Case Study | Northern BI reduces billing workload by 50% with migration to D365 BC.

Company overview.

Northern Business Intelligence (Northern BI) is a Canadian-based telematics provider that stands out by putting customers’ needs first. Offering top vehicle telematics solutions from top suppliers like Geotab, their services go beyond that. Their customer service is industry-leading, backed by a team of professionals who are available to help clients with troubleshooting and problem-solving, instead of redirecting them to a third-party call center. With an impressive customer retention rate of over 95%, Northern BI was established by the Kerr Group of Companies to bring the power of Geotab to fleets across various industries. Customers include sanitation fleets, city fleets, public works fleets, as well as large transportation companies and even smaller individual service delivery organizations.

The problem.

Northern BI faced challenges in managing monthly subscription billing accounting effectively. They were using basic accounting software that was suitable for managing regular billings but was insufficient for managing ongoing renewals and subscriptions. The nature of their business, with recurring monthly billing and renewals, made it difficult to manage billing using the old accounting software. As they transitioned to new software, Northern BI realized the need for a solution to help them manage their recurring monthly billing. By adopting a new solution, they hoped to be able to streamline their billing processes and manage their subscriptions more efficiently.

The challenges:

• Struggling to effectively manage recurring billing monthly schedules in system.
• Growing number of errors in the invoices received by customers as they grew.
• Doubling growth year-on-year meant that accounting was struggling to keep pace.
• Querying mistakes and inaccuracies in billing became a time-consuming operation.
• Straining to meet the needs of customers being impacted by the lack of suitable tools.
• Processing reconciliations manually created bottlenecks in the team’s workflows.
• Needing to update their entire accounting system from on-premise to cloud-based to support flexibility.
• Transitioning from Dynamics GP to Dynamics 365 BC meant they required a solution that was built to integrate with both ERPs.

The solution.

Northern BI faced challenges in managing their monthly recurring billing requirements with their old accounting software. When they moved to Dynamics GP, they realized it also did not fully support their billing processes. They were advised to use Subscription Billing Suite (SBS), which was a perfect fit for their requirements. As they transitioned to Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC), they decided to continue using SBS since they were already familiar with the product and found it to be efficient. Their decision to move to D365 BC was not only because it supported their overall business needs but also because it was compatible with SBS, making the transition between the old and new systems smoother and requiring a shorter training period. With SBS, they knew they could effectively manage their recurring billing requirements and streamline their accounting processes.

The benefits.

• Empowers team with tools to effectively manage recurring billing monthly schedules, eliminating the struggles previously faced.
• Reduces the growing number of invoice errors, ensuring greater accuracy in billing, which helps keep customers satisfied.
• Accommodates growth year-on-year, enabling accounting to keep pace and scale operations with the company’s rapid expansion.
• Streamlines workflows by automating reconciliations, eliminating manual processes and creating efficiency in the team’s operations.
• Cloud-based solution allowing for more flexibility and better access to accounting 24/7.
• Built to integrate with both Dynamics GP and Dynamics 365 BC, making the transition between the two systems smoother and less disruptive.
• Supportive team on hand to help manage the transition between systems and troubleshoot any problems as they arose.

Key results:

• 50% less time spent on recurring billing cycles.
• 98% customer retention.
• 100% embedded within Microsoft Dynamics GP and D365 Business Central.