#Accounts Receivable Collections

[kapittx]

How Can Gen AI Revolutionize Your Accounts Receivable Process?

The advent of Generative AI (Gen AI) heralds a paradigm shift in the landscape of Finance and Accounting (F&A). Much like the introduction of spreadsheets as a product innovation decades ago, finance professionals were quick to embrace and derive immense benefits from the use of spreadsheets. 

Gen AI in Finance and Accounting emerges as a potential game-changer, poised to revolutionize traditional practices within the realm of F&A and invoice payments. However, for this potential to be realized, CFOs must demonstrate openness to experimentation, allowing themselves to explore the tangible impact of Gen AI in Finance and Accounting functions.

Embarking on this journey necessitates a focused exploration of Gen AI’s applicability, particularly within accounts receivable management and invoice payments. By delving into this domain, CFOs can gain firsthand insight into the transformative power of Gen AI in Accounts Receivable. As with any strategic business investment, it is prudent to assess the anticipated returns and the timeframe within which these benefits can be realized.

In essence, embracing Gen AI in accounts receivable and invoice payments represents not only a technological advancement but also a strategic imperative for forward-thinking finance leaders. By embracing innovation and fostering a culture of experimentation, organizations can unlock unprecedented efficiency, agility, and competitive advantage in the ever-evolving landscape of finance and accounting.

How Can Gen AI Revolutionize Your Accounts Receivable Process?

Irrespective of the organization, to ensure optimal efficiency within the accounts receivable function and to explore the potential of integrating Gen AI powered Accounts receivable, it is essential to adopt a strategic approach centered around four key building blocks. These pillars serve as the foundation for effective management and innovation in accounts receivable:

Receivable Antecedents : 

This encompasses the meticulous orchestration of all preliminary tasks necessary to establish a receivable. From the initial engagement with clients to the negotiation of terms, to the careful documentation of agreements, each step in this process demands precision and foresight. Building strong receivables antecedents lays the foundation for smooth transactions, timely invoice payments and ensures a robust financial framework

They include:

Customer Onboarding: Accurate customer data collection, credit checks, and setting credit limits.

Sales Order Processing: Efficiently converting orders into invoices.

Contractual Agreements: Clear terms and conditions regarding payment terms, discounts, and penalties.

Order Fulfillment: Ensuring timely delivery of goods or services.

Timely Invoicing: Generate invoices promptly after goods/services are delivered.

Clear and Accurate Invoices: Ensure clarity, itemization, and correct pricing.

Invoice Presentment and Reminders: 

In the dynamic landscape of revenue management, the presentation of invoices holds paramount importance. It transcends beyond mere documentation; it embodies the essence of your transactions, encapsulating the value exchanged with your clients. Your approach to invoice presentment and invoice payments is characterized by clarity, accuracy, and timeliness. Moreover, one need to recognize the strategic significance of reminders in facilitating prompt invoice payments. Through proactive communication and gentle nudges, you endeavor to uphold transparency, nurture client relationships, and optimize cash flow dynamics.

This step involves creating and delivering invoices to customers:

Multiple Channels: Offer electronic and paper-based invoice delivery to facilitate invoice payments.

Standard Payment Reminder Schedule:

o Set a consistent schedule for sending payment reminders. This helps maintain clarity and predictability for both you and your clients. o Send reminders before the due date to gently prompt clients to pay on time. o Issue reminders close to the actual due date to emphasize the urgency.

• Personalized Reminders:

      o Customize your reminders to suit each client. Address them by name and include relevant details.       o Personalization shows that you value the relationship and encourages prompt payment.

• Politeness and Professionalism:

o Maintain a polite and professional tone in your reminders. o Avoid threatening language or negativity that could harm the client relationship. o Clearly state the purpose of the reminder and the essential details, such as the invoice number, amount due, and due date.

Collaboration :

Collaboration lies at the heart of your approach, both externally with your valued customers and internally among your team members and departments. Externally, effective collaboration involves understanding your clients’ needs, communicating transparently, and working together to resolve any issues or discrepancies promptly. Internally, collaboration ensures alignment across functions, streamlines processes, and maximizes efficiency, ultimately leading to superior customer service and satisfaction.

Effective communication is crucial:

Customer Communication: Regular follow-ups, addressing queries, and resolving disputes.

Internal Coordination: Collaboration between sales, finance, and customer service teams.

Dispute Resolution: Swiftly address any discrepancies.

Payments and receipt management :

Efficient management of invoice payments and receipts is essential for maintaining cash flow and optimizing financial performance. This includes implementing secure and convenient payment channels, diligently tracking incoming payments, and promptly reconciling accounts. By prioritizing invoice payments and receipt management, you can minimize delays, mitigate risks, and ensure the stability and resilience of our financial ecosystem.

