Customer Self-service in Salesforce

Moving from Legacy Systems to Automated Payment Processing

Lindamood Bell

Lindamood-Bell delivers programs to children and adults that develop the focus on the sensory-cognitive processes that underlie reading and comprehension. They operate over 60 learning centers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, in addition to dozens of seasonal clinics.

Nate Graham
Nate Graham

CIO, Lindamood-Bell
Learning Processes

Growing Beyond Limiting Legacy Systems

Lindamood-Bell had internally built, antiquated legacy systems that were highly customized to their unique business. They understood that as their business grew, having internally built systems was risky, limited technical innovation, and created an overburdened IT department. The company initially brought in the Salesforce platform, then looked to Chargent to support their payment processes.

  • Legacy systems had difficulty talking to modern accounting software
  • Accounting and payment processes were burdened with manual processes
  • Significant resources were dedicated to identifying and correcting accounting errors and reconciliations
  • Customer payments were manual and in-person with paper records of credit card data
  • Struggling with multiple currencies as the company expanded internationally
  • High staff turnover largely due to administrative burden
  • Manual accounting and payment processes took resources away from customer support

Modernizing Internally Built Systems

Lindamood-Bell had clear goals for implementing Chargent.

  • Streamline financial and operational processes
    • Reduce manual processes and errors
    • Focus resources on analysis instead of reconciliation
  • Improve focus on the customer
  • Use efficient systems and apps to let employees focus more on customers
  • Give customers self-service options for things like payments
  • Scalability
    • Support growth without adding headcount and accommodate the cyclical nature of their business.
    • Because most of their revenue is generated during the summer months the ability to scale at that time is fundamental.
  • Significant customizations were needed for payment schedules
    • A standard products and price-books approach wouldn’t work
    • Required significant flexibility in discounts and invoices based on custom items
    • Required custom forecasting models

Empowered Customers and Streamlined Systems

  • Customers were empowered with self-service options.
    • Within the first 6 months, 40% of the 18,000 payments made were done through the self-serve option using Chargent.
    • Most payments are anticipated to be self-serve in the future.
  • Automated payments
    • Customers are now given an automated payment option through electronic authorization on their first payment.
    • This is preferable for customers and reduces internal resource needs.
  • Automated invoices and discounts
    • Invoices automatically post to the GL with discounts applied.
    • This gives better insight into gross and net revenue, and forecasting.
  • PCI compliance
    • Credit card processing errors dropped.
    • This helped with their compliance requirements, positively impacted their merchant rates, and minimized the time spent on reconciliations.
  • Easier invoicing processes
    • Simplified payment and invoicing process for staff.
    • A single button click in Salesforce initiates invoicing and the use of Chargent Orders simplifies repeat payments.