient (and simple way) is to use a GST recommended GSP (GST Suvidha Provider) like Vayana as your E-Invoicing partner to interface with the IRP. Vayana offers several solutions to help you make the transition to E-invoicing with minimal changes to your existing systems.

With Vayana’s Enriched API service you can continue using your existing billing system and Vayana takes care of the rest. The data is validated, encrypted and transmitted securely to the IRP, the IRN is collected and this is sent back to you in a ‘ready to print’ format that already includes the IRN and QR code.

Vayana also offers a lightweight Desktop application for businesses that generate a limited number of invoices. All one has to do is save invoices in a Dropbox-like folder. Vayana will pick them up and return them in a complete, printable form.

If you already use an ERP system or an ASP, Vayana offers Pass Through API services. Here your ASP must manage the data encryption, decryption, authentication and session directly.

Why should I choose Vayana an E-Invoicing partner?

1. Seamless Integration into your existing systems and direct generation of compliant invoices. Over 75% of SAP customers prefer Vayana as their GSP
2. Highly Available – we have served over 1 billion APIs with ZERO downtime since its inception.
3. Data Security – Best in class security across technology platforms & processes. Encrypted transmission, ISO 27001:2013 certified, PCI-DSS certified. We do not store taxpayer data.
4. Transparency – What you see is what you get. There are no hidden charges, no confusing bills. Objective and Competitive Pricing. Dashboard for performance tracking. Our system sends out automatic reminders to manage the workflow and ensure compliance is done on time
5. Handling Scale – We are India’s largest GSP. We handle over 2,00,000 SMEs from partner ASPs and served over 1 billion APIs with zero seconds of downtime

We would be delighted to share more detail with you. Please do write in at enquiry@vayana.com.

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Several large organizations today offer vendor financing to facilitate access to early payments for their suppliers. However, before taking it up, you must consider several nuances to ensure it is suitable for your business in the long term.

Let’s first understand what is Vendor Financing?
Vendor financing is a working capital facility that allows you to receive early payments against invoices raised to your buyer. Buyers partner with the top financial institutions to provide their suppliers with the best possible terms to access capital immediately upon completing the sale.

Unlike standalone financing, which is based purely on the strength of your balance sheet, vendor financing relies on the strength of the supply chain finance linkage and the underlying trade transaction to offer competitive financing terms.

Instead of waiting to receive payments at the end of the Buyer’s credit period, vendor financing helps convert receivables to cash that you can use to strengthen cash flows, buy additional inventory, or sustainably grow the business.

Benefits of Vendor Financing

Timely Access to Working Capital
Vendor financing offers timely access to funds that you can utilize effectively to ensure smooth business operations.

Competitive Terms of Financing
Since they are based on the supply chain linkage with the buyer, the rate of interest to access vendor financing is much more competitive in comparison to conventional working capital loans.

Seamless Disbursement Process
Buyer-led vendor financing programs with the right FinTech partners ensure that the entire disbursement process is frictionless. With end-to-end ERP integration with the buyers, sellers can access vendor financing at a single-click on the Vayana platform.

Minimal Documentation
Since financiers evaluate the partnership and due diligence at the buyer level, sellers can access Vendor Financing with minimal documentation. Most of these loans are unsecured financing, which means you can access funds without providing additional collateral.

Reduced Days Sales outstanding
With Vendor Financing, sellers can liquidate receivables immediately upon sale, reducing the day’s sales outstanding and risk of bad debts. Sellers can reinvest the cash earned from accelerated collections back into the business and set themselves up for growth.

There are also specific nuances that one must consider before proceeding with Vendor Financing.

Things to consider before taking up Vendor Financing

Buyer contribution to Turnover
Vendor Financing is linked to sales done to the buyer offering the facility. In case the percentage of sales done with the buyer is not significant, there might not be much value for you to gain from such a vendor financing facility.

Onboarding Processes
Additionally, several vendor financing programs might be tedious, requiring cumbersome paperwork for onboarding and transacting. Make sure to check if the program ensures hassle-free onboarding and transacting process to access funds periodically.