Efficient handling of incoming invoice payments:

Payment Channels: Accept various methods (credit cards, bank transfers, etc.).

Reconciliation: Match payments with outstanding invoices.

Cash Application: Apply payments accurately to the correct accounts.

What are the building blocks of Gen AI in Accounts Receivable?

Overall, Gen AI in accounts receivable encompasses a wide range of capabilities making it a versatile tool for various applications across different domains. A few of the core building blocks are –

Data Generation: Gen AI In accounts receivable, can generate synthetic data to augment existing datasets used for training predictive models. For example, it can create simulated customer invoice payments histories, including variations in payment amounts, frequencies, and timing. This synthetic data allows organizations to train their models more comprehensively, improving the accuracy of predictions regarding future payment behavior.

Data Conversion: Gen AI in accounts receivable can facilitate the conversion of data between different formats in the accounts receivable process. For instance, it can automatically convert paper-based invoices into digital formats by extracting relevant information such as invoice numbers, amounts, and due dates using optical character recognition (OCR) technology. This conversion streamlines the invoicing process, reducing manual effort and minimizing errors.

Data Categorization: Gen AI in accounts receivable, can categorize transactions based on various criteria such as invoice payment methods, customer segments, or invoice statuses. For example, it can automatically classify incoming invoice payments as cash, checks, or electronic transfers, allowing finance teams to track payment trends and reconcile accounts more efficiently. By categorizing transactions accurately, Gen AI powered accounts receivable enhances data organization and facilitates deeper insights into receivables management.

Advisor Functionality: Gen AI in accounts receivable serves as an intelligent advisor by providing actionable insights and recommendations based on analyzed data. For example, it can identify patterns of late invoice payments or discrepancies in invoicing that may indicate potential issues with specific customers or billing processes. By alerting finance teams to these anomalies, Gen AI powered accounts receivable enables proactive intervention to mitigate risks and optimize cash flow management.

Overall, Generative AI enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of accounts receivable operations by generating data, facilitating data conversion, categorizing transactions, and providing intelligent advisory support. By leveraging Gen AI capabilities, organizations can streamline receivables management processes, improve decision-making, and ultimately enhance financial performance.

[chubs-deuce]

Mona's mom is probably in prison and fuck your boundaries, I hope you get brutalized in the future

Those are some bold words for someone who tried to gaslight me with plagiarized words and didn't even have the decency to deny it, even when the server admin from who you stole the paragraph - back from when she was politely warning you about your toxic behavior in dms - has directly confronted you about it.

I know you can't stand losing to the point where you show your worst colors the second anyone disagrees with you (something you've been called out for consistently by multiple people, on top of general rudeness), but this is an L you're just going to have to accept taking lmao.

It was never about Mona's mom or how close to the truth your crude takes were or not, it has always been about your rancid behavior and self-absorbed attitude with which said takes are always presented. You barged into my post and dropped an insulting assumption in the comments about a hypothetical character the post wasn't even about, then made an ass of yourself when I pointed out that it's rude to do that.

The fact that you're completely failing to acknowledge this and instead try to shift the blame - once again - away from you and proceeed to resort to threaten me with violence is just proving that for me.

I don't normally respond to hateful asks like this, but there is also rarely a person that has proven to be as deserving of my ire and being told exactly how much is wrong with them and their behavior as you.

And you hate me because I see through your manipulative bully tactics and call them out plain as day.

Note by the way, please, how not once I have resorted to childish name-calling in this entire post and yet made my distaste for you abundantly clear? That's the difference between me and you.

I understand and acknowledge the risks and consequences of my actions, think and reflect about what I'm saying and how it affects people, how both can and will be used against me if the opportunity presents itself, how to handle it when it does. I will admit when I've made a mistake and do what I can to rectify it, or at least take steps to try and prevent it from happening again in the future. I'm not perfect and I make mistakes, but I at least try to be better.

You don't. You talk shit and get mad when you get hit. Then keep doing the same thing, again and again.

Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe being more observant, honest and mindful will actually get you the kind of validation you crave? And yet you keep tricking, keep manipulating, keep bullying your way through life, to get what you want.

I feel almost sorry for you, honestly. Whoever taught you that that's the way to go has done you dirty, because there's just no way in my mind how anyone as vapid and manipulative as you as her go-to strategy in life would be capable of forming genuine, lasting bonds.

[abuadam86]

Emergency: Help save my children's lives

Dear humanity,

I am Habib from Gaza. I am married and have four children: Menna, 12 years old, Adam, 10 years old (suffering from quadriplegia), Maria, 6 years old, and Ezz, one year old. Although they are young, they have survived previous wars, but this current war is the most difficult of all. This is a war of genocide, and the difficulty of the war lies in the inability to meet the needs of my son Adam, who needs special care.

