This is the third post in our Accelerate AR series—a four-part guide to transforming your invoice-to-cash process using embedded payments inside your ERP.
Today’s focus: how to remove friction from the payment experience, so customers pay faster—and your cash flow keeps moving.
You’ve delivered value. You’ve sent the invoice. But if the payment process is clunky, that revenue may still be weeks—or months—away.
For too many B2B businesses, payments are where momentum breaks down. The process is filled with unnecessary steps, limited options, and outdated systems that frustrate customers and slow down collections.
Getting paid should be simple. Instead, it’s often a manual, time-consuming bottleneck that leaves both your finance team and your customers unhappy.
The Payment Experience is Broken
Here are the common friction points we see:
- Limited payment options: Some customers prefer ACH. Others want to use a card or even a digital wallet. If you don’t offer it, they’ll delay.
- Disconnected systems: Payments processed outside your ERP require manual matching, increasing errors and wasting time.
- Security concerns: If your payment system feels clunky or untrustworthy, customers hesitate to complete the transaction.
- Lack of reminders: Without proactive nudges, busy AP departments miss due dates—even if they want to pay.
All of these issues add friction—and friction kills cash flow.
That means you could be losing nearly six out of ten payments—not because customers won’t pay, but because they can’t pay easily.
That’s a solvable problem.
The Case for Embedded Payments
The solution? Remove the friction. Let customers pay how they want, when they want—without jumping through hoops.
Here’s what that looks like in a modern business:
- Invoices are sent electronically, with embedded payment links
- Customers click once and choose their preferred method: ACH, credit card, digital wallet, or even check
- Payments are automatically applied to the correct invoice
- Finance leaders can see real-time payment status, aging, and Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) metrics—without waiting for manual updates
It’s intuitive, fast, and removes unnecessary complexity—for both sides of the transaction.
How It Works in Practice
A customer receives an invoice via email with a payment link. They click once, choose their preferred method, and complete the payment on a branded, secure page. That payment is then automatically applied to the correct invoice in your ERP—no manual entry required.
It’s intuitive, efficient, and scalable.
Why It Matters
The longer it takes to receive payment, the more pressure you put on cash reserves, borrowing, and operations.
Accelerating payments isn’t just about improving AR—it impacts your entire business:
- More working capital means you can invest in growth
- Lower risk of bad debt protects margins
- Fewer manual tasks frees up your team for higher-value work
- Better customer experiences increase retention and loyalty
And when customers can pay how they want, they pay faster. It’s that simple.
Simplifying the Path to Payment
When the payment process is seamless, customers pay faster—and finance teams spend less time chasing down revenue. Embedded payment tools make it possible to offer flexible options, reduce manual steps, and improve real-time visibility across your AR cycle.
Instead of relying on disconnected systems or delayed processes, modern businesses are integrating payment directly into the invoicing experience—meeting customers where they are and getting paid sooner.
That’s the kind of simplicity and scale Fortis helps enable.
What’s Next in the Series
In our final post, we’ll explore how real-time AR reporting turns data into strategy—and why accurate visibility is key to long-term growth.
Take the Next Step
Talk to Fortis today and see how embedded payments can help you accelerate collections—without increasing the workload.