Is Vendor Financing right for your business?
Here are a few instances when you could consider taking up Vendor Financing programs offered by your buyer:

1. The buyer contributes to a significant portion of your sales.
2. You are falling short of working capital and could use early payments to bridge the gap.
3. The program offers affordable financing terms: rate of interest, processing fees, and other charges you need to pay to access the funds.
4. Accessing such funds is streamlined, straightforward, and does not require much of a transition from the existing invoice settlement process.
5. You are looking to strengthen the trade relationship with the buyer.
6. You retain control – you select which transactions need to be financed. You may not need it everytime
7. Will it be consistently available – is it a long-term arrangement
8. Is the buyer asking for a discount? Is it worth it?
9. Do you wish to strengthen your relationship with this buyer?

To conclude, vendor financing is an excellent approach to finance short-term fund requirements and keep the operations running. However, make sure to carefully assess the terms and conditions of the Vendor Financing program offered by the buyer to ensure it is aligned to the long-term interest of your business. 

The post My buyer is offering me vendor financing. Should I take it? appeared first on Vayana TradeXchange.

Since the beginning of the GST regime in 2017, there has been a dramatic shift in how India Inc. does business. Specifically, the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have gained a lot from GST. To put simply, as opposed to 17 levies such as excise, VAT, service tax, and various other cesses, SMEs now have to comply with a single tax. The relief from GST does not restrict to passing the bill in 2017. Since then, there has been ongoing work in this area to give relief to SMEs. Let us look at how GST, which is considered the most significant tax reform since Indian independence, has transformed the Indian business landscape over the past three years.

Provided a Major Tax Relief: Since the advent of GST, there has been a significant drop in effective tax rates. Reducing tax rates on numerous items has reduced the effective tax rate to 11.6% instead of 14.4% in the pre-GST era. Moreover, input tax credit (ITC) is available for almost all raw materials and services, reducing the effective tax outgo substantially. Furthermore, businesses can claim ITC irrespective of the location of the supplier of inputs. The input tax credit has encouraged many small businesses to register voluntarily for GST and become a part of the formal economy. GST has also reduced the cascading effect or ‘tax on tax’ caused by excise, VAT, and service tax. Earlier, suppose a good’s manufacturing cost was 150, and excise duty on raw materials was, say, 19. Because there was no way to claim the input tax credit, the seller would charge VAT on 169 to the end customer. This double taxation increased the end cost of the final product. Now, because the manufacturer can claim ITC on 19 (VAT), the end consumer has to pay tax only on 150. In August 2019, the GST council doubled the limit for exemption from payment of GST to Rs. 40 lakh from the earlier limit of Rs. 20 lakh. The new limit is a welcome change from the previous threshold limits of 5 lakhs (for VAT) and 10 lakhs (for service tax.) Businesses with a turnover of up to Rs. 1.5 crores can benefit from a composition scheme. Under this scheme, businesses now have to file returns only once every quarter instead of three to four times a month. Small business providers with a turnover of up to Rs. Fifty lakhs can also opt for a composition scheme and pay a GST of only 6% instead of 18%. According to the ministry of finance, these trade-friendly measures should benefit more than 35 lakh SMEs. GST has also provided relief to specific sectors like real estate. Earlier, homebuyers had to pay different taxes like VAT, service tax, stamp duty, and registration charges. Under GST, homebuyers have to pay a single tax rate of 12%. Furthermore, recently the GST council has reduced the tax rates on premium houses to 5% from earlier 12% and 1% from earlier 8% on affordable houses.

Boost to Digitization in Taxation: GST is considered as a digital tax as there is no manual intervention in the entire process. Be it registration for GST, filing of returns, uploading of invoices, claiming ITC, and refunds, the whole process can happen digitally. Now, even assessments by GST authorities can happen digitally. During the COVID-19 lockdown, when businesses were unable to generate digital signatures, the government allowed verification of GST returns through Electronic Verification Code (EVC.) GSTN (the nodal body for GST technology in India), along with its entire ecosystem of GST Suvidha Providers (GSPs) and Application Suvidha Providers (ASPs,) has given a big boost to the digitization of GST and ease of compliance. GST requires the filing of only a single return, thereby reducing the number of forms. In contrast, under the earlier regime, it was much more complex to file returns. For instance, businesses had to file excise returns monthly, service tax returns either quarterly or monthly (depending on the type of business), and VAT monthly. New tax software has further simplified the management of GST. Not only has GST made compliance easy, but it has also resulted in improvement in accounts receivables. Earlier, SMEs had to spend a lot of time and resources on tallying books and filing tax returns. With complete digitization, companies can now check their books of accounts on an ongoing basis. This digitization helps them in identifying any delays in payments receivable and ensuring timely follow-ups with defaulters.