Over the past ten months, we have been caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Our once peaceful home in Khan Yunis has been reduced to rubble, and now we find ourselves displaced in Deir al-Balah, living in squalid conditions in a makeshift tent on the streets. The devastation not only deprived us of our physical shelter, but also destroyed my livelihood - the once thriving business that supported our family's well-being, is now in ruins. The daily struggle for survival is exacerbated by the scarcity of basic necessities such as clean water, adequate sanitation and basic medical supplies

Our home was the place where we found hope and safety, and where we made precious memories. Losing him was like losing years of our lives.

Not only that, they destroyed my source of livelihood, burned it, and demolished it with bulldozers, and today I am without a home and without a job. I was working in a store I owned that met the needs and expenses of my family

Living in tents is miserable. There is a lack of drinking water, hot sun rays, and strange insects that have terrified my children. What hurts me most is my young son Ezz, who I see growing up in an unclean environment and with no healthy food for him. I believe he has not received his right to life.

At this stage, my husband and I decided to go to you and create an account on the Go Fund Me website and ask you to help us in these difficult times until we get out of Gaza, from the land of war to the land of peace. All we need from you is to support us and help us to get out of the war, even if you cannot help. You should spread the word. This campaign is everywhere and among your friends. We thank you for your stance and support for us. Thank you, my friends

The amount that will be collected from this campaign :

We will spend it by paying the amount to coordinate entry through the Rafah land crossing, which connects Gaza to the State of Egypt, since, as I mentioned, they charge an adult $5,000, but depending on the pressures, crises, and waiting, the amount may reach $7,000 per person, and children $2,500 to $4,000.

We will also use it for the rest of the travel and safe transportation expenses to provide for all family members.

A picture of my children's life before the war

A video of my children's lives living the war

May God reward you with all the best and may God bless you

Best wishes with sincere gratitude,

Habib's family

My Instagram account link

My account vetted by:

@dlxxv-vetted-donations

(vetted)

[eman-kha]

Trying to help for urgent medical treatment

Please give a minute of your time reading my story and give me support

https://gofund.me/4c9ebb8b

I'm Eman. I’m 17 years old, and until the start of this war I lived a happy life in Gaza with my mother.

We’re currently residing in Khan Younis and living in a tent as a result of the brutalities committed by Israel since October 7th.

My father was martyred in the 2014 aggression.

My mother has been suffering from increase blood pressure and heart problems for more than four years and needs lifelong treatment now that her condition has worsened since the beginning of the aggression

We struggle daily to survive in an environment full of threats and risks.

The occupation destroyed my dreams and my future.

My school has also been destroyed, and I'm now a year behind other students my age.

I’m trying to collect the necessary funds to evacuate me and my mother, 49 years old, and start a new life after reaching Egypt.

I hope everyone can help me and help my mother donate and reblog please 🙏

Thanks a lot 🍉🤍

Eman Khader

My account Vetted by

@90-ghost The link

@Natalieee

@microcomets

@c-u-c-koo-4-40k

@here-sean-once-was

@lagworks

@yizuos

@mellifloraa

@ico-sa

@tim-the-rat

@silverstone-gp

@90-ghost @sarakipin @soon-palestine @flower-tea-fairies @sayruq @vakarians-babe @plomegranate @taylorswift @palestine @tim-the-rat @pump-e-bucanieri @pumpkinsy0@aibhse @nyqn @mephisto86 @imput @mmcoconut @wqemzz-blog

https://gofund.me/4c9ebb8b

My mother account she will help me to share our campaign

@omeman

[lead-rcm]

Get to know more about the Account Receivable Collections in Healthcare by LeadRCM

[sfsolutionsllc]

Getting Around in the Debt World: Essential Information Regarding Consumer Collection Agencies

In the current financial environment, both consumers and businesses may find it difficult to manage debt and collections. Knowing what a consumer collection agency does can help people who are having trouble with past-due bills or other collection-related matters by giving them clarity and direction. This blog examines consumer collection agencies—what they are, how they work, and what to do if you come across one.  

A consumer collection agency: what is it?

A specialized company called a consumer collection agency aids creditors in obtaining unpaid debts from individuals. A creditor may use a consumer collection agency to pursue the unpaid balance when a debtor doesn't pay their bills. To guarantee that the debt is collected, these organizations are entrusted with getting in touch with the debtor, settling repayment arrangements, and occasionally pursuing legal action.

How Consumer Collection Agencies Operate

Initial Contact:

Communication: The agency typically starts by sending a written notice or making phone calls to the debtor, informing them of the outstanding debt and requesting payment.

