Invoice Payment Solutions

Every day you reduce collection time is worth 365 days of improved cash flow. Let me show you the maths. Current state: $100,000 monthly revenue, 60-day collection time. Outstanding invoices: $200,000 (two months sitting there). Reduce collection by 20%: 60 days becomes 48 days. Cash released immediately: $40,000. You didn't make more sales. You didn't cut costs. You collected $40,000 faster by implementing systematic processes. The acceleration strategies that work: Invoice the same day work completes. Not Friday. Not the month-end. Same day. Add payment links to every invoice. One-click payment increases collection speed by 23%. Call before invoicing on projects over $10,000. Confirm satisfaction, address issues, create commitment. Set up automated reminder sequences at days 7, 14, 21, and 30. Friendly but systematic. Offer 2% discount for payment within 7 days on large invoices. Costs you $200 on a $10,000 invoice. Saves you $197 in opportunity cost. A business reduced collection from 67 days to 23 days in 90 days using this system. Released $86,000 in cash without changing anything else. Most businesses focus on growing revenue. Smart businesses focus on collecting faster.

How a Small Business Leveraged Invoice Factoring to Scale Up for Costco Many small business owners dream of securing a contract with a retail giant like Costco. However, for one determined entrepreneur, the real challenge began after landing the deal. The Wall Street Journal recently shared the story of a snack company founder, Florence Dennis, who spent three years convincing Costco to stock her African-inspired snacks. Then came the hard part. Less than two weeks before the agreed-upon delivery date, Dennis still hadn’t secured the financing needed to begin production of her peanut-and-corn mix. With the clock ticking, she crafted an email. Once the deal was signed, she faced an even bigger hurdle: funding the rapid increase in production while managing the lengthy payment terms typical of large retailers. Costco’s payment cycle, like many major retailers, can stretch up to 60 days or more. For small businesses, waiting that long for payment while covering upfront production costs, shipping, and payroll can create a serious cash flow crunch. Traditional loans weren’t a viable solution due to lengthy approval processes and high collateral requirements. This is where invoice factoring came to the rescue. The Solution: Turning Waiting Into Working Capital By partnering with an invoice factoring provider, the business could sell its unpaid Costco invoices for immediate cash. This allowed the company to: Ramp up production to meet Costco’s demands without delays. Secure bulk discounts on raw materials by paying suppliers early. Eliminate stress associated with long payment terms. As Forbes explains, invoice factoring offers a "unique blend of flexibility and speed, making it ideal for businesses facing seasonal fluctuations or long payment terms." The Result: A Win-Win Partnership With steady cash flow in place, the business not only fulfilled its Costco orders but also grew its distribution network to include other large retailers. Invoice factoring provided the financial agility needed to thrive in a competitive market without incurring debt or compromising equity. Why This Matters Cash flow remains the #1 reason small businesses fail. According to the Small Business Administration, “82% of failures are due to cash flow mismanagement.” Invoice factoring can be a game-changer for businesses working with large retailers or clients with long payment terms. It’s not a loan or an MCA; it’s a practical solution to optimize cash flow and seize growth opportunities. If your clients or business partners are navigating similar challenges, let’s connect to explore how invoice factoring could help them grow. #cashflow #SBA #factoring

In conversations with business owners, it has come to my attention that while cash flow gaps remain the #1 challenge for SMEs, especially in the Middle East, very few business owners realize that payment acceleration solutions even exist. Entrepreneurs are struggling to make payroll, finance inventory, or seize growth opportunities because they’re waiting 30, 60, even 90 days for their invoices to be paid—and they feel their hands are tied when, in reality, that’s not the case. Here’s what many don’t know: 💡 Receivables purchasing (also known as invoice factoring or payment acceleration) allows businesses to sell their unpaid invoices for immediate cash. 💡 It’s not debt—there’s no loan to repay, no interest piling up, just faster access to the money a business has already earned. 💡 It’s fully regulated—There are regulatory frameworks in the UAE. So why is awareness still so low? For years, traditional financing has dominated, and SMEs weren’t given the tools to optimize their working capital. But things are changing. For the past four years, we’ve been building innovative fintech solutions at Klaim, making it easier, faster, and more accessible than ever to accelerate payments and give businesses access to that much-needed cash flow on the revenue they’ve already earned. Curious to hear from my network: Are you aware of or have you used payment acceleration in your business?

