Who is your executive champion?

Beyond the initial P-Card program implementation, which was many years or even decades ago for most organizations, the role of an executive champion evolves. As a program manager or administrator (PM/PA), are you actively engaging your champion to help enhance their role and prevent their support from waning? We know that executives have the power to make or break a card program, so keeping them involved is a must. Following is a look at what you can do, as well as examples of what the executive champion can do.

Know Your Executive

You might be working with the same executive who approved the original program or someone new. Either way, consider the following.

  • What is their current view of the program? 
  • Which aspects are most important to them?
  • What do they expect of you?
  • How often do they want to see a report of program progress?
  • How do they want to receive program updates?
  • Do they prefer details or summaries? Graphs can be a great way to provide at-a-glance information.

Inform Your Executive

Having a better understanding of your executive allows you to tailor your communications accordingly. Following are ways to keep him or her informed. In addition, occasionally verify if what you are providing is valuable and, if not, what you can do differently.

  • Report program status; for example, progress toward goals, comparisons to previous years, and missed opportunities (see also information on metrics).
  • Share P-Card best practices and how your organization compares.
  • Outline any issues and propose solutions.
  • Make suggestions regarding program improvement and/or expansion possibilities.

During my time as a P-Card program manager, I identified how my organization had surpassed goals and outgrown the initial revenue share grid. I reported as such to the executive champion and, together, we renegotiated the contract with our card provider.

The Ongoing Role of a Champion

An executive champion can directly execute and/or delegate the following actions. 

  1. Enforce cardholder and manager accountability, and demonstrate corrective action consistency across job levels.  
  2. Support training initiatives; for example, email participants about the importance of training and attend in-person sessions (if offered) from time to time.
  3. Promote the program; for example, encourage “lunch and learn” sessions, make P-Cards a topic at budget meetings, and introduce the P-Card program at new hire training.
  4. Routinely review program status; subsequently, this could mean asking questions of the PM/PA and participating in calls/meetings with the card provider.  
  5. Help steer the program; for example, endorse policy changes to expand card usage.

An active executive champion can take a program to the next level.

Related Blog Post

Does program buy-in seem out of reach?

About the Author

Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, is the founder of Recharged Education. With more than 15 years of Commercial Card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…

Subscribe to the Blog

Receive notice of new blog posts.

Virtual Card acceptance made easy.

Do suppliers resist or refuse to accept your Virtual Card payments? If so, you are not alone. There are also suppliers who initially agree to Virtual Card acceptance, but later change their mind. A big underlying problem is a manual acceptance process. In addition, a growing list of Virtual Card-using customers can mean dozens of different systems for a supplier to access. The good news is you can expand your playbook for on-boarding suppliers by introducing them to a solution. Keep reading to learn more about supplier challenges and an available remedy.

Supplier Challenges

I recently spoke with Nick Babinsky, Director, Business Development, with Billtrust, a provider of accounts receivable (AR) technology. He elaborated on the manual acceptance process that causes pain for many suppliers. A typical scenario starts with the supplier receiving an email notification about the Virtual Card payment. In some cases, a supplier’s AR staff has to click multiple URLs before reaching the applicable card account number. Then, to process the charge, AR manually keys the card account information. It does not end there, as AR needs to close the related invoices in their ERP system, which can also involve manual keying of remittance data. This type of process does not help a supplier in terms of card acceptance fees either.

Nick summed it up by relaying three common supplier objections to Virtual Card acceptance:

  • We don’t have staff available to key any more Virtual Cards or P-Cards that come by email.
  • We’re concerned about the security of manually handling credit card numbers.
  • The cost of accepting card payments is too high.

A Solution

Billtrust’s Virtual Card Capture solution addresses the pain points noted above. Nick conveyed that it:

  • eliminates the need to enter a card number into a terminal
  • can automatically apply remittance information in the supplier’s ERP system (the solution also supports remittance pertaining to straight-through payments/push payments)
  • helps a supplier qualify for Level 3 and Large Ticket interchange rates

Of course, my immediate question was, “How does it work with the emails a supplier receives (pertaining to Virtual Card payments)?” The answer: Through the utilization of robotic process automation (RPA). The emails are re-routed to the Billtrust solution and RPA takes over.

According to the Institute for Robotic Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence (IRPA AI), “Robotic process automation (RPA) is the application of technology that allows employees in a company to configure computer software or a ‘robot’ to capture and interpret existing applications for processing a transaction, manipulating data, triggering responses and communicating with other digital systems.”

