Dianna Dyson, Hoyt Archery
We recently sat down with Dianna Dyson, credit manager with Hoyt Archery, to learn more about their selection, implementation, and ongoing use of iPayments for Dynamics 365 Business Central. In this Q&A, she shares how an integrated Business Central payment solution helped Hoyt reduce manual AR work, accelerate cash application, improve payment accuracy, and give customers a more convenient way to manage their accounts.
Can you describe your business, and the role payments play in your operations?
- Hoyt Archery works as a B2B manufacturer/dealer model: you manufacture the products, your customers purchase from you on credit terms, and those customers then resell your products to end users
What challenges were you facing before implementing iPayments?
- Payments received through the former payment portal required manual cash application, which could take several days to post to the customer’s account.
- The delay between receipt of payment, posting, and updating the payment portal created a disconnect between the customer’s payment status and the actual account balance.
- Customers could continue to see invoices as outstanding even after payment had been submitted.
- As a result, customers sometimes submitted duplicate payments, creating additional unapplied cash and increasing the workload for the Credit and Accounts Receivable team.
- The issue was particularly challenging given the large volume of customers on terms and the number of transactions requiring manual review and application.
- Duplicate payments also created additional work, including researching payments, identifying overpayments, issuing refunds or credits, and communicating with customers.
What were your goals when you started looking for a solution?
- Improve the payment experience for both our customers and our internal team.
- We were switching to a new ERP and ready for something integrated. A faster, more automated, and more reliable payment solution that would benefit both our customers and our Credit and Accounts Receivable team. Our goal was to reduce manual processing, provide customers with real-time visibility into their account and payment status, minimize duplicate payments, and streamline cash application.
What made you choose iPayments over other options?
iPayments stood out because it addressed the specific challenges we were experiencing with our previous payment portal while also giving us an opportunity to improve the experience for our customers. We needed more than just a way to accept payments—we needed a solution that would integrate with our existing processes, reduce manual work, provide better visibility into payment status, and make it easier for our customers to manage their accounts. With hundreds of customers purchasing from us on terms, efficiency and accuracy are extremely important. iPayments offered the automation and functionality we needed to streamline payment processing, improve cash application, reduce duplicate payments, and provide a better overall customer experience.
Which features or capabilities were most important to you?
- Automated payment processing and application to reduce manual cash application.
- Real-time payment visibility, so customers and our team could see when payments were made and applied.
- Integration with our ERP/accounting system to keep customer balances and payment information current.
- Customer self-service, allowing customers to view invoices, payment history, and account information without having to contact us.
- Improved accuracy and reduced duplicate payments by eliminating the delays and disconnects we experienced with our previous portal.
- Security and reliability, which are essential when handling customer payments and helping us become PCI compliant.
How was the onboarding and integration process?
- The onboarding and integration process was smooth and well-supported. The team worked with us to understand our existing processes and helped ensure the integration with our ERP system was set up correctly. One of the biggest benefits was having support throughout the implementation rather than being left to figure everything out on our own. The process allowed us to transition from our previous payment portal while keeping our day-to-day operations moving. Overall, the implementation was straightforward, collaborative, and much less disruptive than we anticipated, and the result has been a significant improvement for both our Credit team, our Accounts Receivable team and our customers.
What measurable improvements have you seen since adopting iPayments?
- Since implementing iPayments, we have seen improvements in both efficiency and payment accuracy. The biggest change has been the reduction in manual payment processing and the time it takes to apply payments to customer accounts.
We have also seen:
- Faster payment application, allowing customer accounts to be updated more quickly.
- Fewer duplicate payments because customers have better visibility into their payment status.
- Less manual work for Credit and Accounts Receivable, freeing up time for collections, account analysis, and customer service.
- Improved visibility for both our team and customers into payments and outstanding invoices.
- A better customer experience, with customers able to make payments and access payment information more easily.
- More efficient cash application, helping us keep customer balances current and accurate.
Overall, iSolutions iPayments has helped us reduce administrative work, improve accuracy, and accelerate the payment process, which is especially valuable given the number of customers we manage on terms.
How has this solution impacted your team’s productivity or customer experience?
- iPayments has had a positive impact on both our Accounts Receivable team’s productivity and our customers’ experience. By streamlining the payment process and improving visibility into payment activity, we have reduced the amount of time spent manually researching and processing payments.
- For our team, this means less time spent on administrative tasks and more time available for collections, account management, and customer service. The improved payment visibility also helps us keep customer accounts more current and accurate.
- For our customers, the payment process is easier, more convenient, and more transparent. They have better visibility into their invoices and payments, which helps reduce confusion about whether a payment has been received or an invoice has been paid.
Overall, the solution has helped us work more efficiently while providing our customers with a better payment experience.
Would you recommend iSolutions to others? Why?
Yes, we would recommend iSolutions to other businesses, particularly companies that manage hundreds of customers and need a more efficient way to process and manage payments.
For us, the biggest advantages have been automation, improved visibility, integration with our existing processes, and a better customer payment experience. With hundreds of customers on terms, having a reliable payment portal helps reduce manual processing and gives our customers an easier way to manage their invoices and payments.
Overall, iSolutions has helped us streamline our payment process, reduce administrative work, and provide better service to our customers, which makes it a solution we would recommend.
Learn More
To learn more about iPayments can help your organization manage accounts receivable and payments in Dynamics 365 Business Central, reach out to the iSolutions team.