How-to: Get Paid Faster

Businesses are constantly seeking out ways to improve cash flow, reduce days sales outstanding (DSO), and get paid faster. 

In this blog we’ll explore three powerful strategies to streamline your collections process and boost your bottom line: implementing electronic payments and invoice presentment, rolling out mobile payment capabilities, and automating recurring payments.

Delayed payments can disrupt business operations and impede growth. By embracing A/R automation solutions, you can supercharge your collection efforts and achieve faster payments and optimize cash flow.

What is A/R automation and how does it help you speed up your collections?

Accounts receivable (A/R) automation is the use of technology and A/R software solutions to automate and streamline the process of accepting, processing and managing payments from customers. By automating repetitive tasks such as invoice generation, payment reminders, and reconciliation, A/R automation solutions reduce manual effort and delays, leading to faster and more efficient collections.

Understanding Intelligent Invoice Matching and Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment (EIPP)

A/R automation solutions, such as intelligent invoice matching and EIPP, have the capability to receive open invoices via batch files or real-time API calls. They automatically match invoices to incoming payments and apply the details to your back-end systems for posting and reconciliation. By transitioning from paper-based invoicing and billing services to electronic invoicing features, your company and A/R team can accelerate invoicing receivables and concentrate on managing critical exceptions and customer disputes within the collections process.

How AutoPay and proactive collections works 

AutoPay and proactive collections work hand in hand to streamline accounts receivable (A/R) processes and enhance cash flow for businesses. AutoPay automates the payment process by enabling businesses to set up recurring payments for customers, eliminating the need for manual invoicing and follow-ups. By understanding each customer's payment behaviors and preferences, AutoPay ensures timely payments while reducing the risk of late or missed payments. 

Proactive collections complement AutoPay by enabling businesses to take a proactive approach to managing outstanding invoices. This involves leveraging aging invoice reports and communication tools like automated emails to proactively manage customers' open invoices and payment reminders. By combining AutoPay with proactive collections strategies, businesses can optimize their A/R processes, improve collection efforts and accelerate cash flow.

Benefits of A/R automation

• Faster Payment Processing: A/R automation reduces the time it takes to process payments by automating tasks such as invoice generation, payment reminders, and reconciliation, leading to quicker turnaround times on receivables.
• Improved Cash Flow: By expediting payment processing and reducing days sales outstanding (DSO), A/R automation helps businesses improve their cash flow, providing access to funds more quickly for operational needs and growth initiatives.
• Enhanced Efficiency: Automation reduces manual effort and human error associated with traditional paper-based receivables, freeing up valuable time and resources for A/R teams to focus on higher-value tasks, such as handling exceptions and resolving customer disputes.
• Better Visibility: A/R automation provides greater visibility into the status of outstanding invoices, payment histories, and customer interactions, empowering businesses to make more informed decisions and take proactive steps to manage collections effectively.
• Customer Satisfaction: Electronic invoicing and online payment portals offered through A/R automation enhance convenience for customers, allowing them to easily view, review, and pay their invoices on their preferred schedule and channel, thereby improving satisfaction and loyalty.
• Streamlined Collections Processes: Automation streamlines collections processes by standardizing workflows, automating routine tasks, and providing tools for tracking and managing outstanding invoices, enabling A/R teams to work more efficiently and effectively.

Key steps to get paid faster

By transitioning traditional paper-based invoicing and receivable operations to electronic invoicing and online payment capabilities, your business is able to deliver customers with easy access to their outstanding invoices through a secure online payment portal.

Electronic invoice presentment and payment (EIPP) solutions deliver summary-level or detailed electronic invoices within a convenient, contactless online payment portal. You can also enable electronic delivery of outstanding invoices via email with a link that allows customers to access the online payment portal to view, and make payment, to open invoices.

Customers can conveniently access invoices and make payment(s) anytime, anywhere. Additionally, customers can select and pay individual or multiple invoices in one transaction, and even setup automatic payments using flexible AutoPay options. This helps to streamline the payment process and encourages prompt—and even automatic—settlement of payments.

Integrate secure mobile payment capabilities into your A/R collection efforts to empower sales representatives, delivery drivers, agents, and other field team members to efficiently collect payments from customers on the spot.

With the addition of mobile payment acceptance solutions spanning mobile remote deposit capture (mRDC) of checks, ACH/EFT and credit and/or debit cards, your field team members can conveniently and securely accept payments on the spot and send the payment and remittance details back to the home-office for immediate acceptance, processing and posting.

Mobile payment solutions not only enhance customer payment convenience, but also encourage prompt payments. By enabling immediate payment acceptance in the field, businesses are able to significantly reduce DSO and accelerate cash flow.

With automatic debit (AutoPay) solutions, your business can tailor payment schedules to customers’ unique payment terms. Customers are able to set-up payments on a recurring basis with ACH or credit card, and your business can manage customers’ payments based on unique payment terms and parameters.

With options for standard or custom AutoPay settings, businesses can accept and track payment seamlessly, while offering additional benefits such as proactive email reminders before, upon, and after, the payment due date. This proactive collections strategy encourages faster payments and reduces the risk of payment delays.

Convenient, low-friction payment options like AutoPay can help enable customers to pay on-time, streamline back-office cash application operations, and maintain positive, profitable relationships with customers.

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By improving collection processes through the use of A/R automation solutions such as EIPP, online, mobile and recurring payments, businesses are able to streamline back-office payment processing operations, while also getting paid faster.

According to a recent PYMNTS report, manual processing of A/R tasks continues to create payment bottlenecks, with 40% of finance professionals reporting manual processes as the biggest challenge inhibiting collection.¹ Don’t allow payment bottlenecks and delayed A/R processing times to slow your cash flow.

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1 PYMNTS Report | Companies With AI-Driven Strategies Outcompete Peers, Study Finds | November 2023

2 PYMNTS Report | Getting Paid: Digital Payments for Improving Cash Flow and Customer Experience | June 2024