Is managing your small business accounts receivables a challenge? Sure, having a large balance might make your revenues look good, but it doesn’t put any money in your pocket. And if you can’t quickly turn your accounts receivables into cash, your business has a problem.
Before we talk about Biller Genie’s accounts receivable solution, let’s look a bit deeper at the size of the problem.
American Small Businesses Have a Massive Problem
Small businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy, accounting for over 98% of all businesses. Yet, despite their unquestioned economic importance, they seem to have a universal problem—not getting paid on time.
And we don’t have to tell you just how serious this problem is.
One survey found that 82% of American small businesses fail due to poor cashflow management—and it’s easy to see why. The same survey discovered over 80% of small business invoices are at least one month past due, while the average small business had less than four weeks of cash reserves to fall back on. To top it all off, the average American small business has over $80k in unpaid invoices!
The bottom line is this—if you want your small business to survive and thrive, you need to optimize your accounts receivable management as much and as soon as possible. But what does the process you’re looking to optimize, even look like?
Does Your Accounts Receivable Process Flow Look Like This?
If you’re anything like most small businesses, your accounts receivable process probably looks something like this:
Step 1: Create your invoice
Step 2: Send your invoice
Step 3: Follow up until the payment is made (repeat as many times as necessary)
Step 4: Receive payment (finally)
Step 5: Payment reconciliation (another tedious process)
The simple act of reading through these steps is exhausting. Now imagine having to do it all manually, for each of your customers. Efficiency is not a word that comes to mind. And don’t forget to consider opportunity costs. If you were spending a fraction of your current time and money on this whole process, what would you be able to focus on instead?
This lengthy manual process also makes two assumptions: the first is that there aren’t any invoicing errors. The second is that your customer’s internal payment processes move forward with issue. If any or both occur, the process will drag on even longer.
To summarize, the typical accounts receivable process for a small business is:
- Way too lengthy
- Susceptible to human error
- Too reliant on a customers’ internal payment process
The ideal accounts receivable solution should address each one of these problems—which is precisely what we created Biller Genie to do.
Why Biller Genie is the Ideal Accounts Receivable Solution for Small Businesses
First, let’s examine Biller Genie’s features and benefits in the context of the five-step accounts receivable process flow described above.
Step 1: Create your invoice
When you use Biller Genie, you have two options for creating invoices:
- The same way you always have, using your favorite accounting software like QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, or Xero. Once created, Biller Genie will automatically sync with your account—saving you the hassle of dreaded duplicate work.
- If you don’t use another accounting software, you can create invoices directly in Biller Genie on you branded letterhead.
Step 2: Send your invoice
All you have to do is tell Biller Genie when to send the invoice, and it will automatically go out on your schedule.
Step 3: Follow-up on payment
How many follow ups do you find yourself sending per invoice? Biller Genie sends automatic gentle reminders before the invoice is due and more urgent reminders after the due date passes to help you get paid faster. Select from seven different reminders, set it, and forget it!
Step 4: Receive payments
Biller Genie doesn’t just make things easier for you, it makes things easier for your customers as well. The Branded Customer Portal encourages self-service by allowing customers to make payments, view payment history, store payment information, and so much more. You won’t be as reliant on your customer’s internal payment processes and you’ll save time and hassle. Make their lives’ easier and get paid faster—now that’s a win-win scenario!
Step 5: Payment reconciliation
You just got paid—yay! As exciting as that is, the monotony of payment reconciliation is still looming, unless of course you use Biller Genie. Eliminate duplicate work and stop wasting time in spreadsheets. Simply sync your favorite accounting software to Biller Genie for instant, automatic reconciliation.
Okay, time for a quick recap! Biller Genie practically eliminates the second and fifth step, and once you set your schedule for step three, that one can be taken off your plate as well. The only thing left to do is create your initial invoice and wait for (faster) payment.
A Logical Approach to Accounts Receivable Management
When the two process flows are laid out side-by-side like that, the decision is easy. Why would you ever settle for slow, outdated, and inefficient manual processes when the alternative gives you more time and money that can be used to grow your business?
Try Biller Genie free today. You have nothing to lose and so much time, energy, and money to save.