Negotiation: Many agencies offer flexible payment plans or settlements to make it easier for the debtor to repay the debt.

Debt Recovery Process:

Accounts Receivable Management: To collect the debt, collection agencies frequently use a variety of tactics, such as stern demand letters and persistent follow-ups.

Legal Action: In some cases, if the debt remains unpaid, the agency may initiate legal proceedings to obtain a court judgment against the debtor.

Charges and Fees: Collection agencies usually operate on a contingency fee basis, which means they get paid a portion of the money that is recovered. The agency and the case's complexity determine the fees. Why Creditors Employ Debt Recovery Companies

Expertise in Debt Recovery: Collection agencies can be more successful in recovering debts than a creditor's internal efforts because they possess specific knowledge and skills in this area.

Time and Resource Efficiency: When debt collection is outsourced to a third party, creditors can concentrate on their main business activities, and the third party takes care of the recovery process.

Enhanced Cash Flow: Reducing the financial impact of unpaid invoices and increasing cash flow are two benefits of effective debt collection for businesses.

What Shoppers Need to Know About Their Rights: The FDCPA, or Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Collection agency behaviour is regulated in many nations, including the United States. The FDCPA shields customers from collection agencies' unfair, dishonest, or abusive tactics. Verification: You are entitled to ask for the debt's verification. If you contest the debt, collection agencies are required to present evidence of it. Managing Conversations:

Record Everything: Maintain thorough records of every correspondence you have with the collection agency, including letters, phone conversations, and agreements about payments.

Know Your Options: If you're having trouble paying off debt, you might want to look into options like debt consolidation, debt negotiation, or consulting a financial advisor.

Agencies to Negotiate with: Payment Plans A lot of organizations are open to negotiating settlements or payment schedules. It's critical to have frank conversations and come to a decision that works for you.

You can manage debt collection more skilfully if you comprehend the function and workings of consumer collection agencies. Knowing your rights and options can help you navigate the process with confidence, whether you're a consumer dealing with collections or a business looking to recover outstanding debts. Collaborating with a trustworthy consumer collection agency can help creditors increase financial results and expedite debt recovery. Consumers can handle and resolve debt issues more skilfully by being proactive and knowledgeable.

[artisticdivasworld]

The Strategic Advantage of Outsourcing Accounts Receivable

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com In today’s competitive business landscape, managing accounts receivable (AR) efficiently is crucial for maintaining healthy cash flow and ensuring business sustainability. Recognizing this, many companies, including industry leaders like Swift, Invensis, FedEx Corporation, United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS), Penske Logistics LLC, and XPO Logistics, are…

[lusalemaart]

🥛🍔

[postagepaymentrates]

What Do You Say in a Collection Letter?

Every accounts receivable (AR) professional has to deal with clients who neglect to pay for the services that they provide. While it may be unpleasant, writing collection letters is a necessary part of ensuring that your company gets paid for its work.

The first collection letter, referred to as a “soft” collection letter, is sent to the client soon after an invoice has gone past due. It simply reminds them that an amount is owed and states that you would appreciate payment as soon as possible. This is often enough to jog the client’s memory and prompt them to send the money that is owed.

If a client fails to respond to the soft collection letter or fail to pay the outstanding amount, you may need to formally initiate legal proceedings. Before you do this, however, it is a good idea to send the debtor a collection letter outlining your legal rights and describing the process that will be followed.

It is also important to keep in mind that the statute of limitations for collecting unpaid debts might expire after a certain period of time. To avoid having your claim dismissed, you must not acknowledge the debt, make a promise to pay or any other actions that might revive the statute of limitations.

When you send a collection letter, it is best to be as detailed as possible while still maintaining a polite and respectful tone. Also, be sure to create a collections log. This will help you keep track of each collector’s call, date and time and what they say to you. This will protect you if the collector is not following the law or if they are inadvertently restarting the statute of limitations.

SITES WE SUPPORT

Postage Payment Rates – Blogger

[mnscredit]

Domestic and International B2B Debt Collection: Our b2b collection process keeps the creditor-debtor relation intact, and our goal is to maximise the amount of money collected.

[kapittx]

High-Impact Strategy for Dunning Management: Increase Cash Flow And Reduce DSO

Special collection efforts are targeted initiatives designed to address specific objectives within the broader context of accounts receivable management. One such critical objective is reducing the value and quantity of seriously aged invoices. This effort to reduce the value and aged open items can significantly hog senior management time and can be mentally draining. Often these aged items are defined as 90 to 120 days and above and can be found in the far right column of the receivables aging report. These receivables are at the greatest risk of bad debt loss. Longer they remain unpaid the higher the risk of never recovering them and will directly impact your bottom line. These receivables do not get unnoticed and both senior management as well as auditors monitor them.

