FIGURE 9.26 Flowchart of LT Billing Process Mail Telephone Orders received Salesperson Order preparation Order verification Order complete? No Yes Set up customer Yes New customer account No Order sent to accounting and shipping Accounting prepares invoice Back order placed Shipping checks stock No Items in stock Yes Shipment made Source: From Lakshmi U. Tatikonda, "A Less Costly Billing Process," Quality Progress, January 2008, 31-39. Copyright 2008 American Society for Quality. FIGURE 9.27 Cause-and-Effect Diagram for Billing Errors Data input Wrong information from order processing Infrequent price update Obsolete database Wrong file mounting Order entry unclear Wrong data entry Billing clerks Lack of training Lack of supervision Failure to follow corporate billing procedures Misunderstanding of instructions Carelessness Procedures Inadequate communication between sales, order processing and billing departments Outdated procedures Unclear instructions No written procedures Controls Lack of bill authorization Lack of order taking verification Lack of controls Lack of data verification Lack of feedback Erroneous billings Source: Adapted from Lakshmi U. Tatikonda, "A Less Costly Billing Process," Quality Progress, January 2008, 31-39. Copyright 2008 American Society for Quality.