Overall, between the technology and a Billtrust team who handles exceptions, a supplier’s pain is alleviated.

Case Study

Download a two-page case study that offers additional insight and/or access more information from the Billtrust website.

Offering suppliers a potential solution to address their pain points can motivate them to accept card payments.

Offering suppliers a potential solution to address their pain points can motivate them to accept card payments.

How the Solution Affects You

As an end-user/buying organization, you can feel confident that your Virtual Card payments to suppliers who use the Billtrust solution will be processed in a timely manner (specifically, on the same business day they are sent). No more calls or emails about the Virtual Card not working because the supplier waited too long.

Final Thoughts: What You Can Do

To strengthen your partnership with suppliers:

  • Talk with them about their challenges related to Virtual Card acceptance.
  • Consider sharing the Billtrust case study.
  • Contact your provider for any suggestions they have about easing supplier challenges.
  • Ensure that, at a minimum, you are initiating payments to suppliers quickly, ideally less than 30 days (e.g, within 10 days of invoice receipt).

See more content related to ePayables and Virtual Cards.

About the Author

Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, is the founder of Recharged Education. With more than 15 years of Commercial Card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…

Subscribe to the Blog

Receive notice of new blog posts.

Planning for RFP success.

While conducting a request for proposal (RFP) process for a card issuer is typically not on anyone’s list of favorite activities, planning carefully can prevent future pain. At the National P-Cards on Campus Conference last week, I had the pleasure of moderating a general session panel on the topic of RFPs. Between the panelists and participating attendees, I gained a fresh perspective on four key aspects, as described below. Even if you are not doing an RFP any time soon, it never hurts to take notes now, so you are more prepared when the time comes.

Financial Model of Issuers/Banks

We know interchange feeds the revenue share incentives offered by issuers. However, there is the broader economic climate. Interest rates are expected to rise, which puts more pressure on banks. In turn, speed of pay could play a bigger role in proposals and, subsequently, your next contract. Is your organization willing to pay the issuer more quickly or frequently than in the past to maximize revenue share? It helps to understand factors like this when embarking on an RFP.    

Whether to Include Treasury Services

An RFP that combines one or more card programs along with other banking/treasury services could be more appealing to issuers and result in greater benefits for you. A drawback is that one bank may not be the best choice for every piece. Some conference attendees also pointed out the lack of synergy between the card program management team and treasury department that would make RFP collaboration difficult. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile option to explore in case it might be right for your organization.

Who to Invite to Bid

How do you decide which issuers to include? I was impressed with attendees who retain an active and evolving database of options, so they do not have to scramble later. The session also revealed it can be advantageous to take cold calls from issuers. Hear them out, as it could affect your future RFP and bidder list. In addition, prior to creating an RFP, attend industry conferences and speak directly with card issuers. Besides obtaining contact information (for the appropriate RFP recipient), ask questions that encourage meaningful discussion, such as: 

  • How do you help clients grow their programs?
  • What resources do you offer for “X?” Consider what is most important to your organization, such as on-boarding suppliers, technology for auditing transactions, etc.
  • What do you recommend for solving “X” challenge? You might walk away with actionable solutions to help you today.

Duration to Keep an RFP Open

There were mixed opinions on this aspect. Eight weeks seems to be a good target that gives issuers ample time. Despite some content being boilerplate in nature, issuers (and their respective networks) have to do a lot of customization to properly respond to an RFP. On a related note, the timing of your RFP can matter. Launching one at or near year end (especially if only open for a few weeks) sends a message that your organization may simply be doing a “pricing exercise.” Poor timing and/or too short of a duration may prevent some issuers from responding.  

Panelists and Conference Host

I want to acknowledge and thank the panelists from the session:

  • Larry Andress, Bank of America
  • Orson Morgan, Visa
  • Kathy Ann Sheils, Cornell University

Kudos to the conference host as well: Professional Development Group (PDG). 

Use good planning to untangle the maze of a tedious RFP process.

Use good planning to untangle the maze of a tedious RFP process.

Additional RFP Content

The aspects addressed here are just four of many. See other RFP content provided by Recharged Education, including previous blog posts:

RFP Assistance

If your organization is interested in external assistance for its next RFP, submit a contact form to learn how Recharged Education can support your process. 

About the Author

Blog post author Lynn Larson, CPCP, is the founder of Recharged Education. With more than 15 years of Commercial Card experience, her mission is to make industry education readily accessible to all. Learn more…

Subscribe to the Blog

Receive notice of new blog posts.