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Introducing AR Automation: Built for MSPs
MSP Association®Author: Anton Wurr from Bill360
The accounts receivable (AR) process dates to 2000 B.C. Much has changed, of course, but operating a smooth AR process remains essential. This is especially true for B2B companies like MSPs who need capital to grow and provide customers with the best possible service.
Payments that typically roll in past their due date make this money hard to come by and cost the average business $300,000 per year. That’s lost cash an MSP can put toward modernizing equipment and purchasing the latest and most effective cybersecurity available.
That is why so many B2B companies have begun automating their AR process, as Emergen Research expects the market size of AR automation companies to reach more than $8 billion by 2030.
AR automation enables B2B companies to get paid faster, reduce costs, and improve cash flow and customer service.
But what is AR automation? And how does it benefit MSPs?
Defining AR Automation
AR automation is just like it sounds: It automates time-consuming manual tasks such as reconciling invoices, processing payments, and sending alerts and reminders to customers. This frees up your employees to carry out more strategic projects and expedites your AR process, leading to faster payments that drive down your Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) and supply you with more money to invest in your company. It also eliminates human error – CFO.com reports that 49 percent of disputes between buyers and sellers are because of invalid or incorrect purchase order information.
A clean, user-friendly dashboard enables you to monitor data in real-time such as DSO and AR aging, and gives you a full overview of customers’ payment histories, allowing you to sort by various categories like payment method, date, customer details, and invoice specifics. Access to this information provides you with the opportunity to make sound, well-informed financial decisions.
AR automation strengthens the buyer-seller relationship by empowering your customers to set up and manage secure digital wallets where they can store their payment information. They’ll appreciate not having to re-enter their information while making prompt payments by simply clicking a button.
How AR Automation Helps MSPS
MSPs know the power of using technology that’s fast and efficient. The last thing you need is a slow and muddled AR process that wastes time, costs money, and confuses customers.
By reducing DSO and improving cash flow, AR automation enables MSPs to upgrade equipment and hire the talented staff required to supply your customers with services they won’t find anywhere else. Those new hires will have more time to focus on the maintenance of your customers’ complex IT infrastructure now that the labor-intensive tasks associated with the AR process are done automatically.
As an MSP, you know the dangers of using faulty cybersecurity and the havoc a data breach can wreak on one of your clients. AR automation offers secure payment methods through ACH and credit cards and eliminates the risk of check fraud, which increased by more than 84% in 2022, according to FinCen. Your customers’ payment data is saved in a secure tokenized platform that restricts visibility, ensuring only the right people have access, rather than bulky file cabinets where checks and purchase orders can be filed incorrectly or accidentally discarded.
Conclusion
The MSP industry is booming, and technology evolves daily. Companies that rely on efficiency, simplicity, and speed will always stand apart from the rest.
That’s where AR automation comes into play. It streamlines operations, enables you to get paid faster, and invigorates cash flow while providing your customers with a simple and effective payment process they’ll appreciate.
Linking with the right AR platform will take your MSP to new heights and set you up for long-term success and profitability.