Created Uniformity & Consistency: GST has transformed the business landscape of India by bringing about uniformity in taxation throughout the country. This consistency has proved advantageous to investors and traders who were bogged down by multiple taxes and ambiguity over tax regulations earlier. For example, earlier, there was no uniformity and clarity on the amount of ITC to be claimed if the final sale is at a discounted value. Individual states like Tamil Nadu had specific provisions for the reversal of excess ITC. GST has made ITC uniform and removed any correlation with the final sale value. In particular, uniformity has benefited the e-commerce sector. Earlier, businesses in this sector had to deal with VAT laws, which differed by state. Certain states did not require VAT, while certain states had more stringent requirements like filing VAT and mentioning the delivery truck’s registration number. Under GST, the government has clearly laid out provisions for e-commerce, which are uniform across the country. This resulting uniformity has also reduced logistics costs. Now, e-commerce players can set up warehouses in strategic locations instead of their earlier preference of VAT-friendly states.

Business-Friendly Follow-ups to GST: The advent of GST in 2017 was followed up by E-way bill compliance in 2018 and now E-invoicing (with effect from October 2020). Businesses can generate E-way bills or electronic waybills through a government website, SMS, or an Android app, making tax compliance easy for transporters. Electronic invoicing or E-invoicing will reduce data entry errors and enable real-time tracking of invoices. E-invoicing should also reduce the possibility of tax authorities’ audits since the information needed by them is available online at an individual transaction level. All of these changes have had a positive effect on the way India does business.

Conclusion: Overall, GST has made India, Inc. more compliant and more tech-savvy. Thanks to GST, more businesses have come under the tax net and are now a part of the formal economy. This formalization has made more businesses eligible for bank credit and other government incentives for MSMEs. India, Inc. can see GST’s impact at multiple levels, be it the improved efficiency in maintaining accounts or the user-friendliness of tax compliance.

The post Three Years that Changed How India does Trade appeared first on Vayana TradeXchange.

Yes, you read it right. GST is way more than what you’ve thought. It isn’t merely a type of indirect tax collection. Instead, GST is the most advanced, progressive tax reform ever implemented in India.

GST can change how you interact with your vendors and customers, transform the mechanism of vendor assessment before onboarding them, and revamp the entire landscape to put you in firm control of the things.

For the first time, the Government has invested extensively in creating a robust IT system that supports the entire GST framework.

GST system runs on G2B (Government to Business) portal i.e. all businesses can access the Government portal (www.gst.gov.in) to carry out various tasks related to GST.

However, you can choose to carry out those tasks through third party applications as well which can be accessed on a desktop or a mobile.

Not just the usual return filing process, these applications are mastered to pull out requisite data from the portal, convert the numbers into action-oriented metrics, and provide valuable insights for key decision making.

How do these applications pull out the data from the Government Portal?

Via secured GST APIs. The Government has empowered the GST Suvidha Providers (GSPs) to use APIs in developing the applications and provide easy-to-access interface to the taxpayers as well as tax consultants. These APIs can be used for various compliance and analysis related tasks.

What are the technical specifications of GST APIs?

The GST APIs are RESTful, JSON-based and stateless. The production API endpoints can only be consumed via MPLS lines. All APIs have to accessed over HTTPS protocol. They can easily be integrated with ERPs and accounting systems for day-to-day bookkeeping.

What can the GST APIs be used for?

GST APIs can be used for carrying out numerous tasks such as –

1. Filing of GST returns (GSTR 1, 3B, 9 etc) and Applying for new registration, amending or cancelling an existing registration ;
2. Verifying details of a GSTIN as registered on the GST portal;
3. Checking status (active/ cancelled) of a GSTIN as per the GST portal;
4. Fetching status of returns filed against a GSTIN along with the date and ARN;
5. Checking and downloading challans and payment receipts;
6. Checking ITC, Cash, Liability ledger balances.

