Cash Culture Pulse 2022, conducted by Sidetrade, interviewed international firms across the UK, Europe, US, Asia and the Middle East to explore ways to improve efficiencies in the management of unpaid invoices in B2B and the current cash culture trends.
Key to this new study was a focus on measuring the direct impact of the use of accounts receivable software in improving the cash collection results:
- It revealed that 42% of finance teams still heavily reliant on spreadsheets reported a high ratio of late payments overall (15%).
- Conversely, this number was almost halved (22%) for finance teams that use a cash and credit management software.
Nearly ¾ of teams using spreadsheets are unsatisfied
Cash Culture Pulse 2022 provided insight into how businesses track customer payments, and measured the satisfaction and expectations of the teams in charge of this business area:
- While 87% of finance teams still relying on spreadsheets to manage accounts receivables – either fully or partially – 72% claim to be dissatisfied with the process.
- In contrast, 80% of teams that use a dedicated solution to manage this process are satisfied.
Artificial Intelligence: a strategic priority for cash & credit management
While 61% of finance departments are not taking full advantage of new technologies, this trend is expected to change in the coming years, as 79% of respondents say Artificial Intelligence and automation will be a strategic priority to generate cash faster and more efficiently.
In the fallout from the pandemic, cash culture has been positioned higher on business leaders’ agendas, as companies look to secure and accelerate cash flow generation and establish a 360° vision on the whole Order-to-Cash cycle. This paradigm shift provides seamless collaboration among Finance, Sales and Support functions and ensures that Finance has the best technologies available.
Sidetrade’s CFO, Philippe Gangneux, commented: It’s clear that spreadsheets have an increasing number of limits and complexities. Now intelligent technologies support changing methods of delivering enterprise business capabilities. CFOs have a vested interest in including these intelligent technologies in their new roles and new challenges, or risk missing opportunities to optimize value and drive growth. The modern CFO should now take advantage of AI technology to streamline financial processes, particularly in cash management, and receivables.
Beyond this, there are a whole host of other ways in which spreadsheets prevent finance leaders from reaching their potential; they limit an organization’s ability to instill a cash culture, they don’t provide any intelligent recommendations, and they cannot promote data centricity and visibility across the business. The crisis we have been through has revealed the importance of securing cash flows, and more and more financial leaders are recognizing the benefit of working with a dedicated technology for enhanced Order-to-Cash performance.
Olivier Novasque, CEO of Sidetrade commented on the financial update:
Sidetrade has just achieved the best sales quarter in its history, and this is only the beginning. The deals won internationally in the fourth quarter of 2021 – 70% of all bookings – bode well for unprecedented growth in the booming Order-to-Cash market. 2021; the first year of our Fusion100 strategic growth plan, has clearly been a turning point for Sidetrade. We now know that our technology offering is two to three years ahead of our main North American competitors. We have been building up our local teams, and our early successes in North America are proving that we are already ahead of the game. Never in our history have we been so sure of exactly where we stand, and so confident about where we are headed.
Record in 2021 Q4 as bookings surge by 23% on ACV
In the fourth quarter of 2021, Sidetrade set a new record for SaaS bookings, which will generate an additional €1.67m in Annual Recurring Revenue (“ARR”), compared to €1.54m in Q4 2020. The previous record was €1.57m of ARR, set in 2020 Q2. The total value of these new subscription contracts over their initial contract periods (excluding renewals) represents €4.15 million of Total Contract Value (“TCV”).
To these SaaS orders should be added €1.38 million of services on an annual basis (implementation, configuration, training, recurring services, etc.), compared with €0.98 million in Q4 2020.
The annual contract value (ACV) of these bookings is €3.05m in 2021 Q4 vs. €2.52m in 2020 Q4, a 23% increase.
Very strong international momentum: 70% of bookings intake in 2021 Q4
International expansion achieved in 2021 Q4
The fourth quarter of 2021 saw success after success in international sales, representing 70% of all bookings. Sidetrade is scaling up, proving once again that its offer is particularly well-suited to all B2B organizations operating on a global level.
North America already accounts for 24%: €0.41m ARR of the total value of new contracts in 2021 Q4, with substantial worldwide wins, such as Micro Focus carried out in collaboration with the European sales teams; Air Liquide in the U.S. (for E-invoicing), and Linde in Canada. This shows that Sidetrade’s North American recruitment policy is clearly paying off. The company has been able to attract top talent locally and build a salesforce with solid experience in the field of Order-to-Cash. Today, there are a dozen sales, and that number will most likely double in 2022, given the excellent outlook for growth. The aim is for the U.S. to generate over a third of Sidetrade’s worldwide orders by the second half of 2022.
Sidetrade has also performed very well elsewhere in the world, totaling 46% of sales outside of France (€0.77m ARR) in 2021 Q4, with the signature of almost all of Edenred worldwide entities, further expansion of Veolia in Italy, Saverglass in Australia, as well as Finning and Tyréns in the UK.
