Chief Financial Officers have rarely had more intense and varied pressures on their time and expertise than they do now. CFOs must improve liquidity, working capital, and forecasting while juggling all the in-house demands of managing teams and reporting to the business that come with the job. The key to freeing up time and managing those demands? Speed up the cash cycle.
In their latest Time to Cash™ report sponsored by Bottomline, PYMNTS Intelligence dives into how CFOs can do more than manage the books and make time to cash a strategic priority. The report underscores how business payments networks like Paymode enable better cash flow across payables and receivables, why investing in AI solutions and automation makes sense, and trends that will matter for years to come. As PYMNTS writes, velocity is strategy, so the time to move the business forward is right now.
68% of B2B firms have improved their time to cash cycles in the last year
CFOs Need Integration
The Time to Cash Score from PYMNTs, built on 12 performance indicators, reveals there’s room for improvement even among top performers. Late payments, manual invoice approvals, and a lack of integration across finance systems are strategic risks.
Business payment networks provide standardized, secure, and intelligent infrastructure to ensure payments are processed securely, come with the necessary remittance data to apply cash, and offer real-time visibility. Without offering the right tools and the right integration, quicker processing and reconciliation isn’t possible without also sacrificing both flexibility and simplicity.
Receivables: Where Time to Cash Begins
The Time to Cash study shows that cash flow management automation starts with receivables. High-performing firms have 27% higher AR automation rates, and an even smaller percentage of those are seeing real gains with AI tools. But automation alone isn’t enough. Without clean, structured remittance data, even the best solutions and AI tools can’t auto-apply payments reliably.
That means consolidated, standardized data is needed. Those using networks like Paymode to deliver custom AR files or portal-based remittance can achieve straight-through processing where others cannot.
Payables: From Manual to Intelligent
On the payables side, networks should help CFOs move from paper checks and manual approvals to intelligent, secure digital payments. With built-in fraud controls, audit trails, and treasury-aligned workflows, networks like Paymode can offer automation through every step of the payments process, which tightens both the time to cash and time spent on unnecessary tasks.
Faster supplier payments can unlock early payment discounts, strengthen vendor relationships, generate new rebates, and reduce supply chain risk. That makes them a must for businesses hoping to keep money moving efficiently.
97% of companies are still using Excel to manage cash flow
Forecasting Confidence Starts with Visibility
PYMNTS found that 97% of high-performing firms are confident in their cash flow forecasts, compared to just 77% of those with less automation and slower time to cash. That confidence stems from visibility with integrated, real-time data.
A smart payments network centralizes payment activity across suppliers and customers alike to provide visibility. With real-time dashboards, predictive insights, and ERP integration for easier at-a-glance visibility in the system of record, CFOs can forecast with precision and respond to liquidity challenges proactively.
The Road Ahead: Automated Cash Flow Management
Nearly 9 in 10 top performers expect a 15%+ boost in cash flow cycles next year thanks to advanced AI tools. But AI needs infrastructure, and that requires thoughtful investment.
There is no one AI tool that will make this easier, but integrating payments and cash solutions that use AI strategically is an excellent first step for businesses hoping for better.
Read the full report to better understand how high performing companies and CFOs are standing out, and what benefits they’re realizing from speeding up the time to cash cycle.
Related Solutions
Business Payments Network
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