Not this, GST APIs can be used for calculating various parameters and key performance indicators by pulling data from www.gst.gov.in.

Use cases

Calculate and analyse GST compliance score

Check the vendors’ GST compliance score before onboarding them to avoid any future losses or financial implications.

At a single click, you can see those instances where they have delayed in filing GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B over the pre-selected period.

Based on the delays (including number of days in delay every time), get a GST compliance score and improve your decision making.

It’s simple and quick – Enter the GSTN and get a detailed report of delays and the overall score.

Analyse the sales and turnover ratios

At the time of granting loans to SMEs and other businesses, banks and financers ask for GST returns to analyse the turnover, B2B transactions and other key figures of a business.

Through GSTR 3B and GSTR 1 API (after due authentication from the taxpayer), the banks or the financers can view all the GSTR 3B and GSTR 1 returns filed for a particular period. They can also check GSTR 9C and GSTR 9 API to analyse the differences between GST returns and accounting books.

It can help a bank immensely in making its verification process robust, and expedite the loan approval process, thereby also eliminating any chances of fraud/ errors.

Pre-Boarding compliance assessment by e-commerce players

Many businesses buy their merchandise or some specific commodities through Amazon and other e-commerce operators for resale. In such a situation, the vendors mention their GSTIN so that they can avail ITC of the goods purchased.

However, if the seller doesn’t include the invoice in his GST return/ doesn’t file the return at all, the buyers suffer on ITC amount.

To safeguard its businesses, Amazon and other e-commerce operators can get GSTR 2A API which allows Amazon to check all the B2B transactions and ensure that the sellers file their returns timely and correctly so that all the buyers can avail their share of input tax credit.

Verification of Registrant’s Details

Zomato, MakeMyTrip, Swiggy, Oyo and all other aggregators allow the businesses to register on their website/ app so that people can view, interact and buy a required product/ service.

During the registration process, the businesses are asked to enter their GST Numbers and other information for tax compliance purposes.

However, these aggregators have to manually cross verify every detail at a later stage which is a time consuming and expensive process.

With the help of GSTIN Verification API, the websites/ apps can cross-examine all the details and also look out for cancelled/ fake GSTINs. Also, in case if a detail mismatches, the business can be asked to re-check, edit and correct the error to proceed further.

In a nutshell, APIs can reduce redundant, time-consuming tasks and make the GST compliance more productive.

Vayana Network has been authorised to connect to the GSTN using published APIs and is one of the leading GSP today in India, working with 100 plus ASPs and 1000 plus corporates as their preferred API provider/GSP for connecting to GSTN and NIC for various use cases in the bucket of GST, E-Way Bill and E-Invoicing.

We support efficient integration with all ERPs and accounting software at competitive pricing structure and robust data security.

The post GST APIs – They can transform how you have been doing business! appeared first on Vayana TradeXchange.

Our Receivable Financing Solution

Ample cash flow is a necessity for most businesses. It allows you to pay your expenses regularly and on a timely basis. Whereas if a cash crunch hits you, it can not only dwindle the trust of the stakeholders, it will also make procuring necessities for your business difficult.

If a cash shortage hits you due to your accounts receivable, you can consider hiring a partner to collect invoices on your behalf. With Vayana Network’s Account Receivable Finance Solution, corporates are leveraging their receivables by submitting the invoices to us and getting payments at the right time.

If you are looking for accounts receivable financing or custom solutions for your corporation, you can contact our team of experts now to find an answer as soon as possible.

Overview of Accounts Receivable (AR) Financing

Most of the buyers demand a credit period which allows them to pay after a specific period. It means that the seller will not get the payment even though the purchase is complete. Accounts receivable are a current asset for the organization and considered as “liquid” while calculating the Quick Ratio.

But invoices with long credit periods can be a burden for most organizations. With accounts receivable financing (factoring), they can now encash credit sale invoices from a third-party in return for a commission at the earliest.

It is a great way to ensure liquidity and to avoid any working capital issues that may plague the growth of their business. There are several ways of attaining AR financing, but generally, you get the option of a 100 percent invoice amount or a discounted amount of 80 to 90 per cent.

