The presentation, given by Account Executive Heather Harris, highlighted how simple it is for agencies to engage consumers through text and email. Through our FLOW Technology, companies can shorten the collection process, increase cash flow and build credibility and trust.

FLOW Technology can notably improve your accounts receivable business. During the presentation, Harris discussed PDCflow customer Assistentcy LLC’s experience implementing FLOW and the impact it had on their extended business office.

• Credit card payments nearly doubled
• Reduced number of calls needed to confirm completed payments
• Increased consumer satisfaction

Tim Collins began the question and answer section by asking how PDCflow identifies friction points in the payment process. PDCflow Product Manager Kristen Makanoa, Sales and Marketing Manager Dawn Updike and Account Executive Heather Harris each detailed the processes their departments follow to identify friction and improve the consumer experience using FLOW.

Our customer success and product teams pay close attention to incoming messages from customers to identify points of improvement in our software. For research and development purposes, we also proactively reach out to customers to better understand their businesses and future development needs.

Our marketing department helps identify friction points by conducting interviews with both customers and prospects. PDCflow is invested in the user experience both for our clients and their customers. Understanding industry concerns and the customer journey help improve our products and these first hand accounts are invaluable to the process.

Our sales team is also sensitive to the situational changes companies face. These can be caused by new regulations or something more universal, like the impacts of the pandemic.

When agencies were first forced to move operations to remote work, Account Executive Heather Harris reached out to our customers. She wanted to better understand what impacts the change had on business and what was causing agency owners concern. She learned that protecting card data was a heightened concern.

PDCflow’s FLOW Technology allows consumers to key in sensitive payment information, so it is never seen by the phone agent. This limits PCI scope for your business and increases payment collections by putting consumers at ease that their data is safe.

Panelist Jon Kelan commented on the impacts of covid on structuring payments and settlement agreements. He noted the advantage businesses have in sending them to be reviewed quickly and easily while the consumer is still on the line.

He also noted PDCflow’s ability to help with right party contact. This can reduce the number of consumers who dispute the debt, saving agencies money.

FLOW’s dual authentication process allows agents to send a statement to a consumer’s mobile phone or email address while they’re still on the phone. After the consumer has authenticated their identity, they can view statements and discuss what they owe, satisfying right party contact and creating a more informed, positive interaction.

Our simple, streamlined process allows agents to address concerns in real-time. This removes the roadblock of sending statements by mail and having to try to reach consumers later on for further discussions.

The quicker workflow increases satisfaction and helps consumers better understand their responsibility. When this happens, dispute numbers are likely to decrease, saving your agency time and money addressing disputes.

Dan Medina, whose company often handles medical payments, asked about PDCflow’s ability to handle recurring payment plans. PDCflow offers recurring payments with flexible schedules and administrative power to set global minimum payments or maximum schedule lengths.

The software also provides built-in Regulation E compliance through schedule authorization and the ability to send schedule terms and payment reminders to your consumers.

Companies can get even more functionality out of FLOW by using our open APIs to integrate the software directly into their account management systems.

Collins also addressed an audience question concerning the pricing structure for PDCflow’s software, asking whether companies can select only the features that work for them.

The great news: choosing the right PDCflow features for your business is as flexible as the software itself. Before giving a quote, your account executive gets to know your individual needs and builds a plan that is right for you.

Here are some of the decisions that may impact your pricing:

• Are the FLOWs you will send intended only for document delivery, eSignature and photo upload purposes? FLOW Technology with no payment module may be a good fit.

• Do you wish to send payment requests within FLOW? Adding this component will enhance your workflow flexibility and streamline consumer interactions.

• Do you want to start by simply accepting payments within the PDCflow app or through an online payment portal? We offer payment collection without FLOW capability.

• Do you wish to accept credit cards, ACH or both of the payment types? Each payment type has a different fee structure, which may impact what you pay monthly.

It’s important to note that while PDCflow is a payment communication tool, we aren’t a merchant processor. Our software is a tool that provides delivery methods and payment channels consumers prefer but we do not provide merchant accounts.

Instead, PDCflow has many partner relationships with merchant processors and can help you navigate the process of acquiring a merchant account. If you already have a merchant account, our software can facilitate payments no matter who your processor is.

PDCflow also stores the payment data for your business, ensuring it can be maintained – even through changes to your payment provider ecosystem. This helps your company maintain business continuity, no matter which merchant processor you choose.

Lastly, Collins asked about implementing PDCflow and what that process looks like for customers. The implementation process for our software varies depending on the complexity of your intended workflows. This can range anywhere from one business day to a few weeks.

When integrating through APIs, the time frame can be longer but will vary depending on the development work you are looking to do. Many companies want integration but don’t have the resources to accomplish one. These businesses may choose from one of our many integration partners that already has PDCflow’s services available within their products.

For more information on how FLOW Technology can speed up your workflows and streamline processes, set up a call with a PDCflow account executive today.