Is outsourcing your billing and collections more efficient?

Backlogs in your financial processes can cost you a significant amount of money. In particular, an ineffective revenue cycle management system can stem your revenue flow. Bottlenecks in these areas can usually be traced back to inefficient billing and collections processes.

When you have an inefficient billing and collections system, you’ll likely have a high day sales outstanding (DSO) rate. DSO rate is a good indicator of how effectively your business collects due payments from your customers.

A high DSO rate signals inefficiency, whereas a low DSO means an effective billing and collections system is in place. Many businesses—particularly those in healthcare—outsource their billing and collections to make these more efficient.

But does outsourcing this process really make it more efficient? Read on to find out.

What are billing and collections services?

Billing and collections is the process of sending invoices to customers, collecting money owed, and documenting these transactions.

Some of the specific services under billing and collections are:

• Bill review. Reviewing bills for accuracy and compliance with insurance requirements.
• Payment posting. Posting payments received from patients or insurance companies into accounting software systems.
• Collections management. Managing communications with patients with delinquent accounts or who owe money to the practice.

These services are commonly seen in businesses in the healthcare sector, where most practices have either in-house or outsourced billing and collections.

Due to the complexities of billing and collections, it is often time-consuming. However, sacrificing quality and accuracy for speed can often lead to incorrect billing and cause issues between you and your customers.

Why do businesses outsource billing and collections services?

Businesses outsource their billing and collections services for a variety of reasons.

These reasons include:

Cost and time savings

Outsourcing billing and collections can help businesses save a significant amount in employee salaries and other overhead costs.

Companies cut salary costs by tapping into developing countries’ equally skilled but lower-cost labor markets. Doing so gives them further savings on equipment and training costs, as the business process outsourcing (BPO) firms that provide outsourced employees often shoulder these.

Equally important, outsourcing billing and collections lets companies focus on their core business by entrusting the time-consuming process to reliable BPOs like The Remote Group.

Better technology

BPOs often possess superior technologies than other businesses because of their industry’s nature. This is even more true for BPOs specializing in just one service type, such as billing and collections.

When companies partner with these BPO firms, they gain access to the leading-edge software solutions BPOs use to serve their clients.

Assured expertise and compliance

BPOs often employ staff with years of experience in the services they provide. For instance, a BPO firm specializing in billing and collections will have seasoned collection specialists.

Combined with the technologies used by BPOs for billing and collections, these outsourced specialists can often collect bills more efficiently than in-house employees.

Another factor favoring outsourcing billing and collections is the assurance that BPOs almost always comply with various industry standards (e.g., HIPAA, PCI).

Is it more efficient to outsource billing and collections services?

Outsourcing billing and collections makes it a cost-effective and cost-efficient solution for small businesses and even large corporations.

Small businesses benefit from the significant cost savings they gain from outsourcing. They get access to technologies that otherwise can be too expensive for small businesses. Likewise, larger companies gain the advantage of a BPO’s agility and flexibility.

Further, outsourcing billing and collections lets businesses hire talents from the larger global labor market. This gives them plenty of choices and flexibility in choosing the right fit for their unique needs.

Outsource your billing and collections services to The Remote Group

The Remote Group is among the Philippines’ leading providers of outsourced solutions. It caters to businesses of all sizes and helps them find talents that fit their needs and company culture.

The company handles everything from recruitment to onboarding, helping clients save as much as 70% on costs.

Through The Remote Group, businesses can gain access to a diverse pool of talents well-versed in billing and collections. These seasoned experts are familiar with the relevant regulations in multiple countries.

Get in touch with them and learn how The Remote Group can help you become more efficient!