Optimizing Treasury Operations

Every treasurer knows that cash management can be extremely complex, and that complexity often leads to time-consuming processes and a drain on resources. For treasurers who have to manually manage payments, reconciliation, reporting, and cash forecasting, it’s even worse.

In a typical manually-run treasury, this involves logging into bank portals and pulling together information in spreadsheets. While this approach can work initially, it is not scalable. As your company grows, opens more accounts, increases the number of transactions, adds banks, and expands to additional locations, the time — and risk — adds up.

That’s where treasury automation software and services come into play.

Tools for treasury automation

Everyone is familiar with ERP and TMS systems — at least the acronyms, if not exactly what they mean for treasury and finance. Here’s the breakdown:

• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. ERPs are used to optimize business operations through centralization, improving visibility. Most ERPs also offer modules that have extended financial management capabilities.
• Treasury management systems (TMSs). A TMS is software designed specifically to automate financial operations processes. Companies use these tools to automate management of cash flow, investments, and assets.

What many treasurers aren’t familiar with, however, is the treasury aggregator:

• Treasury aggregator. A treasury aggregator handles the connectivity between your company and the banks you use to conduct business, whether that’s making payments or reporting on cash. The term “treasury aggregator” can refer both to the software platform and to the provider.

What’s the difference between a treasury aggregator and a TMS?

Think of a treasury aggregator as a single portal to view and manage all your banks, payment providers, and other financial institutions. In addition to the benefits that automation brings, you get better cash visibility and control. Treasury aggregators also offer payment and reporting tools that can stand alone or integrate with TMS and ERP systems.

A TMS doesn’t necessarily include bank connectivity, although many TMS providers will work with their clients and a certain set of banks and connectivity protocols. This is something that treasury aggregators specialize in. Another area of specialization is file format conversions. Different banks, and different TMS and ERP systems, use different formats — there is no one standard.

When should I consider a treasury aggregator?

There are a number of scenarios where a treasury aggregator can help. If any of these statements pertain to you, it’s worth having the conversation.

• Cash management and reporting is a challenge because we lack visibility
• Manual processes are taking too much time
• Want the ability to easily and securely make local or international payments
• Worried about regulatory compliance risk with international transactions
• Not ready for / do not need a full treasury management system
• Struggling with message protocols and formats
• Onboarding new banks is slow and painful
• Might want to add or change TMS or ERP vendors in future
• No time/resources/desire to become experts in different connectivity channels and formats
• Looking to centralize treasury functions or control

Which is better, a TMS or a treasury aggregator?

There is no true “one-size-fits-all” software solution for anything. It’s important that you evaluate the specific needs of your business. When it comes to TMSs, treasury aggregators, and ERP systems, one or all might be right for your organization.

A treasury aggregator can serve as a standalone solution for companies just getting started on the path to automation, or those who need better global connectivity. You get the centralized visibility you need for cash and liquidity management, streamlined payments and reporting, and the increased efficiency and productivity that comes from eliminating manual processes. Or, you can choose to connect to a TMS or ERP from day one, or in future — and benefit from the flexibility to swap or upgrade these systems without losing your bank connections.

The industry-leading treasury aggregator

If you’re looking for global cash visibility, efficient payments, functionality tailored to meet your specific needs, and overall treasury process optimization, you’ve come to the right place.

Fides is the world leader in multibank connectivity, payments and transaction communications. A market leader for more than a century, Fides is committed to the principles of Open Banking, making treasury and financial operations as efficient, transparent and secure as possible for all organizations.

Fides provides everything organizations need for efficient cash and liquidity management, all through a single platform — along with connectivity to more than 13,000 financial institutions through an unmatched range of methods and channels. Thousands of companies around the globe rely on Fides’ connectivity capabilities and comprehensive workflow, reporting, conversion, validation and security services, for their own businesses and for extending services to their clients.

Whether you access via the secure Fides ONEHub or take advantage of our seamless integration with third-party ERP, TMS and other backend systems, Fides is the only platform you need.