Cash on delivery (COD) is a transaction in which your customer pays for their product at the time of delivery. Originally the term applied to just a cash transaction but has since encompassed charge and check payments as well. Depending on your current processes, you might find payments go missing by the end of the day. It could be that the driver forgot it in his vehicle or his pocket. Maybe the amount collected by the driver was incorrect. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to make sure that the COD payments collected by the driver were all accounted for in a timely manner and done electronically?
With Elite EXTRA the drivers collect the COD information through the EXTRA Driver app, which can improve your current processes by providing real-time data. COD collection can be made mandatory which means your driver cannot complete the stop until the COD information is collected, or COD collection can be voluntary which allows the driver to skip over the collection of COD information.
What happens with the information after the driver collects it? Payment validation is a process within Elite EXTRA that allows users to edit COD payment information, approve manifests, and release held drivers. The concept of payment validation is to check drivers in after completing manifests; making sure that CODs are received, pickups or returned parts are verified and orders were delivered without error. This process allows a dispatcher or cashier to reconcile the payment with the driver as soon as the driver returns to the warehouse after making their deliveries.
When using the Elite EXTRA Payment Validation feature there are some options that will allow you to customize the feature to your needs. You can approve COD Manifests which allow staff users to check driver manifests with COD payments only, and edit and approve them without the drivers being held. A staff user can still dispatch a new manifest if a previous manifest has issues or is not approved. This allows for fast-paced adjustments that get a driver out of the door faster, even if they have a discrepancy. This also allows for workflows in which drivers don’t reconcile payments until the end of the day. Another option within Elite EXTRA is to approve all manifests, which allows staff to check all driver manifests (regardless if there are COD invoices or not), edit and approve them without the drivers being held, and still dispatch a new manifest if a previous manifest has issues or is not approved. One of the more popular options is to use “Hold Drivers”. With this option enabled, the driver cannot be dispatched a new route until the last manifest they completed has been reviewed and approved. The last option allows for approval when totals do not match. If the total collected by the driver doesn’t match the order total the person reconciling can still approve the invoice. Many customers pay at the end of the day so there are times when the amount collected is zero, until the end of the day when the driver collects a check with a total for all of the day’s deliveries.
For more information about Elite EXTRA please visit EliteEXTRA.com You may also contact the Elite EXTRA Sales team at 1-888-484-8729 or by simply emailing sales@eliteextra.com. If you are a current user please email our award winning support staff at support@eliteextra.com.
