Debunking Myths About Automating Vendor Payments for SMBs

Running a business is a never-ending juggling act. You're constantly striving to deliver top-notch products or services while managing day-to-day operations, finances, and growth strategies. It’s a whirlwind of responsibilities so tools and tips to help alleviate the burden can be a game-changer. Enter automated payment solutions.

This powerful ally is one of the most underused tools that can uplevel the way you handle financial transactions. But you may have heard some myths that make you hesitant to embrace this technology. It's time to separate fact from fiction and unveil the truth about automated payments for businesses.

You might think setting up automated payments is difficult and requires technical know-how. But it's pretty straightforward these days and they are designed with non-technical users in mind. Most payment companies make it user-friendly with step-by-step guides or will even provide support to walk you through as you get set up.

For example, implementing automated payments with us requires just three, simple steps:

1. Log into our ECI payment portal
2. Add a payment method of your choice
3. Enable autopay

Once set up, you can easily navigate through features like payment scheduling, recurring billing, and invoice management, all without extensive training. Taking just five minutes to set it up can save you hours each month.

Automated payments provide more value than simply “payment automation.” Beyond convenience, automated payments can help you:

• Reduce a lot of manual work associated with invoicing, data entry, and tracking payments so you can increase efficiency and save on overall employee labor costs/efforts.
• Minimize the risk of human error that often happens when someone is managing important payments manually. Such mistakes can be entering the wrong data or forgetting to make a payment. Additionally, digital payments provide enhanced security features, reducing the risk of fraud and protecting sensitive financial information.
• Improve your cash flow by ensuring payments are made on time and avoiding late fees. Real-time visibility into payment statuses and trends enables better cash flow forecasting and decision-making.
• Get better visibility into payment patterns and customer behavior to make smarter decisions.
• Ensure more accurate tracking of finances on hand. Automated payment platforms provide real-time visibility into payment statuses, account balances, and cash flow positions. This up-to-date financial data can help you monitor available funds accurately and make informed decisions.

This is a tricky one, but the short answer is no, they are not the same thing. When looked at independently, each delivers a very specific type of functionality. Automatic payments using direct debit, for example, mandates that you set up the payments directly with the bank. This is not the most efficient option and it prevents you from using a credit card or getting the payment cleared quickly.

However, many vendors bring automatic payment functionality into the portal solution to provide a seamless and simple experience. In fact, this is the method that we use to help our customers manage their payments more efficiently.

Within our single payment portal, customers can view invoices, pay invoices, view statements, set up automatic payments, and add additional contacts to receive invoices and communications. When these two types of solutions combine, it can be a powerful solution for businesses.

The truth is: Using a vendor that brings automated payment processing into a payment portal is an affordable way to streamline payments, boost efficiency, and minimize mistakes - all while saving you time and money.

Don't let the myths hold you back from taking advantage!