Heading Towards an Automated Technology for B2B Payments

Business-to- business payments are still carried out mostly in paper, whereas in all other fields, electronic systems are mostly employed. But automated B2B payment technologies can greatly benefit the banks along with their commercial clients. Automation in B2B payments still has to go a long way. In this electronic world, the use of paper checks for commercial payments is quite remarkable.

In spite of the challenges of creating automated B2B payment technologies, efforts are being made to automate such payments. This article gives an insight into automated technology for B2B payments, the challenges involved and the benefits of such a technology.

Challenges involved in Cresting Automated Technology for B2B Payments:

• There is a lot difference between the sale of a product and getting paid for it. The B2B technology does not offer the benefit of payment on the spot. Collection of payment becomes a challenging task when such a technology is employed. It has been seen that even when certain terms are established by the suppliers for motivating rapid payment like “2 % net 10”, the payment is delayed from the buyer’s side. The buyers often make the payment after 60-120 days.
• Bad debts and disputes can often lead to the write-offs of significant parts of account receivables. These amounts show variations as per the suppliers and industries, but the write-offs in industries are in the range of 2.7% to 4%.
• The buyers may also face problems related to complicated controls. Replacing the processes of paper by automated technology is really great, but the replication of the flexibility provided by wet-ink signatures on papers is not that easy.

Benefits of Automated Technology for B2B Payments:

On the buyer’s side, the paper processes involve a lot of expenses, consume a lot of time and are prone to errors. Studies show that about $55-$110 are spent for purchase order, payments and invoice management. These paper processes do not give you any insight on deal term realization, aging reports, categorization and total spending.  These benefits can be provided by automated payment technology.

Due to the benefits offered by such a technology, many industries are making use of it. These industries include those dealing with Odour Control Systems and other products.

Implementation of Automated Technology for B2B Payments:

There is a wide range of ways for employing automated payment systems. One of the most effective and simple methods is the use of commercial cards. A P-Card or Purchasing Card can make the purchase of everyday goods and services a lot more easy and simple. Such a system can offer you transparency on controls and reporting and help you to reduce significant amounts of everyday expenditure. It can also help you to negotiate better with suppliers.

To help you make more sophisticated and larger purchases, virtual cards are a good option. This card is basically an account number for single-use that does the processing against the account of a master card. An application is used to create the virtual card. This application is hosted by your card’s network such as MasterCard or the bank. The virtual card application offers you smart, convenient and secure ways to request a card and sign-in.  It also provides information related to the process of using the card, number of transactions, name of supplier, timeframe and amount.

Conclusion:

The automated technology is likely to make the process of B2B accounts payment quite easier and simpler. It would offer a lot of transparency and consume less time.

James is a skilled guest blogger. He writes articles related to architectural features like fiberglass beams and other such topics. For further queries and information visit the website www.TreadWellGroup.com.au,Find his writings on twitter.