Billtrust Upgrades ML Power For Faster B2B Cash App

automation banking

New Jersey-based invoice-to-cash platform Billtrust has upgraded the machine learning (ML) capabilities of its business-to-business (B2B) cash application software, the company announced Wednesday (Nov. 18).

“Business continuity involves future proofing operations and becoming more efficient,” Billtrust President Steve Pinado said in the announcement.

He added that the coronavirus pandemic has propelled automation and “forward-thinking finance organizations” quickly transformed because “the future is now.” 

Specializing in B2B accounts receivable automation and integrated payments, Billtrust said its latest enhancements improve match rates while lowering the need for manual processing. The goal is to quickly convert payments to cash.

The firm’s “model is unique in that it not only matches but also extracts data, resulting in dramatic match rate increases. That’s important, not only to the accounts receivable team, but to any CFO or CEO needing to maximize cash flow and increase growth capacity,” Pinato said.

Match rates continue to get better as time goes on and the model further learns from remittances and data.

After the July ML upgrade, Billtrust said its customers report a 12.4 percent increase in overall match rates and a hike of 18 percent in electronic payments. 

“It’s really incredible how machine learning actually adapts to our systems for continuous improvement,” said Mary Stumpf, accounts receivable supervisor at Gregory Poole Equipment Company, a Billtrust customer. 

She said the heavy equipment dealer has seen “excellent results with strong match rate performance” something that is especially critical amid the pandemic. 

The Billtrust cash application has a “predictive, automated matching engine” with almost 100 percent accuracy. 

Billtrust signed a merger deal last month with South Mountain Merger Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The deal is expected to close in early 2021 and the combined company will be known as BTRS Holdings. It is anticipated to trade on The Nasdaq Stock Market with a new ticker symbol.

In a recent PYMNTS interview, Billtrust founder and chief executive officer Flint Lane said the digitization of accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) is leading the changes in B2B payments. 

In a recent PYMNTS fireside chat, Lane said one way to get rid of the woes associated with B2B payments is to get rid of the paper check.