Dunning management is a critical process for businesses that ensures the timely collection of outstanding payments. In this blog, we’ll explore the intricacies of these efforts and their impact on financial health, cash flow and to reduce DSO.

What Is Dunning Management?

Dunning management refers to the systematic approach businesses use to handle overdue payments from customers. It involves a series of steps aimed at recovering outstanding balances while maintaining positive customer relationships.

High Impact Strategy for Dunning Management

Aged receivables—those lingering unpaid balances—pose a significant challenge for businesses. They carry the risk of bad debt loss, demand provisioning in the bad debt reserve, and attract scrutiny from senior management and auditors. But how can companies strike the right balance between resource allocation and recovery?

In this blog post, we’ll explore a high-impact strategy for dunning management—one that optimizes collections while maintaining cash flow and customer relationships.

The Dilemma

Resource Allocation vs. Payback:

Aged receivables demand attention, but allocating substantial resources for their recovery may yield only modest returns.

Writing them off, however, is prohibitively expensive.

Impact on Cash Flow:

If collection staff focuses excessively on aged accounts, normal collection efforts suffer, affecting cash flow.

The Solution: A Strategic Approach

1. Segment Your Receivables Portfolio

Customer Attributes:

Categorize receivables based on customer characteristics (e.g., size, domestic vs. foreign, government vs. private sector).

Consider line of business, reseller/partner vs. end user, and other relevant factors.

Map the receivable based on invoice-to-cash life stages ( e.g., invoice which are collectable, disputed, under going legal litigations or provisioned )

Billing Status:

Distinguish between billed and unbilled accounts.

Each segment requires a specialized approach.

2. Develop High-Speed Procedures

Customized Workflows:

Document procedures for each segment (e.g., call blitz, collection letters, reconciliation packs).

Tailor communication to the specific needs of each group.

 3. Implement a Collection Infrastructure

Empowerment and Escalation:

Define negotiation empowerment levels.

Establish an escalation protocol for unresolved disputes.

Document Retrieval and Credit Controls:

Streamline access to relevant documents.

Tighten credit controls to prevent further delinquency.

4. Organizational Design

Utilize Existing Staff:

Design the organization to execute the high-impact action plan.

Consider supplements for administrative or reconciliation support.

Training and Tools:

Train staff in high-speed procedures.

Provide workspace, tools, and resources.

5. Monitor and Measure Progress

Collection Activity Plan:

Track both activities (inputs) and results (outputs).

Regularly assess progress against targets.

6. Launch and Drive Results

Secure Management Approval:

Gain buy-in from leadership.

Announce the program to the organization.

Hands-On Supervision:

Manage the program with experienced, tactical oversight.

Continuously drive results.

By strategically addressing aged receivables, businesses can unlock cash flow, reduce bad debt risk, and maintain healthy customer relationships. Remember, it’s not just about collecting money—it’s about optimizing resources for maximum impact. 

Key Components To Execute Dunning Management Strategy

Dunning management strategy should enable you to build customer trust and ensure long-term relationships. Design a comprehensive communication strategy using emails and phone calls as payment reminder tools

1. Communication Channels:

Emails: Sending automated emails with friendly reminders about overdue payments.

Phone Calls: Personalized calls to discuss payment issues

2. Dunning Levels:

Level 1 (Soft Reminder): Gentle reminders about the due payment.

Level 2 (Intermediate): More assertive communication, emphasizing the urgency.

Level 3 (Final Notice): Clearly stating consequences if payment isn’t made promptly.

Download eBook – Top 10 Dunning Management Email Templates

3. Automated Workflows

Setting up workflows triggered by payment due dates.

Escalating communication based on predefined rules.

4. Payment Retry Logic:

Automatically retry failed payments.

Adjust retry intervals based on customer behavior.

5. Customer Segmentation:

Segmenting customers based on payment history, loyalty, and responsiveness.

Tailoring dunning strategies accordingly.

Best Practices for Effective Dunning

https://www.kapittx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Best-Practices-for-Effective-Dunning-1.jpg

1. Personalization:

Address customers by name.

Customize messages based on their payment history.

2. Clear Communication:

Be concise and transparent about outstanding balances.

Explain the consequences of non-payment.

Helping customers understand the importance of timely payments without feeling pressured

3. Timing Matters:

Send reminders before due dates.

Gradually escalate communication as deadlines approach.

4. Flexible Payment Options:

Offer alternative payment methods.

Allow partial payments if necessary.

5. Data-Driven Insights:

Analyze dunning performance metrics.