At Vayana Network, we manage an end-to-end Account Receivable Financing program for all your customers or buyers. Our tailor-made & efficient solutions make receivable financing programs completely digital & hassle-free for corporates. Invoices are raised by corporates on the buyers and get funded post-acceptance by the respective buyer with funds credited to your corporate account.

Our receivable financing solutions are off-balance-sheet programs for corporates. They eventually provide liquidity at a reasonable cost along with improved balance sheet metrics.

Vayana’s Account Receivable Financing Solutions

How Does It Work?

Factoring or accounts receivable financing is a process where the business will submit their unpaid invoices to a factor. It will then provide them with the cash within the next few days (in most cases, the same day). The payment will be after proper verification from the factor’s end. In return, the organization will pay some commission for its services.

Here is how accounts receivable financing works for corporate at Vayana Network’s Account Receivable Finance Solution:

Benefits of Accounts Receivable Financing

Account receivable financing beneficial for the corporates in the following ways:

Early Payment on Unpaid Invoices

Even if you have to allow an extended credit period to a customer for any reason whatsoever, you can always avail AR financing for your business. It ensures that your business runs without any constraints, and you can pay your supplier, workers, and others within the due date or invest when the time is right.

No Interest Cost

We follow an off-balance sheet program. It means that your dealer or buyer will bear the cost of financing.

Business Growth

We provide a line of credit to our customers. This allows them to purchase ample machinery and expand their inventory, thereby helping in their business growth.

Better Dealer & Supplier Relation

Timely payment creates trust between the parties involved. We understand that an extended credit period can hamper your ability to pay your suppliers. To ensure that amount is no longer a hindrance, we offer credit to the business so that you can clear your dues timely and provide better payment options for your dealers.

Contact Vayana to Strengthen Your Cash Flow

Accounts receivable financing is a critical job and demands a lot of experience and maturity. With Network, you get an organization which has impacted more than 5000 MSMEs. We conduct a transaction every 20 seconds and have served 15 lakh plus transactions till date amounting to over 21000Cr in receivable financing. We have collaborated with over 25 industries spanning over 20 countries and are looking to expand further.

Here is what you will get when you partner with us:

• Complete Digital Process: The world is going digital, and it is time that you do so too. At Vayana, we follow a 100 percent online process. From onboarding till financing, paperless is the theme that we wear by and follow.
• End-to-end Management: A businessman has a lot to ponder on, and we make sure that receivable collection is not one of them. We set up the entire process and onboard all the parties involved digitally to manage it on your behalf.
• Comprehensive Coverage: At times, you may require an expert to reach deep in the supply chains. Our team of experts can go down the trail as far as needed.
• Hassle-free Financing: You do not need to spend on hiring people, or acquire machines worth crores. All you need is to hire us, and we will manage the rest.

So what are you waiting for and why? Contact Vayana Network today to handle your accounts receivables efficiently and effectively.

Email: enquiry@vayana.com

The post Everything You Need to Know About Receivable Financing appeared first on Vayana TradeXchange.

We call ourselves as the perfect ‘partners’ for exporters like you. We walk beside you in your export journey, helping you in your every step towards excellence.

Delivering Export Financing Solutions right at your doorstep

Overview

One of the major challenges that exporters often come across is long payment terms that in turn can affect the working capital. Exporters find it challenging to manage the up-front cost of manufacturing, shipping, and delivering the products or services to the buyer. This is where Export Finance helps by releasing the working capital and helping you get paid early while your buyer can continue to get credit for his payments.  Through the support of our Export Finance solutions,  exporters can grow rapidly and multiply their trading activities.

Without the support of Export Finance, exporters often resort to quoting lower prices to the buyers due to their inability to offer attractive credit terms or they risk losing the entire business to competitors who offer better payment terms. This means either loss of business for exporters or booking business that strains their liquidity significantly.

However, many exporters are unsure when to avail of the support of Export Finance for their trading needs. To help them, here is a quick guideline to determine whether you need the support of Export Finance now or not-

Need for working capital

Accepting new businesses and handling your daily operations constitute the biggest requirements for working capital. In all probability, you need huge fund reserves to develop your business and accommodate the credit period of the buyer. You are also in need of working capital to arrange for inventory at times.

