How AR Automation Assists MPSs with SLAs

Content by: Anton Wurr from Bill360

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are crucial to the success of MSPs. They build trust, define expectations, and attract and maintain clients.
However, the strongest SLAs fall apart without an effective AR (accounts receivable) process. Overdue and inconsistent payments stall cash flow and make it difficult to invest in top talent and tools. And delivering on each client’s SLAs is challenging if you’re having a hard time managing invoicing and collections.
Streamlining AR is simple with accounting automation. It eliminates human error, securely stores data in a single digital platform, and gives your team more time for clients.

This article explains how an automated AR process ensures technical and accounting SLA compliance while enabling MSPs to increase cash flow and gain a competitive edge.

Stronger cash flow

An SLA is a promise you make to clients. You guarantee a one-hour response time or 24/7 staffing. Complying with these terms requires resources that can be hard to come by if your cash flow is slowed by late payments.

AR automation speeds up the collections process and gets you paid faster than when done manually. The faster you get paid, the more cash you have on hand to modernize equipment and hire experienced staff. Invoices are created and shipped out immediately after a transaction is complete. Your clients can set up and manage their own digital wallets where they can pay a bill by clicking a button. More than 70% of today’s B2B buyers were born after 1980. They crave this convenience and simplicity when squaring balances.

Better organization

You own and operate a successful MSP because you know no two clients are alike. That’s why each SLA is tailored to align with a client’s specific needs. These can be industry, size, compliance regulations, and budget. Keeping track is impossible if your AR process is disorganized.

AR automation automatically aligns SLAs with the correct clients. Human error is eliminated, along with billing disputes that slow the collections process and harm the buyer-seller relationship.

With AR automation, you can customize the payment process by turning on credit card thresholds for each customer and using AutoPay. This feature is perfect for subscription-based accounts because it allows you to draft recurring fees from your client’s preferred method of payment. You get paid faster while easing their administrative burden and shielding them from late fees.

Enhanced efficiency

A reliable, talented team of employees is essential when it comes to complying with SLAs. You’re making promises based on their expertise and ability to resolve problems. You don’t need their hours wasted working on a manual AR process.

AR automation handles everything. It creates and distributes electronic invoices and reconciles them to payment. It creates a workflow that sends payment reminders to whomever, whenever, and how often you choose. It calculates and updates crucial metrics like AR aging and DSO (Days Sales Outstanding), providing you with insight into your MSP’s financial health. The right AR automation platform even processes payments for credit cards and ACH. This saves you thousands on swipe fees.

While this is being done, your employees spend their time taking care of clients and ensuring SLA compliance. Freeing your team from these chores helps you deliver and provide clients with an unparalleled level of service.

Conclusion

You’re lagging if you haven’t added AR automation to your tech stack. It’s a surefire way to get paid faster, increasing the cash flow required to modernize equipment and retain top talent, and streamline your processes. That way, billing disputes and other discrepancies are avoided, enabling you to maintain your current customers and attract new ones.

Bill360: AR automation for your MSP

Bill360 is one of the only accounting automation platforms built specifically for B2B companies like your MSP. Our secure embedded platform handles it all with payment-ready e-invoicing, auto reconciliation, and card processing. That is why our clients get paid an average of 36% faster than their current AR process and save up to 15 hours a week.

Schedule a customized demo with Bill360 to learn how we can help your MSP run more efficiently and ensure SLA compliance.