Revenue operations
Revenue operations is the path from a lead to money in the bank: quote, approval, order, delivery, invoice, collection. In most companies the path crosses three systems and four people and leaks at every handoff. Quotes sit unsent, approved work is not invoiced, invoices go out at month end and collections start when someone notices. We map the path, fix the handoffs and measure each step so revenue arrives faster and more predictably.
What you leave with
A quote-to-cash process with owners, timings and measures at every step, and a shorter gap between doing the work and being paid for it.
Who it is for
- Service and trades companies where work is done weeks before it is invoiced
- Companies with a CRM, an accounting system and a job system that do not agree on what was sold
- Businesses with a growing receivables balance and no collections routine
What we deliver
- A map of your quote-to-cash process as it actually runs, with the leaks marked
- A redesigned process with a step owner, a time standard and a measure at each stage
- Quoting rules and approval limits connected to your pricing
- Invoicing at the point of delivery, with deposits and progress billing where the work is long
- A collections routine with escalation points and scripts
- A weekly revenue scorecard: quotes out, win rate, backlog, invoiced, collected, days sales outstanding
How it runs
01Map
We follow ten real jobs or orders from lead to cash and record where each one slowed, stopped or lost money.
02Redesign
We cut the handoffs, set the standards and decide which system owns each step.
03Connect
We configure the CRM, job and accounting systems so that sold, delivered and invoiced agree without re-keying.
04Measure
We launch the weekly scorecard and review it with you for the first quarter.
Engagement and fees
A 90-Day Sprint at $80K to $250K where systems need to be connected and the sales, operations and finance teams all change how they work. A Workshop of two to four weeks at $30K to $80K for the process map, the redesign and the collections routine. Every engagement is scoped after a call and confirmed in writing. See consultations and fees.
Where quote-to-cash leaks
The leaks are consistent across industries. Quotes are slow, so the customer buys elsewhere. Quotes are approved by nobody, so margin leaks on every discount. Work is changed in the field and the change is never billed. Invoices are raised at month end, which adds up to thirty days to collection for no reason. Collections are a scramble when cash is tight and ignored when it is not.
Each leak is small and each is invisible on the income statement. Together they explain why a company with strong sales and good margins can still carry a receivables balance that would fund a year of growth.
Designing the process
A good quote-to-cash process has a named owner for every step, a time standard for how long each step may take, and a measure that shows whether it is being met. Quote within one business day. Approve discounts above a limit. Invoice on the day of delivery. First collections contact at seven days past due. Owner escalation at thirty.
The systems follow the process, not the other way round. The CRM owns the quote, the job or order system owns delivery, the accounting system owns the invoice and the receipt, and the three are connected so that nobody re-keys a sale. Where the connection is not available, we design the manual handoff so it takes minutes and cannot be skipped.
Collections as a routine, not a crisis
Collections work when they are boring. A fixed sequence of contacts, by email and phone, starting before the invoice is due and escalating on a schedule, run by one person every week. Scripts for each contact. A rule for when the owner calls. A rule for when work stops. A rule for when a customer moves to deposit or card terms.
Deposits and progress billing change the picture more than any amount of chasing. A customer who has paid a deposit is a customer who is committed, and a long job billed in stages funds itself. We build both into the quoting rules so they are standard rather than negotiated every time.
- Access to your CRM, job or order system and accounting system
- Ten recent jobs or orders with their quotes, invoices and payment dates
- Your aged receivables and your current collections practice, if any
Industries where we run this most
Questions about this service
Is revenue operations a sales thing or a finance thing?
Both, which is why it falls through the gap. Sales owns the front of the path and finance owns the back. We run it from the finance side because the measure that matters is cash collected, and we bring the sales and operations leads into the redesign so the handoffs hold.
Do we need new software?
Usually not. Most companies already own a CRM, a job or order system and an accounting system. The problem is that they were set up separately and nobody owns the connections. We configure what you have first and recommend a change only where a tool genuinely cannot do its job.
How do we shorten the time from job done to cash in?
Invoice on the day of delivery, take deposits, bill long jobs in stages, offer card and pre-authorised debit for small accounts, and start collections before the due date rather than after. Each of these is a process decision, not a software one, and together they shorten the cycle considerably.
Can you help us stop margin leaking on discounts?
Yes. Discount limits by role, approval above the limit, and a weekly report of discounts given by salesperson are the three controls. They connect to the pricing work, which sets the target margin the rules protect.
Start with a finance review.
Ninety minutes with Ali on your cash, margin and pricing. You leave with the four numbers to watch and the two or three moves that change them, whether or not we work together.