Products
- Invoicing
- Payments & Surcharging
- Cash Application
- Collections
Outcomes
- $2M+ savings from surcharging
- 7-day reduction in DSO
- 91.86% collections efficiency index
- 95.5% touchless payments
Challenge: Inconsistency across Branches
Business was booming at a heavy equipment rental company doing more than $1B in business across the U.S. But with more customers came with more problems for the accounts receivable (AR) team. Leadership saw an opportunity to lower payment acceptance costs. Plus, each branch location had its own distinct process for managing charge accounts. The aim was to leverage automation software to help standardize AR practices, drive new efficiencies, and save money.
With credit card payments accounting for most of the company’s digital transactions, the AR team needed a simple way to accept card payments, examine their rising card processing fees, and consider surcharging strategies. Meanwhile, the collections team struggled to manage their workload without resorting to overtime. Plus, they needed greater consistency in customer communications and interactions.
“We wanted to work with one vendor, avoiding a piecemeal solution,” explained the Credit Manager. “We also wanted solutions that would help us scale our credit, collections, and AR practices. I knew the company was growing, and we needed to work more effectively. We needed to scale with reliable software rather than with more manual processes.”
Solution: Total AR Automation
As a Billtrust customer since 2017, the rental company was already using the Billtrust Invoicing solution, driving electronic transactions and presenting 8,000+ invoices to customer AP portals annually. Next, Billtrust’s Payments, and Digital Lockbox were added. Soon after, credit card surcharging solutions, Cash Application and Collection solutions were added to scale the efficiency of their operations.
We knew what we needed. Billtrust helped create the plan and pave our road to success. With one platform, we simply added new capabilities as we needed to expand our automation. Now we have a complete solution across the full payments cycle.
Credit Manager
To address the cost of accepting credit cards, a surcharging program was introduced to pass processing fees to their customers. This increased profit margins by reducing or eliminating payment acceptance costs. Through outreach campaigns, customers were informed about the new policy and given the option to avoid fees by switching to other payment modalities like ACH.
The AR team also rolled out the Billtrust Collections solution, which helps them automatically reach out to any open accounts with overdue invoices. By accelerating their outreach to aging customer accounts, the collections team was able to reduce costs and eliminate overtime work while providing customers with consistent invoicing, payments, and collection experiences. Today, their AR volumes grow without the need to expand their workforce.
Results: Standardization Leads to Transformation
The decision to implement a comprehensive AR automation solution paid off. All branches are now using the same system and practices for AR management. Unified data management broke down silos between different AR activities and departments, resulting in transparency, standardization, cost savings, and a happier workforce.
While the business recognizes efficiency and cost savings, our team and our customers receive a better experience too.
Credit Manager
Credit Card Surcharging Protects Profit Margins
The surcharging program was an instant success. Previously, credit card payments dominated their volume at 58% of online payment methods. Today, payment types have shifted significantly. Since the launch, credit card volumes have dropped to 25% while ACH payments have increased to just over 75%. With fewer cards in use and more processing fees recovered for those that continue to use cards, the AR team has generated roughly $2M in annual savings through cost avoidance.
Collections: No More Overtime, No New Hires
Billtrust Collections has made it easier to handle slow-paying customers. The platform can automatically send out multiple, personalized reminders that include custom fields, invoice details, and previous correspondence. Customer service and sending collections letters is much easier now with clear views into payment cycle information and previous communications.
With Billtrust, our customers have consistent, accessible correspondence they need to manage their accounts. Now that we’ve automated collections, we don’t panic if someone takes time off or has a personal emergency. Automation enables our scalability.
Credit Manager
Efficiency gains have also helped the team remain lean and accelerate cash flow. The number of collectors has stayed constant despite adding several new branches. In 2024, the team reduced their Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) by 7 days, and their collections effectiveness index reached 91%.
In 2024, DSO dropped by 7 days.
Digital Transformation for Everyone
With more time to drive innovation, the team is actively working to increase digital adoption among customers. The Billtrust platform quickly pinpoints top customers who are still using paper bills or check payments, which guides outreach.
In 2024, 89% of invoices were sent to customers electronically, avoiding additional paper and postage costs. Additionally, 42% of all invoices were paid electronically, reducing manual remittance work. Today, 95.5% of online payments are “touchless,” processed without human intervention.
Those little moments of automation really add up, considering the company’s growth. The AR team processes roughly $498M in payments annually across more than 65,000 transactions.
With an end-to-end automated solution in place, the company is now on the path to digital innovation. It can confidently scale its AR processes and practices, no matter how many more invoices, payments, and open bills might come its way in the future.