Workday Teams With Zuora to Streamline B2C Billing

Monetization platform Zuora is teaming with human resources/finance platform Workday.

This collaboration combines Zuora’s order-to-cash automation with Workday Financial Management to give business to consumer (B2C) companies a simpler way to handle complex billing and revenue streams from things like subscriptions or usage-based pricing, the companies said in a Wednesday (Aug. 27) news release.

“As customer expectations change, companies are rethinking how they charge for products and services,” the release said.

“Managing these new models can be challenging, especially when billing rules differ for each revenue type. By combining Zuora’s monetization tools with Workday’s financial platform, companies can more easily track revenue, stay compliant with accounting standards, and speed up audits with automated reporting.”

According to the release, the Zuora Connector for Workday Financial Management offering oversees the operational complexity of monetization as a specialized sub-ledger in Workday Accounting Center, automatically sending financial records to Workday’s general ledger. This gives companies a single, unified view that lets them strengthen the accuracy of financial processes without having to manually enter data.

“Accuracy is a constant challenge for companies managing complex revenue streams,” said Rob Enslin, president and chief commercial officer at Workday. “Our partnership with Zuora will provide customers with a single, reliable view of their financial data – making it easier to operate efficiently, no matter the business model.”

PYMNTS spoke last year with Ken Houseman, vice president of product strategy at Zuora, about the importance of remaining on top of customer churn for subscription businesses.

“Recurring revenue is a huge part of almost every business,” Houseman told PYMNTS during a conversation for the B2B Payments 2024 event.

As that report noted, people who think of the subscription economy, often default to consumer-centric models like streaming services. But, as Houseman pointed out, the reality is much broader, as subscription models are embedded in a range of different business verticals, from cloud computing to digital media, telecommunications along with even older industries such as footwear and apparel.

These retention-based models let businesses build and maintain ongoing relationships with their customers that go beyond a one-time transaction.

But the chief financial officer (CFO) is constructing forecasts and plotting cash flow strategies using that subscription model.

“And, as Houseman said, when customer churn hits — when subscribers discontinue their relationship with a business — the ripple effects on cash flow can be disastrous,” PYMNTS wrote. “At least for those businesses caught flat-footed and unprepared.”