Adjust strategies based on success rates.

Conclusion

Dunning management is more than just chasing payments; it’s about maintaining customer trust and ensuring long-term relationships. By implementing effective dunning processes, businesses can improve cash flow, reduce churn, and foster positive customer experiences.

Remember, successful dunning isn’t just about collecting money—it’s about nurturing valuable connections.

Click here to see a case study from Kapittx.

Request a demo today.

Check out Kapittx’s LinkedIn here.

[treasure-mimic]

So, let me try and put everything together here, because I really do think it needs to be talked about.

Today, Unity announced that it intends to apply a fee to use its software. Then it got worse.

For those not in the know, Unity is the most popular free to use video game development tool, offering a basic version for individuals who want to learn how to create games or create independently alongside paid versions for corporations or people who want more features. It's decent enough at this job, has issues but for the price point I can't complain, and is the idea entry point into creating in this medium, it's a very important piece of software.

But speaking of tools, the CEO is a massive one. When he was the COO of EA, he advocated for using, what out and out sounds like emotional manipulation to coerce players into microtransactions.

"A consumer gets engaged in a property, they might spend 10, 20, 30, 50 hours on the game and then when they're deep into the game they're well invested in it. We're not gouging, but we're charging and at that point in time the commitment can be pretty high."

He also called game developers who don't discuss monetization early in the planning stages of development, quote, "fucking idiots".

So that sets the stage for what might be one of the most bald-faced greediest moves I've seen from a corporation in a minute. Most at least have the sense of self-preservation to hide it.

A few hours ago, Unity posted this announcement on the official blog.

Effective January 1, 2024, we will introduce a new Unity Runtime Fee that’s based on game installs. We will also add cloud-based asset storage, Unity DevOps tools, and AI at runtime at no extra cost to Unity subscription plans this November. We are introducing a Unity Runtime Fee that is based upon each time a qualifying game is downloaded by an end user. We chose this because each time a game is downloaded, the Unity Runtime is also installed. Also we believe that an initial install-based fee allows creators to keep the ongoing financial gains from player engagement, unlike a revenue share.

Now there are a few red flags to note in this pitch immediately.

Unity is planning on charging a fee on all games which use its engine.

This is a flat fee per number of installs.

They are using an always online runtime function to determine whether a game is downloaded.

There is just so many things wrong with this that it's hard to know where to start, not helped by this FAQ which doubled down on a lot of the major issues people had.

I guess let's start with what people noticed first. Because it's using a system baked into the software itself, Unity would not be differentiating between a "purchase" and a "download". If someone uninstalls and reinstalls a game, that's two downloads. If someone gets a new computer or a new console and downloads a game already purchased from their account, that's two download. If someone pirates the game, the studio will be asked to pay for that download.

Q: How are you going to collect installs? A: We leverage our own proprietary data model. We believe it gives an accurate determination of the number of times the runtime is distributed for a given project. Q: Is software made in unity going to be calling home to unity whenever it's ran, even for enterprice licenses? A: We use a composite model for counting runtime installs that collects data from numerous sources. The Unity Runtime Fee will use data in compliance with GDPR and CCPA. The data being requested is aggregated and is being used for billing purposes. Q: If a user reinstalls/redownloads a game / changes their hardware, will that count as multiple installs? A: Yes. The creator will need to pay for all future installs. The reason is that Unity doesn’t receive end-player information, just aggregate data. Q: What's going to stop us being charged for pirated copies of our games? A: We do already have fraud detection practices in our Ads technology which is solving a similar problem, so we will leverage that know-how as a starting point. We recognize that users will have concerns about this and we will make available a process for them to submit their concerns to our fraud compliance team.

This is potentially related to a new system that will require Unity Personal developers to go online at least once every three days.

Starting in November, Unity Personal users will get a new sign-in and online user experience. Users will need to be signed into the Hub with their Unity ID and connect to the internet to use Unity. If the internet connection is lost, users can continue using Unity for up to 3 days while offline. More details to come, when this change takes effect.

It's unclear whether this requirement will be attached to any and all Unity games, though it would explain how they're theoretically able to track "the number of installs", and why the methodology for tracking these installs is so shit, as we'll discuss later.

Unity claims that it will only leverage this fee to games which surpass a certain threshold of downloads and yearly revenue.

Only games that meet the following thresholds qualify for the Unity Runtime Fee: Unity Personal and Unity Plus: Those that have made $200,000 USD or more in the last 12 months AND have at least 200,000 lifetime game installs. Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise: Those that have made $1,000,000 USD or more in the last 12 months AND have at least 1,000,000 lifetime game installs.

