Healthy cash flow.
It’s the goal of any accounts receivable efforts. Yet, in many SMB companies, manual processes and delays in receiving payments can strangle your ability to invest in growth, meet payroll, and seize new opportunities.
Take the scenario of a mid-size manufacturing company we’ll call Wonka Industries.
The AR team at Wonka was reliant on manual, outdated processes and a lack of real-time visibility.
Traditional days sales outstanding (DSO) and batch processing clogged workflows, leading to slow receipt of funds.
For example, individual approved transactions often fail to settle in the daily batch as expected.
Payment processors use batch processing to bundle all credit card transactions from a single day and then delay the transfer of the total batch amount by 1-2 days to the merchant’s bank account.
Something needed to change for Wonka’s AR team to be more productive and improve cash flow. That something was accounts receivable automation.
In this article, we’ll unveil 5 ways to revolutionize your AR through automation. Let’s go!
5 Ways Accounts Receivable Automation Can Transform Efficiency and Cash Flow
1. Real-Time Funding - Finally
The ability to access funds immediately as soon as a customer pays with a credit card is called real-time funding, and the benefits are compelling: faster cash flow and the elimination of delays associated with batch settlements and interbank transfers.
Until recently, waiting for funds via payment processors was an unavoidable cog in the wheel of merchant services.
But a new feature now available through USTPay, is changing that.
One of the unique features of leveraging USTPay is the ability for companies to recognize approved credit card payments by customers as “Cash” on their balance sheet immediately.
No more waiting for batch settlement and interbank transfers! Your Cash on Hand is accelerated by as much as three days when a weekend or holiday is considered.
This single feature increases efficiency, improves liquidity, reduces reliance on external financing, and shortens payment cycles.
Best of all, USTPay is pre-integrated for companies using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, so that you can leverage real-time funding benefits without leaving your ERP.
2. Eliminate Manual Reconciliation and Batch Processing
Traditional accounts receivable software imposes the challenges and limitations of manual reconciliation.
Time-consuming batch processing and manual reconciliation waste your staff’s time and are prone to errors and delays.
USTPay offers freedom from discrepancy resolutions due to missing transactions in daily batches.
This element alone can free up valuable time for teams to focus on higher-value activities like financial analysis and reporting, customer relationship management, and more.
3. Get Paid Faster with a Secure, Hosted Payment Portal
Taking credit card information over the phone is inefficient and imposes security risks.
USTPay offers hosted payment portals that vastly reduce errors due to manual data entry and improves security by eliminating the need to take credit card information over the phone.
Automating accounts receivable payments and eliminating card processing fees related to phone orders can also provide significant cost savings.
The benefits of hosted payment portals also apply to your customers. Link-to-pay features allow 24/7 access to invoices and payments and a centralized record of transactions that can be accessed at any time.
Streamlined reconciliation means faster checkout and enhanced security—a big win for your customers.
4. Immediate visibility into Accounts Receivable with USTPay
Manual AR practices burden employees with unnecessary work and limit visibility into real-time information.
Real-time visibility enables informed decision-making based on outstanding and overdue payments and customer payment history.
It also facilitates cash-flow management, faster collections, reduced risk, and increased efficiency.
USTPay has a built-in feature that facilitates the above benefits: real-time, up-to-the-minute visibility of customer data, 100% electronic invoicing via link-to-pay for faster and paperless invoice delivery, and 24/7 expedited payments.
5. Real-time AR Updating with USTPay
A lack of real-time information availability can be like tunnel vision for AR teams and companies overall because missing data could skew results and forecasting.
With real-time information on AR's status at your team’s fingertips, USTPay removes guesswork through up-to-the-minute updates with every payment transaction.
When you know everyone is working with the same updated information, your AR team and company leadership will be empowered to make data-driven decisions confidently.
A New Reality of Optimism and Energy
The pain points imposed by manual accounts receivable processes, payment delays, and lack of real-time visibility for our fictitious friends at Wonka Industries are all too common for countless real-life companies. Is yours one of them?
Forward-thinking businesses are realizing the transformative potential of accounts receivable automation via USTPay:
Faster payments and improved cash flow with real-time funding
Time savings and increased efficiency through automation and elimination of manual tasks
Enhanced security and convenience with a hosted payment portal
Real-time visibility and control over AR data
And for companies in the Dynamics 365 Business Central space, USTPay and its game-changing tools are pre-integrated and at your fingertips!
If you’re looking to collect payments faster, lower fees, and reduce PCI compliance scope while being able to access multiple gateways and personalized, responsive U.S.-based support, we’d love to talk with you. USTPay can help you transform your AR operations, and it’s easier than you think!
Learn more at https://www.ustranscorp.com/ustpay or contact at https://www.ustranscorp.com/support
About the author
U.S. Transactions Corp. (UST), a premier B2B enterprise service provider, collaborates with its clients to deliver an exceptional experience every time, from industry-lowest rates and cutting-edge technology to Level 3 processing that can save your organization up to 30 percent on costs.
UST is an expert in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Since 2009, UST has been a trusted source for Commercial Enterprises, Associations, and Nonprofits looking to maximize their success rate through superior payment solutions designed specifically for them.