Understanding the ROI of Automated AR Software

Accounts receivable has become one of the quietest drains on profitability. Manual invoicing, inconsistent follow-ups, and fragmented systems make it harder for finance leaders to control the cost to collect or forecast cash flow with confidence. Yet 60% of C-level executives say their AR department hasn’t been prioritized as much as other departments when it comes to efforts around digitization—even though some AR automation platforms can reduce manual work by 50%.

By accelerating payments, reducing DSO, strengthening forecast accuracy, and more, the ROI of automated AR software becomes clear: automation transforms AR from an operational burden into a measurable driver of financial performance.

When it comes to achieving strong ROI, automated AR software is a solid bet. After all, data shows that 55% of B2B invoices go overdue. Yet AR automation can lead to a 25% increase in payment speed. Faster payments, in turn, reduce DSO and strengthen ROI. 

By streamlining your payment process through features like automated payment reminders and self-service payment alternatives, automation makes it easier for customers to understand what they owe and when and accelerates the payment process. Faster payments not only strengthen cash flow but also contribute directly to the overall ROI of automated AR software by reducing the cost and effort required to collect. 

In fact, accounts receivable teams with collaborative payment portals are absolved from having to manually resolve over $1.6 million worth of invoices monthly. 

As an example, consider Laticrete, a provider of high-performance tile and stone installation systems and building finishing solutions. After automating their payment process, the company reduced their days sales outstanding (DSO) by 11%.

In 2024, 72% of businesses surveyed by Intrum said strengthening liquidity and cash flow was a strategic priority for their company. Automated accounts receivable software directly supports that strategic priority by accelerating payments and giving teams clearer visibility into incoming cash. This improved predictability becomes a core part of the ROI of automated AR software, reducing reliance on credit lines, smoothing out cash cycles, and creating more flexibility for investment and growth. 

In fact, when Laticrete introduced payment prompts and a collaborative payment portal as part of their automation efforts, the company saw cash receipts increase by $5 million from the month before, and by $6 million over the same month the previous year. 

This type of improved cash flow provides businesses with more working capital to apply to their organizational goals, while reducing the need for heavy borrowing.

Research shows that businesses spend an average of 73 days a year chasing late payments. And that’s just the start: when accounts receivable processes are manual, teams also spend much of their time fielding questions, re-sending invoices, and sending payment reminders. 

Automation platforms eliminate many of those manual tasks, automating follow-up and communications, and putting streamlined workflows in place. This reduction in manual effort directly contributes to the ROI of automated AR software by lowering the cost to collect and freeing up high-value team capacity. 

This was one of the key benefits of AR automation for TireHub, a distribution logistics company. Prior to introducing automation, 10% of the calls to their call center were related to billing and payments, amounting to 3,000 calls a month. They also had nine contractors managing their accounts receivable processes. 

After introducing automation, TireHub was able to save 200 hours of paid contract support per week—allowing them to divert five contractors to other tasks. All while their call center received fewer accounts receivable-related calls—and the value of their severely overdue accounts declined by nearly 50%. 

These reclaimed hours represent a measurable financial return, reinforcing how automated AR software improves operational efficiency while delivering clear ROI.

Over half of customers say they would switch to a competitor after just one bad customer experience. And your accounts' receivable processes are a key part of that. Forrester-commissioned research found that 65% of companies say payment failures decrease customer lifetime value, with 61% reporting revenue loss as a result. 

Yet 51% of businesses struggle to achieve a clear view of their customers’ ability to pay on time and in full. 

Automation not only improves the customer experience—giving customers access to a real-time view of their invoices, credits, and statements, and offering new digital payment options—but customized dashboards also help teams better understand their customers’ behaviors. This allows them to personalize the customer experience and enhance customer loyalty through a customer-first collaborative approach to their accounts' receivable processes.

These improvements aren’t just experiential; they directly influence financial performance. Stronger customer experience reduces churn risk, minimizes dispute volume, and accelerates payment behavior, all of which contribute to the ROI of automated AR software.

Manual billing processes, by nature of being human-led, can result in human error—from billing inaccuracies and incorrect invoices to misapplied funds. Those errors add friction to the customer experience, lead to disputes, and cost your finance team time spent fixing mistakes and dealing with any conflicts that ensue. 

Take TireHub, for example. “With that much manual cash application, you’re bound to make mistakes,” says Matt Marin, TireHub’s Senior Manager of Financial Processes and Data Management. “And that was causing frustration for our customers. We also couldn’t hold customers accountable for what they owed when we were misapplying payments and credits.”

Through predetermined workflows and rules, reliable data integrations, and tools for complex calculations, accounts receivable automation platforms reduce the chance of human error—as well as the friction that happens when those errors occur. 

Cash application automation also allows for match rates of over 90%—meaning fewer errors matching payments with the correct invoices. All while AI reduces the time spent on cash application by as much as 75%. 

These time savings, combined with the reduction in rework and dispute volume, directly lower operational cost, strengthen cash predictability, and contribute to the overall ROI of automated AR software.

Accounts receivable automation helps businesses stay agile for what’s ahead through improved forecasting accuracy—a major contributor to the ROI of automated AR software. When teams can predict cash flow with greater precision, they reduce financial risk, optimize credit decisions, and plan investments more confidently. 

AR automation enables this by:

• Integrating data from across source systems to create a single source of accurate, real-time collections information, including outstanding balances and expected cash flow.
• Giving finance teams stronger visibility to forecast more accurately, using historical behavior to predict which customers will pay late or on time.
• Making it possible to apply AI-driven predictive analytics to identify accounts with a higher risk of non-payment. 

Laticrete experienced a 16% improvement in their cash flow forecasts after introducing automation. With better access to data and enhanced visibility, they are now able to grant higher credit limits to customers who typically pay quickly and reliably. These forecasting gains directly strengthen the ROI of automated AR software by reducing the need for short-term financing and improving liquidity planning.

Accounts receivable automation has become a proven financial driver—not just a workflow improvement. By accelerating payments, improving forecast accuracy, reducing the cost to collect, and strengthening the customer experience, the ROI of automated AR software extends across every part of the invoice-to-cash cycle. 

Versapay’s comprehensive accounts receivable automation solution puts the benefits of AR automation into action, helping finance teams transform their accounts receivable processes with: 

• Automated billing: Deliver invoices digitally, directly to your customers, to ensure they never miss a thing.
• Customer-friendly payment portal: Create a direct link with customers where they can access current invoices and transaction history, pay their bills, and communicate with your accounts receivable team.
• Unified processes: Eliminate inefficiencies and give your accounts receivable team full control over payment-related activities from end to end.
• Real-time payment tracking and visibility: Turn cash flow forecasting from guesswork to precision, letting your team make financial decisions more quickly and confidently.
• Automated collections workflows: Introduce intelligent workflows that smooth out your collections process, prioritizing actions based on business impact to let your team focus on the highest-priority tasks. 

With Versapay, AR automation becomes more than an efficiency gain—it becomes a measurable driver of financial performance.