Technology has transformed the way invoices are created and processed. No longer do you need to pore over endless spreadsheets and receipts in order to generate the bills that are so vital to your company’s survival. 

Leveraging advanced systems such as the ones featured below can help to ensure that you avoid payment delays, inefficient processing and stalled funds.  This enables you to have faster access to your cash.

1. Electronic invoicing systems.

As we said above, the payment processes of the past are inefficient, time-consuming and prone to human error. Manual work flows lead to payment delays, and communication channels can be slow and circuitous. 

What’s more, customers often have difficulty tracking their payments, potentially resulting in disputes and longer waits for resolution.

Modern electronic systems solve these problems by streamlining the entire invoicing ecosystem, including creation, delivery, tracking, approval and collection. Automating these processes helps to ensure speed and accuracy while boosting customer satisfaction rates and helping to instill trust in your brand.

One particularly effective feature of these updated invoicing systems is that they allow you to offer the option of subscription payments to your customers. 

In this recurring billing model, you make an agreement with the customer that specifies information about the client’s credit card or bank account, the amount of money that will be withdrawn, the date each week or month on which the transaction will occur and the duration of the arrangement. 

It might, for instance, end when no more payments remain for a piece of merchandise, or it could continue indefinitely in the case of an ongoing service.

Increasingly popular in recent years, recurring or subscription payments provide predictability to merchants and customers alike, give sellers more reliable access to their cash and prevent customers from stressing about delinquent payments. 

Sellers also have ways to enrich their ongoing relationship with buyers in a positive way.

2. Secure payment gateway.

If your business is like most, you have an online presence and take payments over the internet. Regardless of the size or scope of your company, anyone engaging in ecommerce needs a way to facilitate secure, streamlined payments. 

Gateways are third-party applications that act as intermediaries between merchant and customer to ensure that the funds transfer is as smooth and safe as possible for all players in the process, including the seller, the buyer, the issuing bank and the acquiring bank.

A high-quality payment gateway is also crucial in providing the flexible and multi-faceted payment experience that today’s customers are demanding. 

It will, for instance, give you the ability to accept foreign currencies in the monetary denominations your international customers prefer and are more familiar with, thus fostering added trust with and comfort in your brand. 

In an era when competition is fierce and spans the globe, doing everything you can to foster this trust is essential if you are to succeed at selling in foreign markets.

3. Automated receivables management.

As important as it is to send out clear invoices that furnish clients with flexible payment options, it is equally essential that you have a way to keep track of and manage outstanding payments. 

After all, no matter how efficient your billing might be, there will always be people who fail to pay on time for whatever reason.

When you put an electronic invoicing system to work for you, the advantages will be clear immediately. These tools will help you to automate the reminders process and facilitate escalations when necessary, leaving you with the time you need to focus on more complex cases that require human intervention. Additionally, the system’s reporting tools can gather valuable insights that you can use to determine patterns and behaviors, potentially leading to more efficient overall processes.

4. Mobile payments

Giving buyers access to their preferred method of payment has never been more important. And with the growing emphasis on paying from anywhere using tablets, phones and wearable devices, modern businesses need to embrace mobile solutions. 

Fortunately, secure credit card processing is not compromised with these mobile options due to tokenization, encryption and the robust anti-fraud measures that all good payment service providers put in place on behalf of their customers.

For retailers who also take in-person payments, it is equally valuable to have contactless card readers that use near frequency communication (NFC) technology to allow funds to be transferred simply by placing a smart credit card, phone or wearable device near an NFC-equipped reader. 

In spite of the fact that the payment takes only seconds to complete, there is a complex and highly effective screening and dialogue process that occurs behind the scenes to protect the integrity of the purchase and the data that supports it.

5. Data analytics

Employ the powerful database that is the underpinning of your modern electronic payments system to securely store useful information about your customers, including contact specifics, buying histories and miscellaneous details that make them unique. 

You can then leverage the power of these details to run data analytics. These nuggets will give you helpful insights for growing and improving your company.

When you learn how to effectively use the power of data analytics, you can also predict your future cash flow. 

Armed with intelligent figures that take your past sales and buyer behaviors into consideration, you can make smarter decisions about how and where to allocate your resources as you map out your goals and strategic plan.

Bolstering your business with today’s efficient, streamlined payment processing tools represents a win-win for you and your customers. They help to ensure that you receive the funds to which you are entitled in full and on time while simultaneously protecting the customers you work so hard to serve. 

If you haven’t spoken with your payment service provider lately about how you can optimize and update your systems, there is no time like the present to have that conversation.