The Future of Accounts Receivable: Empowering Suppliers with Payment Certainty, Unlimited Reporting and Digital Self-Service

Small businesses are often more vulnerable to cash flow and accounts receivable struggles – and the ongoing disruption of the last year and a half has been a prime example of this. Between the initial shock of the pandemic and the resulting supply chain challenges, many suppliers are still reeling from the financial impact of continued economic volatility.

These businesses don’t always have access to cash necessary for an agile response. In fact, research showed that many small businesses only had about two weeks of cash on hand during the peak of the pandemic.

In addition to widespread disruption, suppliers must also navigate material shortages and rising costs that often result in late customer payments. Delayed payments are a consistent problem that is only exacerbated by volatility. PYMNTS reports that 15% of B2B payments are overdue.

Aside from the detrimental impact of late payment, suppliers also struggle with a lack of transparency into payment status and invoice approval as well as inefficient accounts receivable reporting. For businesses that are already plagued with delayed payment, at the very least they need tools that allow them to accurately predict and adjust cash flow forecasting.

It’s time to empower accounts receivable departments across the world with payment certainty and reliability. The future of accounts receivable will have two main values:

1. Empowering suppliers with self-service payment platforms rather than remaining in the dark about payment.

Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to cash. Having visibility into when an invoice has been approved and when it will be paid as well as access to unlimited reporting can fundamentally change the nature of how suppliers forecast their financials.

PrimeRevenue’s SurePay Platform takes the best features of a supplier portal one step further by providing companies self-service access to payments data. Suppliers using the SurePay Platform no longer have to rely on their customers to provide insight into payment or invoice approval status – they can find the information they need at their leisure and in real-time.

“We simply log into PrimeRevenue and choose which invoices we want to submit for early payment. I also have better visibility into payments. It improves our cash flow and gives us the transparency we need to run our operations more smoothly.” Mary Hill, Accounts Payable at Apetite Foods Group

2. Automating manual processes and “paper chasing” practices significantly frees up valuable AR time and resources.

Despite the advancements in financial technology, most SME businesses and about a quarter of larger businesses still rely on paper-based payments. Paper checks have a much higher chance of becoming lost or delayed, and while digitizing payments will solve some of these issues, it is not enough to solve the complex challenges businesses face today. Along with chasing down payment, AP departments who use traditional payment practices spend a large chunk of their valuable time completing manual operational tasks such as generating remittance advice.

Suppliers need tools that reduce AR burden and drive efficiency. The SurePay Platform automates the payment process to reduce administrative burden. It also automatically flags payment errors to minimize payment processing delays. Further, reporting can be facilitated on both an ad hoc and scheduled basis, depending on the preference of the user. Remittance advice can also be scheduled and delivered directly into a users’ inbox to eliminate the need to manually review or match payments.

“The platform gives us visibility into invoice status with our customer so there are no more guessing games as to whether an invoice has been approved or when we are expected to receive payment. We also have enhanced flexibility to advance payment when we need it and take control of our cash flow. That is key to a growing a new company, and PrimeRevenue has been the right supply chain finance partner to truly change the trajectory of our business.” Alex Lomas, Director of Reformation Logistics. 

The future of accounts receivable is now. Companies are demanding new and innovative technology that supports their ever-changing needs. PrimeRevenue’s SurePay Platform provides suppliers the payments visibility and reporting they need to make more confident business decisions that drive growth and efficiency.