Case Studies

Arizent Case Study

Arizent consolidates billing and payments across multiple business lines with a single integration with BlueSnap.

“Because we do so many different things, it’s nice to have that relationship, to be able to connect. Anytime some sort of challenge comes up or we need to do something new, there are people that we work with all the time.”

Michael O'Connor, Director of Salesforce Operations, Arizent

Who Is Arizent?

Arizent is a business information company that advances professional communities by providing insights and analysis and convening industry leaders. The company uses deep industry expertise and a data-driven platform to deliver its services, which include subscriptions, marketing services, live events and access to Leaders, an executive forum. Arizent also connects business communities through leading financial services brands like American Banker, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning and National Mortgage News, as well as professional services brands like Accounting Today, Employee Benefit News and Digital Insurance.

The Challenge

Arizent was using different payment solutions and processes to support its multiple lines of business. After struggling with disparate data sources, each system having its own payment tokens and requiring customers to provide payment information when purchasing from another piece of the business, Arizent wanted to begin consolidating its payments into a single system.

Additionally, Arizent was dealing with legacy payment options and manual processes. Since Arizent serves both individual professionals and business customers, allowing customers to efficiently pay with ACH is important, and their existing payments provider did not offer this payment option. Following up on unpaid invoices involved manual processes – sometimes the collections team would even have to regenerate invoices to be sent to customers who were being contacted for payment, causing duplicate work and inefficiencies.

Arizent implemented Sage Intacct, a cloud-based accounting software, but also required a single payment solution that could integrate with Sage and meet the company’s various payment needs. Arizent’s outside consultants suggested BlueSnap.

The Solution

With a strong payment integration for Sage Intacct, BlueSnap is a natural choice for Arizent. In addition to payment processing, BlueSnap Accounts Receivable Automation was able to help Arizent automate its entire billing, from generating payment links, sending out invoices, and collecting customer payments.

Using BlueSnap and Sage Intacct together has helped streamline Arizent’s billing and payment processes, and customers have more options for making payments. With BlueSnap’s Payment Orchestration Platform, Arizent can manage billing for multiple business lines through one integration. This single back-end provides streamlined business processes and reduced operating expenses. Now, instead of Arizent creating invoices, sending them to customers and then manually following up, a salesperson can simply generate a contract in Salesforce, which syncs with Sage Intacct’s contract module, and the invoice is created. Then, Sage Intacct automatically syncs to BlueSnap, where the invoice is assigned to an automated workflow that can instantly charge a card for the invoice or deliver it to the customer to pay electronically via card, ACH or digital wallet.

The Results

According to Michael O’Connor, Director of Salesforce Operations at Arizent, the most significant benefit of choosing BlueSnap is that it provides a single billing solution as they bring more lines of business into the platform, as well as the internal efficiencies and improved customer experience. O’Connor admits that while consolidating to a single payment vendor isn’t easy, it is definitely worth it, especially when you have a supportive team helping you out.

However, what separates BlueSnap from other payment providers in O’Connor’s mind is the consultative approach to providing implementation support, troubleshooting and solutions. “Because we do so many different things, it’s nice to have that relationship, to be able to connect. Anytime some sort of challenge comes up or we need to do something new, there are people that we work with all the time.”

When Arizent needed a solution for customers that purchase subscriptions via telephone and wanted to pay at the time of the transaction, BlueSnap was able to help, working in systems that the company already uses. BlueSnap suggested and helped Arizent set up Chargent, a Salesforce plugin that acts as a terminal for taking customers’ payment information that is processed by BlueSnap.

Other payment providers didn’t provide the same level of customer service or foster deep working relationships with Arizent. “In the past, a lot of the struggles and frustrations that we had were that the payment solution was just an app,” says O’Connor. “There’s really nobody behind it, and a lot of the time we felt stuck.”

With past providers, there was no continuity and O’Connor frequently received articles in order to fix issues instead of the support he needed. “Now, with BlueSnap, we can just reach out to [our account team]. They’re super responsive, and they’ll look into it…. It takes away a lot of the frustration, and it allows us to focus our time where we need to focus it.”

Moving forward, Arizent plans to continue consolidating its billing and payment processes through BlueSnap. “Just getting our entire business on one system, we’ve asked a lot from [the BlueSnap team] in helping us get where we are today, but they’re always really good sports about it. Even in the evenings, they still jump on calls with us and hold our hands and walk us through the process. The value of that relationship can’t be overstated.”