Customer Payments – Make it Easy for Your B2B Customers to Pay

Businesses are constantly exploring ways to make it easy for their customers to pay. Early B2B customer payments lead to improved cash flow and working capital.

The American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC) has found that companies in the top quartile of invoicing accuracy are paid, on average, 19 days earlier than those in the bottom quartile. While technology plays a major role in delivering the invoices electronically and accepting payments in a wide range of modes, on-time B2B customer-initiated payments depend on more than just invoicing accuracy.

Download this eBook to learn how new technologies such as AI-powered Digital Assistants, and modern Payment and Customer Portals can auto-pilot a large portion of B2B payments to:

Accelerate cash flow
Enhance customer service, and
Reduce collection costs

A glimpse into this eBook

On-Time Customer-Initiated Payments – Perfect Order Fulfillment

Perfect Order Fulfillment eliminates legitimate reasons to delay payment. An incorrectly fulfilled order (wrong or damaged products, wrong quantity etc.) or an inaccurate invoice gives a customer a valid reason to delay payment.

A Perfect Order can be defined as:

Delivery of right product, right quantity, undamaged
Delivered on-time, to the right location in the requested mode (packaging, labelling, time of day)
Invoiced accurately

On-Time Customer-Initiated Payments – Invoicing

An accurate invoice will promote on-time payment. An APQC study revealed that companies in the top quartile of invoicing accuracy are paid, on average, 19 days earlier than those in the bottom quartile.

In addition to an accurate invoice, it should also be submitted:

In the requested delivery mode (electronic vs paper, posted to vendor portal)
with all requested information (PO #, description of product/service, sales tax, accounting codes, etc.)
In the format requested (e.g., PO # in upper left, amount due in the lower right, etc.)

On-Time Customer-Initiated Payments – Accommodating Payments of Many Types

“Making it Easy” for customers to pay you starts with enabling them to pay in the payment mode they prefer

Influencing customers to pay in a mode that is less expensive for you. Ex: Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments which incur the lowest bank fees for the recipient’s lockbox charges.

Real Time Payments (RTPs), which are made directly between buyer and seller through a direct, secure, internet connection on an Account to Account (A2A) basis (~ EDI). RTPs enhance customer experience