They don't say how they're going to collect information on a game's revenue, likely this is just to say that they're only interested in squeezing larger products (games like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, Fate Grand Order, Among Us, and Fall Guys) and not every 2 dollar puzzle platformer that drops on Steam. But also, these larger products have the easiest time porting off of Unity and the most incentives to, meaning realistically those heaviest impacted are going to be the ones who just barely meet this threshold, most of them indie developers.

Aggro Crab Games, one of the first to properly break this story, points out that systems like the Xbox Game Pass, which is already pretty predatory towards smaller developers, will quickly inflate their "lifetime game installs" meaning even skimming the threshold of that 200k revenue, will be asked to pay a fee per install, not a percentage on said revenue.

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Hey Gamers!

Today, Unity (the engine we use to make our games) announced that they'll soon be taking a fee from developers for every copy of the game installed over a certain threshold - regardless of how that copy was obtained.

Guess who has a somewhat highly anticipated game coming to Xbox Game Pass in 2024? That's right, it's us and a lot of other developers.

That means Another Crab's Treasure will be free to install for the 25 million Game Pass subscribers. If a fraction of those users download our game, Unity could take a fee that puts an enormous dent in our income and threatens the sustainability of our business.

And that's before we even think about sales on other platforms, or pirated installs of our game, or even multiple installs by the same user!!!

This decision puts us and countless other studios in a position where we might not be able to justify using Unity for our future titles. If these changes aren't rolled back, we'll be heavily considering abandoning our wealth of Unity expertise we've accumulated over the years and starting from scratch in a new engine. Which is really something we'd rather not do.

On behalf of the dev community, we're calling on Unity to reverse the latest in a string of shortsighted decisions that seem to prioritize shareholders over their product's actual users.

I fucking hate it here.

-Aggro Crab - END DESCRIPTION]

That fee, by the way, is a flat fee. Not a percentage, not a royalty. This means that any games made in Unity expecting any kind of success are heavily incentivized to cost as much as possible.

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A table listing the various fees by number of Installs over the Install Threshold vs. version of Unity used, ranging from $0.01 to $0.20 per install. END DESCRIPTION]

Basic elementary school math tells us that if a game comes out for $1.99, they will be paying, at maximum, 10% of their revenue to Unity, whereas jacking the price up to $59.99 lowers that percentage to something closer to 0.3%. Obviously any company, especially any company in financial desperation, which a sudden anchor on all your revenue is going to create, is going to choose the latter.

Furthermore, and following the trend of "fuck anyone who doesn't ask for money", Unity helpfully defines what an install is on their main site.

While I'm looking at this page as it exists now, it currently says

The installation and initialization of a game or app on an end user’s device as well as distribution via streaming is considered an “install.” Games or apps with substantially similar content may be counted as one project, with installs then aggregated to calculate the Unity Runtime Fee.

However, I saw a screenshot saying something different, and utilizing the Wayback Machine we can see that this phrasing was changed at some point in the few hours since this announcement went up. Instead, it reads:

The installation and initialization of a game or app on an end user’s device as well as distribution via streaming or web browser is considered an “install.” Games or apps with substantially similar content may be counted as one project, with installs then aggregated to calculate the Unity Runtime Fee.

Screenshot for posterity:

That would mean web browser games made in Unity would count towards this install threshold. You could legitimately drive the count up simply by continuously refreshing the page. The FAQ, again, doubles down.

Q: Does this affect WebGL and streamed games? A: Games on all platforms are eligible for the fee but will only incur costs if both the install and revenue thresholds are crossed. Installs - which involves initialization of the runtime on a client device - are counted on all platforms the same way (WebGL and streaming included).

And, what I personally consider to be the most suspect claim in this entire debacle, they claim that "lifetime installs" includes installs prior to this change going into effect.

Will this fee apply to games using Unity Runtime that are already on the market on January 1, 2024? Yes, the fee applies to eligible games currently in market that continue to distribute the runtime. We look at a game's lifetime installs to determine eligibility for the runtime fee. Then we bill the runtime fee based on all new installs that occur after January 1, 2024.

Again, again, doubled down in the FAQ.

Q: Are these fees going to apply to games which have been out for years already? If you met the threshold 2 years ago, you'll start owing for any installs monthly from January, no? (in theory). It says they'll use previous installs to determine threshold eligibility & then you'll start owing them for the new ones. A: Yes, assuming the game is eligible and distributing the Unity Runtime then runtime fees will apply. We look at a game's lifetime installs to determine eligibility for the runtime fee. Then we bill the runtime fee based on all new installs that occur after January 1, 2024.

That would involve billing companies for using their software before telling them of the existence of a bill. Holding their actions to a contract that they performed before the contract existed!

Okay. I think that's everything. So far.

