4 common receivables processes that breakdown and destabilize cash flow
In surveying 400 finance leaders from across North America, Versapay and Wakefield Research found that late payments are rising and cash flow is becoming more unpredictable. To meet the needs of this new landscape, CFOs are investing in more reliable forecasting and reporting solutions.
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More than half of finance teams say tracking invoice statuses and customer communications are a major source of friction
Collections slow and relationships falter when customers lack clarity on invoice statuses or struggle to get timely answers. What might begin as a communications gap often (and quickly) turns into delayed payments and strained customer interactions.
51% of finance leaders say applying and reconciling payments is a significant challenge
Manual cash application processes and disconnected systems make errors more common, and obscure the true timing of cash receipts. Even on-time payments face application and reconciliation delays, distorting cash visibility and undermining cash flow forecasting accuracy.
41% of organizations say generating, updating and sending invoices, and correcting invoice errors causes considerable friction
Invoicing delays or inaccuracies, especially those occurring at the very start of the receivables process, ripple downstream, and slow collections altogether.
Andrew Ceccorulli, Credit & Collections Manager, Laticrete
“Before Versapay, we had no idea if our invoices were arriving because JD Edwards was autonomously sending out the PDFs with no bounce-back report. So, it could have been 10% success or 100% success. Who knows? Now, customers are accessing and downloading invoices, seeing real-time information. Home run!”
47% of organizations think having to resolve disputes further extends payment cycles
Nearly half of all finance teams perceive manual dispute resolution as another significant accounts receivable challenge, believing it to add operational overhead and prolong payment times.
The financial and human cost of operational friction: 74% of organizations devote meaningful amounts of time to chasing payments
Late payments and the inability to see clearly far enough ahead make making confident, strategic decisions hard. These four common accounts receivable processes (and the problems that surround them) only add to the strain. In fact, these challenges often leave finance teams hounding customers, with nearly three-quarters of finance leaders saying their teams devote a meaningful amount of time chasing payments weekly.
This manual effort increases collection costs, and pulls attention away from forecasting, analysis, and strategic planning. It turns operational inefficiency into a persistent drain on both cash flow and organizational capacity.
These challenges make one thing clear: breakdowns and operational friction are not isolated or episodic (but they are surmountable)
Cash flow faces threats across the entire receivables process. A network of seemingly small inefficiencies intensify over time and collectively produce meaningful risk. As payment delays compound and collection costs rise, cash flow becomes harder to predict and manage, raising the stakes well beyond daily operations.
2026 edition
Annual cash flow clarity report
Learn how uncertainty strains cash flow forecasts and reshapes decision-making, and see how automation restores payment predictability.
