Top 8 Best Accounts Receivable AR Software to Simplify Payments

Additionally, you can streamline the invoicing process with meticulous attention to detail. Often, the root cause of your collections and cash flow issues is what is an overdraft fee and how do you avoid them simply poor internal processes. One of the easiest ways to mitigate these constant issues is to make sure that each team understands the other’s end objective.

Best Practices to Improve your Accounts Receivable Management in 2024

Taking these steps can foster good customer relationships and avoid the non-payment of customer invoices. There is a common misconception that late payments mean that a customer is a bad payer. If your business is consistently receiving late payments, it means your invoice and payment strategy are broken.

1. Make it easy for anyone in your business to determine whether to extend credit when a client requests it.
2. When selecting accounts payable software, first understand your current invoice handling process and the team size.
3. Through our system, you can set up automatic, personalized reminders to send to customers when invoices are overdue.
4. Versapay brings together advanced receivable automation and user-friendly collaboration tools.

Two-way communication

Keep in mind that if you think that outsourcing your AR management will solve the issue of collecting unpaid invoices then you are wrong. The issue often lies internally and only you can fix this within your business. Software like Upflow for instance centralizes and tracks real-time customer payment timelines and cash applications. It allows the intervention of any team member at any time when necessary. Most companies only send a customer balance or memo without listing the outstanding invoices. It’s usually in a separate document and this is confusing for your customers.

AR Management Automation Software

Depending on the agreement between company and client, the payment might be due in anywhere from a few days to 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, or, in some cases, up to a year. At some point along the way, interest on the debt might also begin to accrue. With clear procedures in place, you can be proactive about collecting payments. Create a process where you’re prompted to contact a client on the first day a payment is late, so they’re aware of their payment terms and any overdue balances immediately. This ‘soft touch’ approach keeps communication open between you and your customer and ensures that they are aware of any upcoming payments.

Companies record accounts receivable as assets on their balance sheets because the customer has a legal obligation to pay the debt and the company has a reasonable expectation of collecting it. They are considered liquid assets because they can be used as collateral to secure a loan to help the company meet its short-term obligations. But it would likely cost much more to pay for receivable management services than for your own staffer or contractor, or simply use software in-house. At Upflow, we provide solutions to help you collect customer payments effortlessly and efficiently. Save yourself time and add consistency to your process by automating account communications with your clients and reducing manual processes when possible.

Keep constant communications and offer easy online payment methods or instructions. If you use paper billing, you can still automate your communications to save time and streamline your process a little. Use integration software like Zapier to set up triggers to contact clients based on inputs into your records. For example, set up a form email to send to a client when you enter into a spreadsheet that you’ve received a payment. Melio allows you to pay virtually all business expenses and invoices online.

However, keeping track of payments and collections is a daunting task that can consume significant time and resources. Standout features include customizable reminders and customer communications, inventory management tools, simplified vendor and customer portals, and more. Zoho Books is a cloud-based accounting platform that handles invoicing, AP, bookkeeping, inventory management, and more. It’s designed to be an all-in-one platform and competes with the likes of QuickBooks and Sage Intacct. With that said, its jack-of-all-trades approach means that it lacks some of the advanced AR automation features offered by some of the other tools on this list.

Let’s say, you own a chain of retail stores that sells clothing and accessories. Each store receives a large number of invoices for products, utilities, and services every month. To make matters worse, your stores are spread out across the country, and you need to manage payments for all of them from a central location, in a timely manner. Standout features of SoftLedger include custom billing metrics that are well-suited to usage-based billing and other custom metrics. SoftLedger also supports crypto accounting (and crypto payments) in the AR process. BILL is an online service for SMBs which provides a central dashboard for managing Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and cash flow management.

Quadient offers a compelling bookkeeping vs accounting software solution for those looking for more intelligent receivables management. Quadient Accounts Receivable revolutionizes receivable management by harnessing artificial intelligence. It provides deep insights through predictive analytics, changing the way businesses manage what they are owed. Today’s digital Accounts Receivable solutions are designed to bring clarity and efficiency to your operations. From automating manual tasks to analyzing financial trends, they’re the proverbial ‘cheat sheet’ toward solving your AR puzzle.

Quadient is a dedicated collections solution for B2B companies that accelerates payments and allows you to keep track of accounts why project accounting guides project success receivable with Comprehensive financial reporting software. AR automation solutions typically integrate with existing financial software through APIs and plug-and-play modules, ensuring seamless data synchronization and real-time financial reporting. Specific solutions like Centime can smoothly integrate with major ERP systems, enhancing operational efficiency without disrupting existing workflows.