How Malt kept up with hyper-growth and cut DSO by 58%
Malt is Europe’s leading freelance marketplace. Experiencing rapid growth in a number of European markets, Malt faced challenges managing their accounts receivable and cash collection as they scaled.
Audrey Brunet
Client Operations Team Lead
160+
hours saved every month, thanks to a monthly average of 2000 automated actions
58%
decrease in DSO since Malt started using Upflow in 2022 (124 days to 52 days)
25
active users in Upflow across Finance and Customer Success
Mission statement
Malt is where companies and freelancers find the perfect fit.
FTEs
700
Industry
Freelance Marketplace
Offices
Paris, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, Munich
Stack integrated with Upflow:
In-house ERP software
Manual reminders were hindering Malt's efficiency
Prior to Upflow, Malt's collections process relied heavily on manual reminders sent to a large and ever-growing customer base.
With the company growing rapidly throughout Europe, the number of invoices was becoming difficult to track and manage.
As Audrey Brunet, Finance Operations Lead at Malt, explains this wasn’t just a finance topic - getting on top of their cash collection was a business priority. “As a hyper-growth company, it was even more important to tackle this subject because we knew we needed to keep up, to adapt to the market and make sure that our invoicing processes were optimized to scale. If we couldn't do it, we simply couldn't continue the business.”
Malt’s time-consuming manual approach to cash collection lacked transparency, making it difficult to track reminders and the status of overdue invoices. As a result, their Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) was increasing, as the finance team struggled to keep up with outstanding invoices and lacked clarity on where to focus their cash collection efforts.
"We had a lot of manual reminders to send to our clients. And we didn't have visibility on the timing of our reminders to our clients and when we were supposed to send them a message back." - Audrey Brunet, Finance Operations Lead at Malt.
Malt urgently needed a solution to improve efficiency and gain visibility into their accounts receivable processes.
As a hyper-growth company, it was even more important to tackle this subject...If we couldn't do it, we simply couldn't continue the business.
Upflow: A scalable solution for hyper growth
Malt found the answer in Upflow, enabling Audrey and the team to streamline their collections process. With Upflow, Malt was able to set up their own customized mix of automated and manual reminders for customers, freeing up their team to work on higher-value tasks.
Audrey highlights, "The impact is clearly on the volume that we can manage every day. With Upflow we definitely can manage more clients than we could without it. So it's really important for us in a time when we are growing fast."
With an average of 2000 monthly automated actions (e.g. automated emails sent) conducted in the past year, we estimate that Malt has saved over 160 finance team hours per month. That’s time that has been freed up to spend on more strategic and value-adding work, instead of spending days on end chasing unpaid invoices.
The impact is clearly on the volume that we can manage every day...It's really important for us in a time when we are growing fast.
Upflow delivers improved visibility and ability to prioritize actions
Audrey also appreciates how Upflow goes beyond automation by providing valuable insights into their customers’ payment behavior. Upflow's dashboards provide Malt with the ability to segment their customers based on overdue statuses. This allows Audrey and the team to prioritize collection actions and focus on clients most likely to require intervention.
Audrey explains, "We gained visibility on how we remind our clients and how many actions we do on a daily basis. And we can really identify where we need to focus our actions."
Malt's favorite Upflow features
Upflow enables the creation of customized reminder plans tailored to different client segments, ensuring a more personalized approach.
Additionally, the solution has enabled Malt to identify disputed invoices and exclude them from automated reminders, preventing unnecessary communication.
Malt also leverages Upflow's cash flow tracking capabilities to gain valuable insights into the balance between received payments and issued invoices.
Upflow's user-friendly interface empowers the team at Malt to quickly access and manage their collections activities. Their 25 active users in the platform span both their Finance and Customer Success teams, improving cross-collaboration internally and enabling Malt to take a more proactive approach to cash collection. This has in turn improved the customer experience, helping to avoid unneeded conflict and facilitate the payment process.
Audrey notes, “The team loves the visuals. First thing in the morning, they directly go on Upflow and check what's the new actions to handle. How the tool is created is really user friendly”.
Furthermore, Upflow integrates seamlessly via API with Malt's existing custom-built ERP system, ensuring smooth data synchronization and eliminating manual data entry.
The team loves the visuals. First thing in the morning, they directly go on Upflow and check what's the new actions to handle. How the tool is created is really user friendly.
Streamlined workflows mean faster collections and happier customers
Upflow has transformed Malt's cash collections workflow, enabling them to effectively manage a large and continually growing customer base.
Malt leverages both automatic and manual reminders in Upflow, utilizing the platform’s automation for most reminders while maintaining control over complex cases requiring phone calls or adjustments. This approach ensures a balance between efficiency and the need for personalized communication.
The proactive approach they are able to take with the Upflow platform means Malt is now often able to collect payments before the invoice due date, which has led to a 58% reduction in their DSO (Days Sales Outstanding).
For Audrey, however, it’s not all about speed. She also recognizes the importance of client satisfaction when it comes to the tricky business of collecting cash. Audrey emphasizes, "It has been important for us to gain in efficiency with automatic reminders, whilst also retaining control on how the reminders are being done. We need to make sure we are providing the best possible customer experience and we know that unneeded reminders can have a negative impact".
Upflow allows Malt to maintain control over reminder frequency, segmenting customers and approaching difficult cases in a bespoke and more manual way, which has been useful in preventing customer frustration.
Malt is future-proofed to scale with Upflow
As Malt continues to grow rapidly, Upflow remains a key partner in their success. Upflow's scalable solution empowers Malt to manage a growing client base without sacrificing efficiency.
Malt has already doubled their investment in Upflow in 2024, indicating their confidence in the tool's ability to continue providing value as they scale.
With Upflow, Malt is confident in their ability to navigate future growth while maintaining a healthy cash flow and positive client relationships.
In summary: Upflow's impact on Malt's business
Upflow's intelligent automation streamlined Malt's cash collection workflow, delivering a valuable blend of efficiency and scalability:
DSO slashed by 58%: Upflow's automated and customizable reminders ensured timely payments, significantly improving cash flow.
160+ hours won back each month: Freed from chasing paper trails, Malt's finance team repurposed over 160 hours each month for higher-value tasks.
Happy clients, happy business: Upflow empowers Malt to prioritize collection efforts, ensuring a smooth and personalized experience for their customers. This commitment to client satisfaction is a cornerstone of Malt's success.
Future-proofed scalability: As Malt continues growing, Upflow has scaled seamlessly alongside them. Malt’s confidence in Upflow is evident in their doubled investment in 2024, ensuring a healthy cash flow and strong client relationships well into the future.
Upflow has become an indispensable tool for Malt, empowering them to navigate hyper-growth while maintaining a focus on client satisfaction.
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