Breakthrough Tech Every Business Needs To Boost Cash Flow

Revolutionary fintech functionalities are a ‘game-changer’ for retail and business-to-business transactions. 

COVID-19 has propelled the move to eCommerce into hyperdrive and app developers have risen to the occasion, providing business owners with effective tools to streamline their payment process.

Despite the advances in payment collection technology, applications for JobKeeper showed about 85 per cent of small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) still use outdated manual data entry processes such as spreadsheets or paperwork to handle their invoices. 

Research by SMB funder Scottish Pacific in its 2020 SME Growth Index revealed SMEs have about 29 per cent of their revenue tied up in outstanding invoices.

Business software management expert Adrian Floate said the latest innovations make paying fun and simple.
“They provide enhanced integration, flexibility and simplicity for all payments,” Mr Floate said.
“They are all geared at customer experience, encouraging people to pay for goods and services quickly.
“Making paying simple is the key to increasing the amount of money coming into a business.
“With boosted cash flow, business owners can pay their expenses, reach new customers and expand.

Paying all invoices at once

A recently released and unique payment solution enables customers to track, group and batch-pay all of their outstanding invoices simultaneously. This allows customers to pay-off their debt in just a few clicks, saving time, money and resources. 

Postpay options

Customers can easily negotiate payment options, including  Buy Now, Pay Later or paying by instalments. Breaking payments into instalments allows a business to improve cash flow while reducing financial risk. 

Remember a credit card functionality

Once a customer has provided their details, make all of their future payments easier. Making a payment with a tap-of-a-card, tap-of-a-phone or click-of-a-button should be the end-game for all business operators. This feature saves time for the customer and prevents data-entry errors. 

Integration in real-time

Good payment apps will integrate quickly and seamlessly with existing ERP management systems (such as Microsoft Dynamics) or accounting platforms (such as MYOB, Quickbooks and Xero) in real-time. This means no delayed payment arrivals or manual data entry.

Automated reconciliation

Business owners need a complete and simplified reconciliation with secure ledger and full debtor account access keeps business owners on top of their cash flow. Accounts payable and receivables are in sync between all parties.

Security Features

The latest in payment software offered security features such as anti-money laundering (AML), know your customer (KYC) and two factor authentication (2FA). Providing reassurance to customers will encourage them to use the new tech and pay their invoices easily.

Mr Floate said integrated payment collection systems are vital for all businesses.

“Getting paid faster is a critical step in taking control of payment times and processes,” Mr Floate said.

“For retailers, this means allowing customers to pay for goods and services in-store, online or on-the-go with virtual terminals.

“Suppliers and wholesalers need good custom portals where customers can see their outstanding invoices and pay them off easily.”

Mr Floate said for many businesses, the manual effort and costs associated with managing and reconciling accounts receivable is a huge drain on productivity.

A Xero study of 150,000 SMBs in Australia, found 53 per cent of all invoices sent were paid late, another 20 per cent were for the incorrect amount and 20 per cent were paid to the wrong business.

The Xero research revealed poorer outcomes for small businesses with long payment wait times. 

“Our analysis shows that SMBs that are paid more slowly than average have about a third lower revenue growth than those paid faster than average,” the report said.