But for smaller firms or companies with fewer receivables, it’s important to consider how much these tools could potentially improve AR workflows view a labor budget to actual report compared to the cost of the software. AR automation software should also enable these processes with minimal input required from accounting and finance teams. As the name suggests, AR automation software is specifically designed to improve efficiency by increasing the percentage of AR workflow that can be automated.
Track and improve collections performance with industry-standard reports
Join BC Krishna, CEO of Centime, to explore how AR automation can transform your collections process, improve cash management, and delight your customers. Xledger is a cloud-based accounting and financial management software that specializes in multi-entity financial management, offering automation of up to 75% of accounting and financial tasks. Bill (formerly branded as Bill.com) is an accounts payable and accounts receivable platform that’s fully web-based. It’s most popular as an AP tool, but it has expanded to cover AR as well—and offers ample automation features in both categories. It integrates with most financial and business software and offers bi-directional syncing with most major accounting platforms.
The platform is best known for its EIPP (electronic invoice presentment and payment) capabilities, which provide a similar experience to that of a payment portal. Accounts receivable is a decentralized process that involves invoicing customers and collecting payments. However, the process is often complex and non-linear, involving tasks such as invoice presentment, payment acceptance, collections, and cash posting.
Monitor Payment Patterns
Monitor payment patterns by customers to ensure critical customers are paying understanding variable cost vs fixed cost on time. Reduce or eliminate manual tasks, allowing AR teams to focus on actions that drive results, and strengthen decision intelligence to deliver significant value to the organization. Optimize your invoice-to-cash cycle performance, create team capacity, and gain critical decision intelligence to drive value. There are many best practices for implementing an AR system in your business.
- Once you’ve mapped the AR process and determined areas for improvement, it’s time to evaluate software options.
- It offers integrated bank and credit card feeds, automated invoicing, and custom invoice formatting.
- By leveraging technology and the right system, you can automate your accounts receivable functions and achieve the goals of better cash flow management, improved collections, faster payments, and more.
How is Centime different from other AR automation options on the market?
Our integrated 13-week cash forecast helps you plan and prioritize collections. The core function of automation is to build a logic around your accounts receivable process, including which customer to charge, how to charge, when to charge, and what to charge for. The first quarter goes by smoothly, but the customer wants adjustments (such as add-ons, upgrade/downgrade, and the like) in the second quarter. Now, imagine hundreds or thousands of customers instead of one – it would be impossible for any company to pull this off manually. Explore the key features in the AR payment collection process and see the advantage that an integrated AR solution has over a standalone provider.
Standout features of Billtrust include integrated payments, integrated credit applications and auto-decisioning, and a suite of optional add-on services to expand functionality and support AR teams. After extensive research and leveraging my experience, I’ve shortlisted and reviewed the best accounts receivable automation software to help you optimize your collections process. It’s a tool offering automated accounts payable (in addition to accounts receivable), they serve a ton of clients and have a lot of resources for accounting firms who want to offer payable/receivable services. It automates manual accounts receivable processes with software to save time, reduce costs and prevent errors. Automating accounts receivable is the process of sending invoices, following up on customer payments, and ensuring you collect payments owed to you via an application (hence “automation”). “Our collections effectiveness has skyrocketed with Centime. Not only do we collect 92% of payments on time now, but when customers pay late, it is on average by just seven days.”
Get a 360° view of your collections’ performance with Chargebee Receivables’ intuitive AR dashboard. Speed up your cash application process using automation to instantly match customer payments to invoices and reduce unapplied cash by up to 99%. Make sure the software integrates with popular payment gateways so that customers have multiple payment methods like a credit card, debit card, or ACH to pay the invoices. You can also look for features that allow you to automatically offer incentives to your customers to pay their invoices early. Collaborating cross-functionally with your internal teams is the most important piece to keep in mind. This point could be missed if you are only focused on selecting the right AR automation software.
Integrations include other BlackLine products along with ERP systems from NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, and more. Simon Litt is the editor of The CFO Club, specializing in covering a range of financial topics. His career has seen him focus on both personal and corporate finance for digital publications, public companies, and digital media brands across the globe. Stripe Revenue Recognition streamlines accrual accounting so you can close your books quickly and accurately. Automate and configure revenue reports to simplify compliance sales journal entry with IFRS 15 and ASC 606 revenue recognition standards. Solupay Consulting, LLC, d/b/a Versapay, is a registered Independent Sales Organization ofWells Fargo Bank, N.A., Concord, CA, Fifth Third Bank, N.A.