In-Field Payments For In-Field Suppliers

Office-based businesses have their own challenges when it comes to digitizing procurement and finance procedures. But when that business depends on in-field operations — say, for example, field technicians and contracting — the payments process can prove especially clumsy if paper bills and checks have to travel to and from the field before any processing.

This is the type of challenge taken on by two tech firms last month: job management software company simPRO and payments technology company IntegraPay, which are bringing their in-the-field payments solutions to users in Australia.

For consumers, being able to pay a bill at the same time and place a service was received is certainly a convenience. But in an interview with PYMNTS, IntegraPay CEO Chris Urry pointed to the demand among businesses to be able to pay for their services after a job is complete.

Urry explained how the partnership with simPRO works: by providing field technicians with a smart device to accept payment on the spot.

“As soon as the job has been completed, the field technician issues an invoice electronically via a connected smart device,” he said. “The customer can then make a ‘live,’ secure online payment by entering their card details into the smart device.”

The device is synced into the IntegraPay network to then process those payments.

According to Urry, the tool does not discriminate between customer type, whether it’s a consumer, business or government agency ultimately making the payment. “The solution is flexible in meeting the needs of any client, whether they are working on B2C, B2B or B2G contracts,” the executive said.

Urry also pointed to the importance of cash flow management as a significant motivation behind developing this tool.

Late last year, PayPal and Intuit Australia commissioned a Late Payments Study, concluding that Australian businesses are owed nearly $20 billion from their corporate customers. On average, SMEs in the country are owed an average of about $9,800.

The problem means small business owners are spending valuable time chasing down outstanding invoices; researchers found that these professionals use 12 days a year to do so.

More recent research, published late last month by MarketInvoice, had bad news for Australian businesses: The nation ranked among the worst in the world for late payments, with companies waiting an average of 26 days past-due to see their invoices settled.

While taking a few weeks or months to settle an invoice is the norm for B2B payments, paying upfront can play a significant role in a supplier’s or service provider’s cash flow. However, just 12 percent of companies surveyed by PayPal and Intuit Australia request upfront payment.

A mobile, digital way to request immediate payment without having to leave the job site could increase that figure, however.

“Giving field operators the ability to accept payment on the spot, instead of bringing paperwork back to the office, enables accounts receivables teams, on average, to save up to two hours per day usually spent chasing payments,” Urry claimed, adding that collaborating with simPRO is, in large part, an effort to help businesses improve their cash management — an issue that isn’t isolated to Australian markets.

“Late payments can be a problem for any business,” Urry added.

For IntegraPay, the company’s strategy to tackle the issue is to focus on the payer side: The easier it is for a business or government entity to pay a debt on the spot — instead of waiting to receive an actual bill hours, days or weeks later — the more likely it might be that the debt gets settled immediately.

“IntegraPay has found that, by making it easier for customers to make payments, businesses can reduce their debtors,” Urry said.