 Lengthy credit terms:

You have agreed to a long payment cycle voluntarily to stay competitive. Finance requirement at every stage of the business cycle

You are an exporter who needs finance at every stage of the business cycle right from your pre-shipment activities all the way to post-shipment ones. Supply side dynamics limit your bargaining capacity with suppliers who demand early or upfront payment while buyers insist on lengthy payment terms. At the same time, supply chain dynamics require long inventory holding period which further complicates the working capital problem. Expensive and Cumbersome Financial Solutions

The only available l export finance solutions involve lengthy approval cycles, need hard collaterals, involve heavy paperwork and assess the amount of finance based on the value of the collateral rather than the size of the business opportunity.

Solutions

The Solutions provided by Vayana Network for Export Enterprises involve minimum paperwork and collateral. Vayana’s efficient under-writing techniques and early payment solutions assist enterprises to boost exports with timely access to working capital. It also helps exporters to expand their business by attracting future export orders with attractive payment terms.

Vayana Network’s Export Financing Solutions covers every form of financing for exporters right upto 120 days. The solutions provide fast and timely finance with a minimum of fuss so that working capital support is available to your business at those critical time when it is needed most. Speed and ease of process define our export financing solutions – today, you can avail Vayana’s Export Finance solutions at the comfort of your home or office in a click of a button.

How does it work?

We, at Vayana, believe in offering exemplary service services by simplifying your experience with us. Your entire journey with our Export Finance solution can be completed in 5 simple steps. All of this, with no IT infrastructure setup or additional expenses at your end or any process changes that are time-consuming to implement.

• Onboarding you to Vayana Network (All exporters and buyers)
• Submit Invoice in our portal
• Buyer approves the invoice in our portal
• We trigger FI for finance. FI discounts the invoice and pays the exporter
• Buyer pays the FI on or before the due date.

 Contact Vayana Network today to handle your export finance requirements efficiently and effectively.

Email: enquiry@vayana.com

The post Vayana: Lending Hands to Exporters appeared first on Vayana TradeXchange.

Technology and the CFO – a short take

While it may not always have been apparent, technology has always had a role to play in the finance function, money could be ‘wired’ as early as the 19 th century; COBOL has been around for over 60 years, digital stock exchanges appeared over 50 years ago, companies and banks have used mainframes for decades. However, what has changed in the past decade or so, has been the democratization of computing power, where customers and executives can unleash and use technology at an individual level. Technology use has become the norm, and CFOs all over the world are beginning to adapt to and embrace technologies in their day-to-day functioning.

Guardians of the Past, Present…

To understand how finance professionals are using technology tools, one must first look at the evolving role of the modern CFO. Traditionally, Finance heads have been responsible for Statutory and Internal Reporting, Financial Compliance, and ensuring Liquidity – i.e., their focus has been on the near-past and the present. Of course, finance heads have also been the custodians of Forecasts, but these too have usually been based on data on performances in the recent past.

….and now, the Future

The expectations from modern CFOs are as much, if not more, about the Future as well. The modern CFO therefore is more of a strategist than an accountant. Not only must they understand the big picture and align financial decisions to long term business goals, but they must also be evangelists, conscience keepers and effective communicators of this business vision within the company. They need to be able to provide inputs and advice to every other function – be it Sales, Production, Procurement or People.

Technology and the modern CFO

CFOs will increasingly use technology tools and processes that will help them in three areas:

• They will become champions of Automation within the company – not just within Finance, but in every other function that impacts the company’s supply chain
• They will be the drivers of powerful Data Analysis. Finance has typically been the guardian of a company’s transaction data, but increasingly CFOs will employ advances analytics to mine data from all functions to build accurate scenarios and projections
• Using Presentation tools, (e.g., Data Visualization) to tell the story of the Big Picture more compellingly to colleagues and stakeholders

At Vayana, we put the CFO First

Vayana is India’s largest trade finance platform, and we have got there by aligning ourselves to customer goals.
We have built our products and services in ways that go way beyond delivering liquidity efficiently.