You see high revenue on your P&L and think you’re doing great, but… That’s only until you look at your cash flow. The most valuable exercise every month is to compare your revenue with the cash flow you actually received (or not) from customers. Hack: You can even create a graph to track the dynamics of this difference. Unpaid invoices are a huge pain point and a top reason for cash flow gaps. ✅ Here’s how we fixed it: We built a custom, real-time Aging Report that integrates directly with QuickBooks, Xero, Bill.com, and other systems. In real time, you get an updated view of who owes you money, exactly how overdue the invoices are, and what cash is flowing in. Once an invoice is paid, it’s automatically removed from the list. Clients can immediately see the invoices that are: ▪️1–30 days overdue ▪️31–60 days overdue ▪️60+ days overdue (possibly bad debt) This allows them to take different actions for different groups: ▪️Send emails ▪️Verify credit card details ▪️Stop providing services for unpaid invoices ▪️Or at least create much more realistic cash flow budgets We also believe that receivables should be tracked weekly—not just at the end of the month. By simply tracking these payments and taking weekly actions, some of our customers have increased their cash inflows by 40%. It’s hard to believe such a simple, powerful report can have such an impact. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash gaps have been fixed. May the Cash Flow be With You 💚

As CEO of a high-growth startup, Pranav Piyush found himself spending hours chasing unpaid invoices. Here’s how Invoice Butler gave him that time back 👇 I spoke with Pranav(ex-Dropbox, ex-PayPal, now CEO of Paramark.com) about something every early-stage founder can relate to: endlessly chasing invoices. Before using Invoice Butler, his entire “system” was a Notion table and a remote admin updating a spreadsheet once a month. If a payment slipped, the only “system” was memory and guilt. And as revenue grew, so did the chaos. Suddenly they were dealing with: • 20+ invoices a month • Non-standard terms • Missed follow-ups • Invoices going out late And nothing they tried solved it. From Stripe to QuickBooks to Maple, nothing worked once real-world chaos kicked in with constantly changing entity names, new billing contacts, AP inboxes that kept bouncing back. At one point he said something that stuck with me: “We were jerry-rigging a process between me and my remote admin. It wasn’t sustainable.” That’s the thing, every startup looks clean from the outside, but behind the scenes, founders are duct-taping ops together. You can’t grow when half your week goes into chasing payments you’ve already earned. That’s where Invoice Butler changed things. And Paramark saw results in the first 90 days: • $799,928 collected (up from $356,500) • 124% faster cash in the door • Almost zero overdue invoices • No manual follow-ups Here’s the part most founders don’t realize: it’s not just automation, it’s real cash showing up without the chase. That’s what Invoice Butler delivers. PS: If overdue invoices are slowing down your growth, it’s probably time to fix how you collect. The full Paramark case study in the comments.

Just how are payment solutions offering working capital to B2B buyers and suppliers? As a follow up to my post last week, let’s dig in on the various offerings in the market today. There has been an explosion of fintech lending because large banks and community banks often underserve SMBs due to high onboarding friction and risk adverse underwriting (See data in the comments). 💳 Payment Processors (e.g., Stripe, Square, PayPal) Target: Mostly sellers, especially SMBs and micro-merchants Products Offered: ☑️ Instant Payouts (within minutes) ☑️ Merchant Cash Advances (MCAs) ☑️ Working Capital Loans (via partners or balance sheet) Typical Loan Size: ☑️ $500 to $250,000 ☑️ Repayment often tied to % of daily sales Cost Structure: ☑️ Flat fees or fixed % (6%–15%++) ☑️ Instant payouts: 1.5%–1.75% per transaction Risk Profile: ☑️ Medium-high—based on sales volatility and limited financial history. ☑️ Automated underwriting minimizes cost but increases exposure. Market Growth: ☑️ High—massive growth driven by embedded finance and cash flow demand from digital SMBs. 🧾 AP Automation / Procurement Platforms (e.g., Coupa, Tipalti, Ariba/Taulia) Target: Primarily buyers, with optional supplier participation Products Offered: ☑️ Dynamic Discounting (self-funded) ☑️ Supply Chain Finance (bank/fintech-funded) ☑️ Invoice approval + embedded lending Typical Loan Size: ☑️ Buyer-funded discounting: unlimited (cash on balance sheet) ☑️ Supply Chain Financing via partner: $250K–$5M+ depending on buyer size Cost Structure: ☑️ Discount rate on early payment (1%–3% typical) ☑️ Often rev share with funding partners Risk Profile: ☑️ Low for platforms (not balance sheet lenders) ☑️ Buyer risk if self-funded; financier risk otherwise Market Growth: ☑️ Accelerating, especially as treasury teams get pressure to optimize cash yield and procurement teams seek smoother, more reliable supplier relationships 🧩 Vertical SaaS & Marketplaces (e.g., Shopify Capital, Toast Capital, Faire, Mindbody) Target: Generally sellers, though some also extend buyer credit. Products Offered: ☑️ Embedded BNPL for B2B ☑️ Invoice Factoring ☑️ Revenue-Based Financing Typical Loan Size: ☑️ $5K–$500K ☑️ Often underwritten using real-time platform activity Cost: ☑️ Flat fees, take rates, or tiered rates (~8%–20%+ depending on model and term) Risk Profile: ☑️ High volatility but offset by strong real-time data signals ☑️ Tends to outperform traditional SMB lending in default predictability Market Growth: ☑️ Explosive—driven by embedded finance in vertical SaaS. ☑️ Lower CAC due to captive customer base. Software platforms don’t have to build these capabilities themselves, nor do they need to extend funding from their own balance sheet. As with embedding payments, there are partners that SaaS can rely on to get started, such as Pipe, Kanmon, OatFi and, of course, Stripe Embedded Finance and Adyen Capital. Shout out to Michael Barbosa, Luke Voiles, and Jon Lear