There is one thing that I want to mention before ending this post, unfortunately it's a little conspiratorial, but it's so hard to believe that anyone genuinely thought this was a good idea that it's stuck in my brain as a significant possibility.

A few days ago it was reported that Unity's CEO sold 2,000 shares of his own company.

On September 6, 2023, John Riccitiello, President and CEO of Unity Software Inc (NYSE:U), sold 2,000 shares of the company. This move is part of a larger trend for the insider, who over the past year has sold a total of 50,610 shares and purchased none.

I would not be surprised if this decision gets reversed tomorrow, that it was literally only made for the CEO to short his own goddamn company, because I would sooner believe that this whole thing is some idiotic attempt at committing fraud than a real monetization strategy, even knowing how unfathomably greedy these people can be.

So, with all that said, what do we do now?

Well, in all likelihood you won't need to do anything. As I said, some of the biggest names in the industry would be directly affected by this change, and you can bet your bottom dollar that they're not just going to take it lying down. After all, the only way to stop a greedy CEO is with a greedier CEO, right?

(I fucking hate it here.)

And that's not mentioning the indie devs who are already talking about abandoning the engine.

[Links display tweets from the lead developer of Among Us saying it'd be less costly to hire people to move the game off of Unity and Cult of the Lamb's official twitter saying the game won't be available after January 1st in response to the news.]

That being said, I'm still shaken by all this. The fact that Unity is openly willing to go back and punish its developers for ever having used the engine in the past makes me question my relationship to it.

The news has given rise to the visibility of free, open source alternative Godot, which, if you're interested, is likely a better option than Unity at this point. Mostly, though, I just hope we can get out of this whole, fucking, environment where creatives are treated as an endless mill of free profits that's going to be continuously ratcheted up and up to drive unsustainable infinite corporate growth that our entire economy is based on for some fuckin reason.

Anyways, that's that, I find having these big posts that break everything down to be helpful.

[neonbutchery]

FUNDRAISERS FOR PALESTINIANS THAT ARE LOW ON FUNDS

Here are some fundraisers of Palestinians in/from Gaza who've reached out to me and that are very low on funds. If you're able to donate, I encourage you to (even if it's a small quantity, it can make a huge difference); and if not, share this post as much as you can.

DISCLAIMER: These fundraisers mostly aren’t vetted by any reliable bloggers or organizations, or I haven’t been able to find proof of vetting for them. That being said, I feel confident including them in this list since everything about them points to them being legit (for example, there’s wide picture and video documentation, and the GFM’s receiver is located in one of the countries where you’re able to receive money through the platform). Whether you decide to donate or not, it’s up to you. If one of these fundraisers is indeed a scam, please reach out to me with evidence of it so I can remove it from this list.

Rebuilding Hope: A Gaza Family in Need of Your Help (@majedgaza1) - $1243/$70000 - Majed and his family were able to escape to safety in Egypt. However, they're in need of funds to get safe housing and to pay for the education of his children so they can keep studying.

Help Whadi get cancer treatment and evacuate his family - £1739/£100000 - Whadi is a 17-year-old teenager with stomach cancer who needs urgent funds to continue his treatment and afford his medication. This campaign was vetted by the volunteer collective beesandwatermelons on Instagram, and can be found in their spreadsheet at #11.

Help me get my family out of Gaza (@karim-rasha) - 1530€/50000€ - Rasha needs help evacuating his family, which includes his elderly parents and young siblings (10 and 12 years old), from Gaza. The Tumblr account is managed by Karim, the eldest sibling.

Help us to survive from this war (@moneerraed) - 100€/35000€ - Monir, his parents, and four siblings need funds in order to evacuate Gaza after losing their shop and home.

Help Ahmed and his family get out of Gaza (@save-ahmed-family1) - 1203€/20000€ - Ahmed lost his mother when she was unable to access medical treatment after the ongoing Israeli aggression started. He now needs help to evacuate to safety alongside his wife and young daughter.

Save my family in Gaza Strip.. Help my family's children (@sara-97a) - 672€/50000€ - Ahmed and his family need urgent help evacuating Gaza, as well as affording food and medicine for his elderly mother who's a stroke survivor with diabetes and can't currently access treatment. He's got three young children as well.

Regardless of how small it is, any donation is incredibly helpful. Your five or ten bucks can be the difference and help any of the people here afford food, medicine, evacuation, and be able to survive the ongoing genocide. If not, please reblog so these fundraisers can get more eyes on them and be able to reach their goal.

[lead-rcm]

Accounts Receivable (AR) collection services are a crucial component of Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) in the healthcare industry in the USA. Effective AR collection ensures that healthcare providers receive timely payments for services rendered, maintaining financial health and enabling continuous patient care.