PrintMost owners and managers of established small and midsize businesses already have a strong grasp of the role accounts receivable plays in their ability to survive and thrive: The quicker the payments of outstanding invoices, the stronger the business’s position in the marketplace.
Easy enough to say, but at times a daunting challenge to implement. It can also be hard to turn your back on legacy systems, those tried-and-true hard-copy spreadsheets and snail-mail invoices, to embrace online tools and cutting-edge support that you may perceive as still too new to be relevant.
However, there’s never been a better time to review your accounting system with an eye to streamlining your business invoicing and embracing your bank as an obvious but often overlooked invoicing and cash management partner.
No matter what type of business you are running, chances are your bank has integrated services in place to help you improve your cash flow and cash position, including invoicing support, merchant services, one-day payment settlement, and access to automated clearing house and key treasury information.
Streamlining your invoicing and collections is a critical step in the upgrade of your system. Your bank can offer a solution of products and services designed to accelerate your receivables cycle while giving you access to critical funds and cash management data more rapidly, merging incoming wire, ACH, credit card, and lockbox remittance data into a single receivables transmission file.
Your bank can offer deposit reconciliation, cash services, and electronic receivables solutions such as preauthorized debits and online check deposits, eliminating tedious daily trips to the bank. And there is a new spirit of collaboration in your bank’s system that can include multiuser access and accountant views as well as digital invoicing and customer credit verification.
Merchant services such as point-of-sale, phone, mail, and online transactions with major credit, debit, and stored value cards as well as check processing are essential to today’s business success across the board. Your bank can offer all of this along with cutting-edge technology and leading industry experts available 24/7 to assist you in implementing and supporting your integrated products and services.
And once you’ve streamlined your invoicing and increased your cash flow, your bank can provide you daily data so you can make the best possible decisions relating to your liquidity management. Bank services typically consist of lockboxes, in-house check scanning, online deposit services, operating accounts, sweep accounts, online reporting, and investment services. The goal is to decrease excess cash balances and increase income available to be invested.
As more and more services emerge that integrate banking, invoicing, billing, and other cash management services, it’s worth the time to explore how your bank can help your business with a robust suite of payment-industry technology, products, and services.
