By Darin Horrocks
REPAY
Our world is embracing the benefits of real-time electronic payments, but in the world of B2B accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP), digital money transfers and acceptance are still rare, and often stuck using legacy systems. Despite individual consumers making the most of cashless transactions, many institutions across sectors are still using cash and physical checks to make payments to their partners and vendors, wasting their own (and their stakeholders') time.
As we look to the year ahead, it's crucial that businesses, no matter the industry, turn toward digital payments to alleviate the many issues associated with B2B payments, including creating better internal workflows and cutting costs to maximize their bottom line.
Regardless of how many transactions your business makes throughout the year, your company is likely wasting too many resources on mailing physical checks out to your partners and vendors. With automated B2B payment solutions, businesses can pay their vendors in a faster and safer manner through their preferred payment methods, adding another layer of convenience.
Businesses can also accept similar payments from their partners and business customers, greatly speeding up time to revenue. With manual payments eliminated, employees responsible for processing the payments have the opportunity to focus their time and attention on projects that can help drive further growth across the business.
According to recent research from REPAY, on average, companies that use an automated AP system can save $8 per transaction between labor and material costs. Companies have also noticed substantial rebates when sending payments through virtual cards.
While many may think that the cost of digitizing a whole department can be an expensive undertaking, most experiences have been the exact opposite with much of the effort managed by the automation technology provider. Businesses that have taken advantage of digital AP processing have reduced manual data entry, avoided late fees and increased operational efficiencies.
The turn of the year is a crucial time for all businesses. It's important for companies to look at how they can grow to be a more effective and efficient organization to meet their stakeholders' expectations and drive revenue through the year. With many organizations of all sizes looking to embrace technology in every aspect, digital payments for both the AP and AR departments need to be at the top of the list.
By automating payment services, employees will be able to focus their attention on other aspects of their jobs, without having to spend hours validating and processing paper checks. This change increases the efficiency for the overall company, as funds will be updated more regularly and are able to be disbursed across other sections of the business.
Along with the changes in processes, digital payments are usually managed through a single dashboard that enables your business to have the data and reporting to ensure that exceptions are properly managed, with the ability to retry payments if something was to go wrong.
With comprehensive AP and AR solutions, businesses will have access to all transactional data, including when payments are made and received and through what payment method (like ACH or credit payments).
These insights make it easier for a business to manage inbound and outbound payments and help managers understand what their vendors' and customers' preferences are to make the experience easier in the future, ultimately creating a better overall relationship. Moving to digital payments has company-wide positive impacts, and if it's not something already on your radar, there's no better time than 2023 to consider your options and make the change. 
Darin Horrocks is the executive vice president, business payments at REPAY. Contact him via LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/darin-horrocks-9a240b7.
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