Cash flow problems? Your invoicing process might be the real issue. I’ve seen this pattern across dozens of businesses: Revenue looks strong on paper, but the cash isn’t in the bank. Why? Because the business isn’t consistently following up on past-due invoices. Most teams don’t have the time — or the process — to chase down outstanding payments. But there’s a simple solution that works across industries: 🔁 Automated invoice reminders. Here’s why they work: 1️⃣ They keep your receivables top of mind for clients 2️⃣ They reduce the need for awkward follow-up conversations 3️⃣ They create consistency in your cash collection process 4️⃣ They free up your team to focus on higher-value work Most accounting and invoicing platforms — QuickBooks, Xero, and others — allow you to set these up in minutes. It’s one of the highest-leverage process changes I recommend to every client. If your cash flow feels unpredictable, start by looking at your follow-up process. It might be the easiest fix you’ll make this year. _____________________________________________ 👋 I'm Melissa Armstrong, CPA*, fractional controller, and founder of SteadyHand Accounting & Advisory.   *𝗡𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗅 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗅

2 Upgrades to Every Service Business Needs Service businesses relied on: Spreadsheets  Mailed invoices It was slow.  Clients delayed payments. You had to chase down unpaid invoices instead of focusing on your business. But today, technology has changed the game. If you're still stuck in the old ways,  you're losing time, money, and peace of mind. Here are two must-have upgrades you need: Require Credit Card Payments ↳ Clients expect this level of convenience. ↳ Eliminates cash flow issues. Tools to Use: • Stripe • PayPal • Square Billed Automatically When Service is Done ↳ No more waiting weeks for payments. ↳ Lets you focus on delivering value. Tools to Use: • Recurly • Chargebee • GoCardless Time spent chasing payments is time wasted. Wouldn't you rather focus on growing your business instead? Special Interview Series w/ E.J. McCoy, CEO & Co-Founder of Chorbie and Scoop Soldiers Watch the full interview here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gUc8g-53 Helpful?  ♻️Please share to help others. 🔎Follow Michael Shen for more. #ServiceBusiness #BusinessUpgrades #HomeServiceBusiness

A common problem I see in business books? Unpaid invoices… everywhere. It happens more often than you’d think. Business owners are busy running the day-to-day. They’re juggling clients, calls, projects, employees and somewhere in the chaos, invoicing and follow-ups get pushed to “later.” So when I get inside their books, I usually find: Open invoices nobody realized were still open Payments that were never followed up on Cash flow issues that had nothing to do with sales… and everything to do with collections Money left on the table simply because reminders weren’t sent Here’s what I do for them: Clean up and organize all open invoices Create simple follow-up systems that run every week Set reminders so nothing gets missed Put structure in place so cash flow becomes predictable, not stressful Sometimes instant cash flow doesn’t come from more clients. It comes from collecting what you’ve already earned. If your books feel overwhelming, scattered, or behind… Just know this is one of the easiest wins we create for the business owners we support. Clear systems = faster payments = stronger cash flow. And that’s exactly what we help you build.