4 Features Every SMB Needs From Their B2B Payments Platform

Platforms help connect small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with the supply chains and customers they need to grow, but bridging customers, businesses and the payments ecosystem efficiently can be challenging. 

Payments innovation can be a difficult sell, even though most accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR) executives and SMBs want modern payments options, according to “The AP/AR Quick-Start Guide,” a PYMNTS and Plastiq collaboration. 

Get the report: The AP/AR Quick-Start Guide 

The key to satisfying both buyers and suppliers is payment choice: utilizing a platform or service that allows businesses to pay and receive funds using the terms that match their in-the-moment needs without disrupting payment experiences or inconveniencing the sender or receiver with long wait times. 

The onus is on platforms to improve their SMB clientele’s experiences or risk losing them to services that fix payments experiences holistically with tools such as AP/AR workflow integration with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and cash flow management systems. 

New Management Options 

This presents an opportunity for platforms that serve SMBs. Offering clients new payments management options and increased payments choices will not only help improve the customer experience but it will also help them scale their businesses sustainably. Creating these options can be a challenge, however, even for large organizations with sophisticated technology. 

Platforms seeking to optimize customer experiences should provide four key features: 

• Automated invoice review. Automation saves time and improves the visibility of clients’ transactions, allowing them to create accurate projections of cash flow and reconcile AP/AR accounts easily. Manual account management can be time consuming and fraught with human error, leading to mistakes in day-to-day data reporting and even regulatory compliance auditing. 
• Seamless AP/AR integration. Access to fresh, accurate data is essential for SMBs seeking to optimize the value of long-term business planning. The ability to integrate AP/AR data with a range of ERP platforms and software allows businesses to move resources where they are most needed and manage liquidity effectively. 
• A single view of cash. SMBs save time when they can use a single dashboard to view AP/AR transactions, and using multiple platforms to manage cash flow and payments processing can lead to bottlenecks at critical junctures in business growth, especially when onboarding new clients. 
• Payment choice and multichannel payment acceptance tools. Platforms keen to support SMB client growth should provide user-friendly tools that make multichannel payments easier. Whether via a custom buy button or the ability to accept paper checks via mobile, SMBs require efficient, frictionless tools to scale their businesses on every platform and device as well as across borders. 

Delivering Consumer-Like Payments Experiences 

As payments technologies become more intuitive and efficient, payment platforms will need to adapt their approach to payments management for their clients. SMBs want consumer-like payments experiences with payment method customization options, simple mobile and in-person payments, and the ability to monitor transactions universally. 

Tech-driven all-in-one platforms solve the mismatch between buyers and suppliers, and foster collaboration between enterprises where friction once reigned, Plastiq Chief Operating Officer Stoyan Kenderov told PYMNTS in an April interview. 

Read more: How All-in-One Platforms Can Lower the Cost of SMB Payments 

Adopting one-card-for-all solutions is a simple way for platforms to offer new payments tools and features to clients that may lack the ability or the resources to do so on their own.