• Our platforms, applications, and products help CFOs automate Receivables and Payments without needing to invest in new processes and infrastructure. Through a single window, CFOs can run multiple bank programs on auto pilot. Read about our platforms and Receivables and Payments solutions
• We simplify Compliance for Corporates and their Supply Chains. Our GST-API platform has had Zero downtime since inception, and our Plug and Play solutions for E-Invoicing and E-way bill products make Compliance effortless for everyone on a supply chain.
• We offer advanced Analytics to corporates and banks that help in making sense of data and making decisions Future Proof. For instance, our Good Business Score uses actual transaction data to give corporates a real time pulse of the strength of their supply chains. Through Vayana Credit Assist, we make it easier for lenders to expand greater confidence, thereby helping entire supply chains to grow.
• We customize dashboards to make data more useful for both businesses and lenders on our programs

If you’d like us to take you through our platforms, products, and applications, mail us at scf@vayana.com

The post Technology and the CFO appeared first on Vayana TradeXchange.

The role of trade finance is often seen as one of ensuring predictable cashflows. While this is obvious and important, there are a number of collateral benefits of trade finance programs that act as powerful drivers of growth. In fact, trade finance is a powerful lever that CFOs can use to impact both toplines and bottom lines of their companies.

Chasing growth, not cash

Ensuring that your Receivables ecosystem is well financed removes the daily headaches on liquidity. More importantly, it frees up time for sales teams to focus on growth (their real job) rather than on following up on payments. The benefits are not just a lot of incremental – a motivated sales team applying all their energy on revenue building and business development can bring disproportionate growth to an organisation.

It pays to pay on time

The same principle applies on the Payables side too. By helping vendors with timely or even early payments, we ensure smooth supplies, better pricing and good service. Companies tend to ignore the positive value these bring, or the hidden costs of the tensions on the supply chain due to delayed payments.

The value of relationships

Supply chain dynamics can often be a battle of attrition instead of a collaboration. And the flow of payments is usually at the root of these tensions. When timely payments and extended credit are available to all parties, there is a win-win scenario that brings stability to the relationship – which in turn becomes the foundation of a positive cycle towards shared growth goals. While this may seem as a ‘softer’ aspect, any sales or procurement executive will vouch for the importance of this – especially with MSME supply chain partners.

The real impact of all of these benefits becomes visible when our entire supply chain has access to affordable finance. However, getting large numbers of geographically widespread MSME partners onto a program has always been a pain point for both banks and corporates. Traditional lenders don’t have the right products or infrastructure to service MSME needs and the varied nuances within that group. Hence large parts of supply chains remain starved of affordable credit, causing disruptions for everyone on the chain.

At Vayana, we recognize that one size can never fit all. We deep dive into the needs of different tiers of borrowers and curate financing products that fit into specific needs – depending on borrower type, company size, credit profile, time and place, preferred source, instruments of financing, and lots more. We have therefore curated a wide range of products that can cover the entire supply chain and keep things running smooth and friction-free. Our technology platform also allows effortless onboarding and disbursement through multiple bank programs through a single window. And all this without you or your supply chain partners having to make any change in processes or infrastructure.

To read more about how Vayana can help you maximise growth through wider trade finance coverage please click here. If you’d like us to take you through the details over a meeting or call, email us at scf@vayana.com

The post Trade Finance: A growth maximiser appeared first on Vayana TradeXchange.

How to assess if existing supply chain partners are the right partners for growth?

With the economy showing signs of a robust recovery, companies are charting out their growth strategies to make the most of the opportunity. But growth is a collaborative effort that depends not just on a company’s internal resources, but also on the strengths of its supply chain partners. There is a need therefore for mechanisms to assess the strength and stability of supply chain partners regularly. 

While most companies would probably have some method of doing so, these usually come with two shortcomings:

First, the data examined are those of past performance. In an atmosphere of volatility, this may not be an accurate way to assess the future.

Second, the data available may pertain only to their relationship with the partner, and companies may have little or no visibility on their partners’ other business relationships.

Here is a short quiz to assess your own readiness to measure the strength, stability, and growth capabilities of your supply chain partners:-

Click to play the Quiz

The post Is your supply chain future-proof? appeared first on Vayana TradeXchange.