When considering the purchase of a treasury management software SAAS, there are several factors that you need to consider, including the costs, risks, and business cases for a solution. If you want to choose the best one for your business, read on to discover the benefits and disadvantages of different types of software solutions. Then, you can make an informed decision. Whether you want a SaaS or a ‘batch’ solution depends on your unique needs and budget.
Costs of treasury management software
The cost of a treasury management software SAAS or software as a service workstation can range from $20,000 to $100,000, depending on the features and functionality needed. The cost of a treasury workstation depends on its customization and how many custom bank interfaces it needs. In addition, some treasury workstations require additional hardware installation and may take months to install.
Licensed TMS solutions can range from $200K to $400K, and the cost for maintenance is a yearly subscription fee. Unlike SaaS business cash flow software, a TMS solution is easily adaptable and does not require extensive customization. The software is also flexible enough to handle changes in your business processes, such as switching from centralized payment approval models to decentralized systems. In addition, some treasury management software SAAS workstations are device-independent and feature excellent customer-support modules.
For smaller businesses, treasury software can provide tailored functionality and features. For example, its feature set allows enterprises to track real-time cash inflow and outflow, automate the entry of general ledger records, monitor multiple bank accounts, and automatically match bank statements to real-time data. Other applications offer enhanced treasury management capabilities and can be used with treasury software.
Risks of treasury management software
Treasury management software SAAS workstations provide a wealth of functionality and can help manage cash flow in the business. Some of these tools offer real-time cash inflow and outflow monitoring, hedge accounting strategies, and available cash. The treasury application can also help monitor multiple bank accounts and automatically match bank statements. Some are built by experts or partners and extend their capabilities with additional third-party software.
SaaS applications are easier to develop and bring to market than ever before. Because of this, more treasury providers are entering the market. With the SaaS model, software vendors are developing specialized features and targeting both the participant and hub roles. This evolution will ultimately benefit treasury managers. For now, there are several risks to consider when choosing a treasury management software SAAS workstation.
Third-party vendors may be less reputable. Many providers focus their marketing efforts on partners. For example, a ‘Powered by ABC Corp’ button on a treasury management software solution could indicate the software provider is partnered with an integration partner. Next-generation systems will be able to hide several solutions and allow users to access them via a single sign-on.
Business cases for treasury management software
While treasury functions may have in-house resources to develop a strong business case, they may not have the expertise needed to build the case. Using outside consultants and technology vendors can help. The business case can demonstrate to senior management that the investment is worthwhile and establishes a baseline for future ROI calculations. In addition, the business case will help identify any weak links within the current treasury process and identify areas for improvement.
Configurable software can be a significant advantage in implementing a TMS solution, as it allows for easy configuration and adaptation to varying processes and environments. Additionally, such systems should be easy to customize to meet the needs of each user. While extensive customization can be costly and time-consuming, configuration changes can be made without a comprehensive redesign. Moreover, web-based configuration capabilities allow for differences in banking relationships without requiring extensive development.
A treasury team cannot be a profit center; profits flow to the central company entity. Therefore, a high-risk policy of raising long-dated cash and lending out short-dated cash isn’t a commercially sound practice. However, if the treasury team is not adequately compensated, they might choose this option, and they will still be paid despite the risk. Moreover, they could abandon best-execution policies to satisfy higher financial targets.