Overall, international business represented 70% of total bookings intake at the end of 2021 Q4.
In France, business remained strong in the period, accounting for 30% of new bookings (€0.50m of ARR), thanks in part to new deals, such as with the Socotec, and with Société Martiniquaise des Eaux (SME), as well as upsell to key accounts including VISEO (for e-invoicing), NGE, STEF and Saint Gobain Adfors.
Solid and balanced bookings intake in 2021
New subscription contracts in 2021 amounted to €4.75m of ARR against €4.16m in 2020, an increase of 14%. In addition, €3.53m of services were sold (vs; €2,87m in 2020). In total, 2021 bookings reached €8.28m in ACV vs. €7.03m in 2020, an 18% increase.
The mix of new business (42%), cross-sell (30%), and upsell (28%) remains well-balanced, indicative of a high-quality customer portfolio. Moreover, the initial contract period for new customers remains stable at 36.25 months (excluding renewals).
In terms of business development, sector diversification is also under control with ICT and B2B Services accounting for 40% of total annual booking intake, followed by Utilities & Environment and Construction (30%), and Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics (28%).
Strong annual growth in SaaS revenue, up 16%
| SIDETRADE (MILLION EUROS) |
2021 | 2020 | VARIATION (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS Revenue | 27.0 | 23.2 | +16% |
| Revenue | 32.6 | 29.2 | +12% |
Throughout 2021, SaaS subscription revenue continued to grow significantly at +16%, reaching €27m.
Sidetrade’s SaaS recurring revenue model has once again proven its resilience. For the first time, Sidetrade has achieved 90% recurring revenue for the entire year, one of the highest ratios in the software industry.
This strong progression was supported by solid growth in international markets, which now represent 46% of total revenue, including 15% for North America.
Regarding annual revenue, Sidetrade generated €32.6m in 2021, up 12% against the previous year.
Sidetrade looks ahead to the 2022 business year with confidence and a clear vision. Sidetrade has high expectations, and the means to achieve its ambitions.
The 2021 Sidetrade Code Academy commenced in September following an intensive assessment period in the summer. The programme culminated in a presentation day, where six participants showcased their final projects to peers and Sidetrade’s business leaders. Following this, three of the graduates have now joined Sidetrade as full-time employees in the R&D and Professional Services teams.
The Sidetrade Code Academy is a free, four-week course designed and delivered entirely in-house by Sidetrade’s full-stack developers and data scientists. The course is aimed at adults with any level of tech expertise to provide them with the opportunity not only to learn to code, but to gain valuable experience of the world of work, and insight into how a fast growth fintech business operates. The curriculum focuses heavily on offering hands on experience, in addition to theoretical training.
Since 2018, The Sidetrade Code Academy has seen an average of 53% year-on-year growth of applicants indicating its growing success and popularity in the West Midlands. What’s more, since its launch Sidetrade has offered 12 full time roles.
Luke Hennerley, Principal Engineer at Sidetrade and Creator of the Sidetrade Code Academy commented on the vision behind the programme: I was first inspired to help get Code Academy up and running because of my own experience starting a career in the world of tech. After taking a 12-month Software Developer apprenticeship, I believed there were better, quicker and more efficient ways to get into the industry.
Other coding bootcamps are often incredibly costly, time consuming, and offer no immediate job opportunities at the end. For someone just looking to learn and break into the tech industry, this can be very off-putting. I wanted to create a programme that was much more accessible, and gave real-world employment opportunities too, to help new entrants learn and grow their careers. To date, we’ve had huge success, and have built a team of tech talent who are hungry to learn more and continue growing.
Mark Sheldon, Chief Technology Officer of Sidetrade added: We had some fantastic talent on our latest Sidetrade Code Academy and are delighted to welcome three new hires to our teams. The programme, designed by our very own Sidetraders, is a very challenging curriculum, and all of the participants excelled themselves in rising to the challenge.
I am a firm believer in on-the-job training, particularly when it comes to more technical roles. As a CTO and employer, I really couldn’t care less about whether a new recruit has a degree or years of academic training under their belt. What I am more interested in is their attitude and desire to learn. The Sidetrade Code Academy is a fantastic initiative for this because it gives individuals – who might otherwise have been deterred from applying for a role in tech due to limited training – the opportunity to learn, grow and get their foot in the industry.
- Annual Revenue for 2021
Tuesday, 25 January 2022 after stock market closes - Annual Results for 2021
Tuesday, 26 April 2022 after stock market closes - First Quarter Revenue for 2022
Tuesday, 10 May 2022 after stock market closes - Annual Shareholder general meeting
Thursday, 16 June 2021 from 11:00am to 12:30pm (CEST) - First Half Year Revenue for 2022
Tuesday, 19 July 2022 after stock market closes - First Half Year Results for 2022
Tuesday, 20 September 2021 after stock market closes - Third Quarter Revenue for 2022
Tuesday, 18 October 2022 after stock market closes - Annual Revenue for 2022
Tuesday, 24 January 2023 after stock market closes